this post was submitted on 12 Jun 2023
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After seeing the new and the campy old Dune movies, I've been listening to the first book. About 1/3 through. I love the writing, but I find myself exhausted with the trope of "creepy bad fat man loves to abuse young boys". I imagine that this book influenced the same character archetype in the first Eve Online novel. But, as a gay man, it feels very frustrating like gay pedophilia is somehow being characterized as /the worst pedophilia/ when ALL of it is abhorrent. The gay themes just added to increase the "ick" factor for the common straight reader even more? To really seal in the evilness? Idk, it's annoying, especially when there's so much anti-lgbt hate being spread with accusations of pedophilia and grooming, but it seems non-lgbt individuals are making these art... Rant about harmful tropes aside, I am surprised by how well both movies stuck to the main events, although the book is much more likeable than either. The audio file is... Around online.
I've never been able to talk myself into tackling the Dune books. They've been around so long that they feel a bit like paleo-sci-fi.
Here is a paleo-sci-fi I strongly recommend Free on librevox https://librivox.app/book/9317
From 1909
"Plot summary. The story describes a world in which most of the human population has lost the ability to live on the surface of the Earth. Each individual now lives in isolation below ground in a standard room, with all bodily and spiritual needs met by the omnipotent, global Machine."
That's a great term, haha. I guess I didn't think of it as a commitment, but a curiosity. I likely wouldn't have gotten so far into the first one if I hadn't seen the two movies. I wanted to see what was consistent or not. So far, beyond the trope outlined above, the most jarring aspect of the world is the contrast in name types. "Jessica" and "Paul" feel out of place even amongst other members of the same house Atreides. I may or may not keep with the series of books depending on how edgy the author finds himself needing to be to show how desperate and desolate the universe is. But I rarely listen to audiobooks as I get distracted, so I consider this a surprising success.
A while ago I circled back to the Martian Chronicles, a book I haven't read since grade school. I struggled with it, but finally had to put it down when one woman complained to another woman how, "You just can't find a good malt on Mars!"
I understand what Bradbury was going for with the book, but the entire thing felt like it couldn't help but be drenched in the terminology and mindset of when it was written.
I had previously read Dune so I thought I'd have a go at listening to the whole series. 28 books. Idk , maybe it's doable. The first one is pretty good / ok. A bit basic but that's ok for a book at bedtime.