I don’t really know what to make of it. On the one hand, it’s back to political maneuvering and is at least readable. But it’s still mostly about eugenics. And controlling people through sex.
I feel like you can skip God and enjoy this one, but you are still better off ending at either 1, 2, or at most 3.
Off the top of my head I don’t remember how much the book of #Dune talks about the Harkonnen use of gladiatorial combat, but the movie draws a relatively subtle link between their idea of it and bullfighting - the guys in the wide black hats are like picadors, who stab the bull with lances to weaken it. I’ll avoid spoilers on a 60-year-old book or the new movie, but it’s a fun subtle thing.
I’m not really talking about the challenging. That’s just like duels and having stand-ins so the nobles express discontent while killing other people instead of themselves. It’s more how both houses have ways of proving the butch manliness of their leaders in front of the masses - the #Atreides kill bulls, the #Harkonnens kill captives. Even if the other houses have versions of that, there’s a very specific resemblance between Atreides and Harkonnen.
I think Herbert mentions how Leto’s father died fighting a bull, but that’s about it, unless that comes up in books after the first. I need to read Messiah, which is conveniently next on the list after #InfiniteDetail.
I have finished reading God Emperor of Dune. It ended exactly as it must, but I’m still not certain what to think of it. So far it’s my least favorite book, mostly because of the homophobia.
My recommendation is to probably stop at book 2 or 3.
into 2004. I always prioritised palaeo-work, but I was never going to pass on an opportunity to illustrate 5 DUNE covers, by Frank Herbert. Crazy thing was, the publisher accepted & published my colour draft drawings & paid me in full anyway!
Why is Harkonnen society (or whatever it's called) so shitty? Who would want to live in such a disgusting and brutal community... what is the point. It's like every dystopia combined, completely revolting and miserable. How did it become that way and how could it possibly be stable...
FINALLYYYYYY (with this new job, I cut my commute in half and therefore my reading time).
I cannot BELIEVE how much they cut out of the films… and not even frivolous things, but really important, plot-driving parts! 😱 If I had read this first before watching, I think I would have been pissed…
Dune 3: The Problem With Adapting Alia From the Books (www.denofgeek.com)
Anya Taylor-Joy's Alia will presumably have a much bigger role in Dune: Part Three, but adapting this Frank Herbert character won't be easy.