Dune

I had a friendly wager with the Rambling Librarian recently to read a Science Fiction title that he chooses, while he will read a Haruki Murakami title that I choose. It all started from a comment that Rambling Librarian posted in my posting on Murakami's latest collection of short stories "Blind Willow, Weeping Woman". Rambling Librarian has been singing the praises of Science Fiction for a long time, while I was doing the same thing for Murakami. But both of us have not been motivated enough to read either.

So, this is the title that I chose for Rambling Librarian - Norwegian Woods or Kafka on the Shore by Murakami. Rambling Librarian recommended the first book of Dune by Frank Herbert and some SF titles to me. I picked Dune as the reviews made it sound like a classic worth reading and Frank Herbert's biography is interesting.

The outcome of our friendly wager is to write a book review in our blogs.

So there, Rambler, I've read the book and these are my thoughts. :-)

Actually, I used to read a lot of SF when I was a teenager. Somehow, at that age, horror, SF, mysteries and the supernatural appeals to us. I grew out of such genres eventually and started to focus on books that explores the human nature and emotions instead. I am no longer satisfied with books that thrill and entertain, but I needed stuff that can stir my soul.

So did Dune stir my soul? Um...not really, but was it a good SF read? Yes, it was. I enjoyed Herbert's incredible imagination to dream up such a story and complex plot, even though I had a really hard time trying to follow the numerous characters and plots. I always have problem with books that are epics involving many characters and sub-plots. Lord of the Rings is one title that I have trouble getting past. I know everybody sings its praises and I enjoyed the movies too, but I just seem to have trouble getting into the books itself. But I could see the magic in Dune. I could see where the appeal lies. And I can understand why Rambler is always saying SF is not just about spaceships and aliens.

What do I like most about Dune? I like the imagination that went into it that probably also prophesied the future world. Published in 1965, I was intrigued by the forward-thinking inventions inside Dune. Such as the 1800 pages Orange Catholic Biblie made for space travelers. It's "not a filmbook (this could be the commonly found books by then), but actually printed on filament paper. It has its own magnifier and electrostatic charge system...The book is held closed by the charge, which forces against spring-locked covers. You press the edge - thus, and the pages you've selected repel each otehr and the book opens..." (Dune, 1965) (I had to choose an invention related to book, because I'm also curious about the future of books)

And then Herbert might have forseen the water shortage issue that the world might face in the near future. So there's an invention called the "Stillsuit" that will "hold (the wearer's) water loss to a thimbleful a day...the major water loss is through the palms of your hands..." I thought that's a good invention that somebody should consider. Maybe one day our earth will really run so low in water that we will need to recycle our own bodily fluids, and that's not necessarily just what you pass out, even perspiration becomes precious.

A nice re-introduction to SF again, so thanks, Rambler.