Dune

Rating: 8/10

Every single piece of of science fiction from the last fifty years is owed to Dune. Frank Herbert revitalised the genre and set many themes that would be copied by following writers. The Vulcans of Star Trek bear a close affinity to Dune's Mentats. Star Wars in its original draft was basically just a rip-off on Dune. Even in its final form it still had many similarities, such as a foretold Messianic figure, a dessert plant with spice farmers and giant worms, and a mysterious, semi-religious order.

I first got hold of this book at the Scholastic book fair at my school in the young adult section. This book is not young adult and not at all like something you would expect to see from Scholastic. There is no way someone who reads young adult books are going to be able to understand the vocabulary or the sometimes quite complicated dialogue or the rather quick advancement of plot. Herbert doesn't slow down and explain to you what is happening, you have to pay attention and make insights. The story can also get bloody and brutal, especially with the Harkonnens and the Fremen.

I really quite like the main character, Paul Atredis/Muad'dib. He has such a sense of power and destiny about him, something I like in characters. His vision scenes are some of the best in the book.

*Dune was made into a movie in 1984, but a new version is being made by Paramount with no release date named yet. Stay tuned for more details as they come out*

Stephen King's N.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TXwZYc3fyLk

Here is a link to an adaptation of a Stephen King short story called N. Its a comic book style video done by Marvel and a good example of how he likes to spread out into lots of different medias. Very creepy, go watch it!

Duma Key

Rating: 7.5/10

I was initially reluctant to read this book, as I had been disappointed with Stephen King's book Lisey's Story, which was written about a year before this one, and was afraid he might be losing his edge in his old age. I am happy to say that I was pleased with this book and am now looking forward to his new book coming out this November.

Duma Key follows Edgar Freemantle, who is nearly killed in a horrible accident and loses his right arm. He moves to Florida in an attempt to restart his life and takes up painting. He turns out to have an uncanny talent for it, one that is almost supernatural.

King is very good at using setting in his stories. Most of them are set in rural or small town Maine, and portray very well the speech mannerisms and peculiarities of the locals. In the last couple of years, King has been using Florida (where he has a second house) more often. The state doesn't quite have as much character as Maine, probably due to a more transient population, but it is new material, which he uses well. He dips briefly into Floridian history with the character of Miss Eastlake, something he has done with effect before, most notably in IT and Bag of Bones.

Edgar is a well-written character, especially in scenes where he is interacting with the character Wireman. Some people might not sympathise with him due to his bursts of anger, but really these should make us feel for him, as they are a result of his accident and he is trying to overcome them and keep control of himself. He follows a long line of creative King characters, usually writers and some artists.

It should be noted of King books that the evil force in them is usually some in-human, almost godlike force which may or may not come from beyond the edge of the universe, where as a lot of horror stories just settle for some ill-tempered ghost. He keeps to his form here, with a crimson robed (maybe a connection to the Crimson King of the Dark Tower) almost Davy Jones-like( due to its method of travel and obtaining victims) death goddess figure who uses artists to spread her power.

All-in-all, this is a good book, not as good as King's work in the late eighties-early nineties, but still good.

16 Books to Read Before You Die

1. The Dark Tower Series by Stephen King- This master storyteller's magnum opus.
2. The Space Trilogy by C.S. Lewis- A completely unique view of the solar system.
3. Till We Have Faces by C.S. Lewis- A good retelling of an old myth.
4. The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien- One of the greatest fantasy works of the 20th century.
5. War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy- Intimidating but worth it.
6. Dracula by Bram Stoker- How vampires should be written about.
7. Civil War Trilogy by Jeff and Michael Sharra- Very fine historical fiction writers.
8. On Writing by Stephen King- Very good discussion on the matter of writing by one of its best living practitioners.
9. The Covenant by James Michener- Very thought provoking historical fiction.
10. The Civil War-A Narrative by Shelby Foote- Best example of a literary style applied to historical narrative.
11. Shiloh by Shelby Foote- About the battle, not the dog.
12. Truman by David McCullough- Another good literary historical narrative.
13. Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling- Finest piece of fiction this century has produced.
14. Frankenstein by Mary Shelley- One of the best examples of Gothic writing.
15. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee- A moral guide for all generations.
16. The Story of Civilization by Will and Ariel Durant- A complete summarization of Western Civilization until the 1800s.