Unfeign
07-12-2008, 08:36 AM
I've recently been spending my fiction-reading time getting through
the back-catalouge of Herbert's work. As a qualifyer: I feel like the
Dune series and the the Jesus Incident trilogy (with Destination:Void
"precursor") are the pinnacle, archetypes of his work.
Frank Herbert had many different major themes throughout Dune and the
D:V post-trilogy, we discuss them regularly. What I'm seeing is that
Herbert played these out in different ways in his other books.
(Warning, I do discuss the plots in very broad terms, but there could
be Spoilers).
Eyes of Heisenberg: The major theme here is the fallout of *forced*
peace through the eons, how the populous will fight back against the
stagnation. This is evidently represented in GEoD and HoD, as well as
the commentary on the Famine Times/Scattering that happens in-between.
Leto II does discuss his forced-peace, and how humans will think twice
about that after his reign. In EoH, it is a genetic forced-peace, in a
way, that genetics fights back against with the help of a resistance.
In the end, the tyrranical oligarchy devours itself when they get a
single taste of violence to mess with their heads.
The Santaroga Barrier: Jaspers is another take on Melange, pure and
simple. Although this book takes place, essentially, in present-day
(60s/70s, as it were). In this case, Jaspers is a biological, not a
simple chemical. And while melange actually does expand consciousness
and expand life, Jaspers is only repeatedly said to do so by the
populous of Santaroga... but in the end, I get the distinct feeling
that it is has very much warped and hindered Dasein's grip on
consciousness. He says, to balance it, as consciousness grows, so must
the unconsciousness. I'm all but certain he's lost forever in a
drugged-haze at the end. This is a WHOLE different take on mind-
expanding geriatrics.
Green Brain: Not my favorite of the bunch, but okay. Similar to Dune
and the D:V post-trilogy, the effects of mankind's forced-alteration
of ecology is discussed, only with huge freaking bugs instread of
plants/crazy floating tentacled gasbags of conscious Avata.
Hellstrom's Hive: Humans as a hive society. It reminded me some of the
Tleilaxu, although not directly. This one was a tad on the creepy
side.
I still have Dosadi Experiment and White Plague to read. I have no
doubt recurring themes will pop up again. Herbert seemed to have many
interesting ideas about the effects of changes, drugs, and
consciousness would be on the Human Condition; he just needed several
different universes to play them out in.
the back-catalouge of Herbert's work. As a qualifyer: I feel like the
Dune series and the the Jesus Incident trilogy (with Destination:Void
"precursor") are the pinnacle, archetypes of his work.
Frank Herbert had many different major themes throughout Dune and the
D:V post-trilogy, we discuss them regularly. What I'm seeing is that
Herbert played these out in different ways in his other books.
(Warning, I do discuss the plots in very broad terms, but there could
be Spoilers).
Eyes of Heisenberg: The major theme here is the fallout of *forced*
peace through the eons, how the populous will fight back against the
stagnation. This is evidently represented in GEoD and HoD, as well as
the commentary on the Famine Times/Scattering that happens in-between.
Leto II does discuss his forced-peace, and how humans will think twice
about that after his reign. In EoH, it is a genetic forced-peace, in a
way, that genetics fights back against with the help of a resistance.
In the end, the tyrranical oligarchy devours itself when they get a
single taste of violence to mess with their heads.
The Santaroga Barrier: Jaspers is another take on Melange, pure and
simple. Although this book takes place, essentially, in present-day
(60s/70s, as it were). In this case, Jaspers is a biological, not a
simple chemical. And while melange actually does expand consciousness
and expand life, Jaspers is only repeatedly said to do so by the
populous of Santaroga... but in the end, I get the distinct feeling
that it is has very much warped and hindered Dasein's grip on
consciousness. He says, to balance it, as consciousness grows, so must
the unconsciousness. I'm all but certain he's lost forever in a
drugged-haze at the end. This is a WHOLE different take on mind-
expanding geriatrics.
Green Brain: Not my favorite of the bunch, but okay. Similar to Dune
and the D:V post-trilogy, the effects of mankind's forced-alteration
of ecology is discussed, only with huge freaking bugs instread of
plants/crazy floating tentacled gasbags of conscious Avata.
Hellstrom's Hive: Humans as a hive society. It reminded me some of the
Tleilaxu, although not directly. This one was a tad on the creepy
side.
I still have Dosadi Experiment and White Plague to read. I have no
doubt recurring themes will pop up again. Herbert seemed to have many
interesting ideas about the effects of changes, drugs, and
consciousness would be on the Human Condition; he just needed several
different universes to play them out in.