Dune

I've read dune up to where Herbert left off, should i read the two sequels written by his son or should i stop here? I've heard that they where pretty horrible.

If you wish to keep any semblance of sanity, no. They suck harder than Frank Herbert did toward the end of the Dune series.

depends on if you want to end the series in a huge cliffhanger with only hints of what is to come

or an ending that would make you facepalm

Whatever you do don't read the prequels.

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I got to Chapterhouse: Dune and I had to stop.  The first book was great, the second book decent, and then it just went horribly awry.

Everything I've ever heard about the Dune books that Frank didn't write has been bad, so I'd say no.

At first on reading the ending dialogue of the 1st Dune between Jessica and Chani I had to do a page-flip double take to make sure that was the real end.

Then I realized how perfect it was and have never considered reading any sort of sequel. It was the right spot to end it.

I know the Brian Herbert/Kevin J Anderson books will be worse in terms of writing, but what about reading them for the sake of additional plot, like some kind of fanfiction you could force yourself to tolerate with enough discipline?  Will this approach work?

>>8
Quality > quantity. You can make up your own "additional plot" if you want it that badly.

>>8

If you're still intent on reading the glorified fanfic, then just read "My Immortal" beforehand.  After that mess, it's all cake.

Just summarize Hunters of Dune/Sandworms of Dune and that should be enough.  I hear Dune explodes or something, how does that happen?  How do the characters feel about this change?  Does it affect their philosophy now that the main source of spice and sandworms is gone?  What sociopolitical implications are there and how do the major religions alter their views due to such a fundamentally significant change in their worldview?  What range of emotions are there from different groups?  Do some see it as a blessing to remove their dependence on Arrakis or do people form splinter groups to cling to their old beliefs?  Are the old teachings modified or do new teachings spring up to replace them?  What about scarcity with high demand for a finite resource, addiction withdrawals from years of dependence, cultural shifts as space travel can no longer rely on clairvoyance and prophetic mysticism becomes obsolete in the realms of political influence and technological innovation, leading to a major social shift in which people cast away their old dependencies and start new schools of thought intended to supercede the old philosophies that are still respected in some places, while radical believers fearfully cling to their dying way of life, and the old pragmatism turns to groundless faith and self delusion in the face of utter oblivion, until the remaining people choose to start over using their own basic human abilities to create a new society to revere the memory of Arrakis as a metaphor in terms of growth and learning, so that instead of following the faith of a select few who relied on an artificial stimulus to exert influence, the only real philosophy is dependent on the self, as the self is all that remains.

Is that how it ends or what?

Just stop reading, Frank Herbert's son can't write very well at all.
They really should have just published the notes that Frank left.

Dune was good because of its density, having a lot of concepts tightly bound together.  Thus one should be able to collect all the KJA books in one volume using a small font, and it would then be ingenious.

KJA & BH are not that good together. It's unfortunate, but the Dune series died with Frank. I also want to know how the series 'ends'.

Have you check out any of Frank Herbert's other books or short stories? All very far and topical like Dune.

i read the house prequels and regret it immensely

I agree with >>14
Frank Herbert's non-Dune books are quite good.
The Jesus Incident is probably my favorite out of what I've read so far.

>>15

Elaborate

I've bought Dune, the first book before, and it seems to be cursed. It always goes missing, or ends up being taken from me in the strangest ways. So far, I've only been able to read the first few pages, and it seems incredibly hard to get into. The THEME intrests me, but I'm not sure if it's the writing style, or just the book itself that makes it so hard. Does it ever get better, or should I just find a different book?

I just wanted to make a thread about this as well. I really enjoyed Dune but was wondering if the sequels/prequels were worth reading. It appears they do not. Kinda disappointed, but I guess it's for the best.

>>18

Just keep reading.  It's like walking in the desert.

>>18

Oh man, I know what you mean. I only ever got into the first one, because it's goddamned awesome, regardless of the writing style. The rest of them never had that feel for me, and I practically skimmed Children because I got so sick of Leto and his fuckassery. I'd recommend that you skip Children, but then you'd miss God-Emperor, which is not half bad compared to the other sequels.

If you find yourself unable to get into it, just stop, because the style doesn't change later. But I gradually warmed to Dune, although something about Herbert's writing still gets massively on my nerves.