Tom Huddleston's book The Worlds of Dune: The Places and Cultures that Inspired Frank Herbert

Review of Tom Huddleston’s The Worlds of Dune: The Places and Cultures that Inspired Frank Herbert

Criticism

Tom Huddleston’s The Worlds of Dune: The Places and Cultures that Inspired Frank Herbert (2023) is a beautifully designed book that explores the range of ideas and concepts that inspired Frank Herbert in the writing of his 1965 science fiction masterpiece, Dune. Through an introductory biography chapter followed by twelve chapters named after planets, characters, and other elements in Dune, Huddleston looks at various political, environmental, and social influences that help show the many layers of meaning in Herbert’s complex novel. Each chapter is accompanied by images from art history, film, books, comics, and photographs that bring the story to

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Max Evry A Masterpiece in Disarray Lynch Dune book

Review of A Masterpiece in Disarray: David Lynch’s Dune. An Oral History by Max Evry

Criticism

It’s got scandals, hot takes, regrets, and reflections. It’s got serious musings alongside funny anecdotes. It’s all about the infamous Dune film adaptation by David Lynch, and whatever you think of the original film (or extended version, or fan edits…) you won’t want to miss this engaging story about this fateful production. In Max Evry’s new book, A Masterpiece in Disarray: David Lynch’s Dune. An Oral History, he provides a behind-the-scenes look at the 1984 film adaptation of Frank Herbert’s science fiction book, Dune (1965), with the benefit of nearly four decades of time for reflection. As an experienced film

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J.G. Ballard's The Drowned World book

Review of J.G. Ballard’s The Drowned World

Criticism

J.G. Ballard’s The Drowned World (1962) is often mentioned in scholarship for its positioning on the cusp of the 1960s/1970s New Wave in science fiction. I found it to be an interesting novel that reflected the author’s desire for science fiction to explore inner, psychological space and aim at being more literary. I was surprised by how much this book felt like a traditional novel, yet still managed to weave in science fiction genre elements. It has stood the test of time and might even feel more relevant today due to its climate change-influenced setting. What struck me throughout was

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sand dune with blue sky

Falling for Dune

Academia

“A beginning is the time for taking the most delicate care that the balances are correct. This every sister of the Bene Gesserit knows.” – From “Manual of Muad’Dib” by the Princess Irulan (Dune pg 3*) I discovered Dune (1965) because the book had been bothering me. When I was a young teenager, my family bought our first desktop computer, and I started spending more time in the home office. But every time I walked by the row of bookshelves in the room, I saw the orange and brown spines of a set of books sitting by themselves on the highest

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