Thursday 22 January 2015

(Non-canonical) Visions of Dune

Frank Herbert's Dune is a wonderful book. Each repeated read brings new rewards as one is immersed in the utterly strange yet strangely plausible universe of the Bene Gesserit sisterhood, twisted mentats, spice worms, and kwisatz haderachs. Such excellence is continued in the five succeeding books, despite their increasing weirdness (the fourth in the series, God Emperor of Dune, is perhaps the biggest challenge for general readers). Fans of the books, however, have much to gripe about: the series is unfinished; it has been developed into a later iteration of largely disappointing novels co-written by Frank's son Brian and Kevin J. Anderson that complete the cycle and provide 'new' explorations in the Dune universe; and it has been subject to an inconsistent list of conversions to more popular media, which have done much to harm the reputation of the books (unlike, say the Lord of the Rings).

Let's consider the gripes one by one. The lack of a true follow-up to Chapterhouse Dune leaves the series on the brink of a major, Twin Peaks-esque, cliffhanger. Chapterhouse is a great book, but picking it up brings bittersweet feelings. Not simply because the ending is not revealed, but also because the new ending by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson doesn't quite carry the same engrossing qualities of the novels by Frank - even if aspects of the story are reliant on Herbert Snr's notes.

Are the newer prequels and sequels by Brian and Kevin really that bad? The answer will undoubtedly vary from reader to reader. I enjoyed the 'House' cycle of preludes dating to immediately before the Dune novel, if they were over-long and disappointing when compared to the originals. The 'Butlerian Jihad' cycle delved even deeper into the history of Dune. Despite its interesting premise, these books were much more of an ordeal to get through. Annoyingly, both cycles developed storylines that would re-surface in Brian and Kevin's attempt to complete the original series, requiring the hard-core fan to read six chunky volumes to make sense of the long-awaited Dune 7. Released as two novels, Hunters of Dune and Sandworms of Dune brought closure to the Dune sequence, while leaving a lingering sense of dissatisfaction. Was it really worth it?

If you don't like the books written by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson, the various screen adaptations might offer an alternative indulgence in the Dune universe. Most famous is David Lynch's 1984 film, produced with big budget and featuring an an impressive cast. Despite allegedly not being cut to the liking of Lynch, this is a good film, perhaps even a flawed masterpiece. The sets, costume, and soundtrack are excellent, with several stand-out acting performances. What's the problem then? Firstly, to audiences weaned on the original Star Wars trilogy, Dune is a disappointing space adventure. This is in large part because the book is much more complex than Star Wars, requiring the reader to engage with concepts from ecology, philosophy, theology, and anthropology, not to mention SF ideas. And it is not really a true space adventure story. The ethics and morality of Dune are much more ambivalent than those seen in equivalent films. The special effects are impressive for the 1980s, but they are not essential for the story. Related to this is the film's second major flaw - its depiction of the sand worms of Arrakis. These iconic creatures are made to look like a ridiculous cross between a big rubber hose pipe and a school boy's phallic doodle. Enough said. As for the mini-series, I haven't seen them. Stills from the internet suggest a budget similar to 1970s Dr Who, and reviews are largely unfavourable. Steer clear.

So, where does this leave us, other than to re-read the originals by Frank Herbert? Well, there are a couple of jewels for those who are prepared look hard enough, as well as maybe expanding their horizons. Read on.

Last year (2014) saw the re-release of Z's (aka Bernard Szajner's) 1979 Visions of Dune, an album of 70s synthesizers and electronica inspired by the books in the vein of artists like Tangerine Dream, and more recently, Oneohtrix Point Never. Compared to the soundtrack of Lynch's film by Toto (and featuring Brian Eno), Visions of Dune is much more in keeping with the spirit (and weirdness) of the novels. Not only has the music stood the test of time (Pitchfork gave it a respectable 7.7), it also makes excellent background music to reading the books. All the track names come from the novels, with stand-outs like 'Bene Gesserit' and Kwizatz Haderach' often conjuring appropriate images of the names represented.  Highly recommended.



Inspired by Szajner's alternative Dune soundtrack, a little research brought Dr Willis E. McNelly's Dune Encyclopedia to my attention. Sounds pretty boring - right? One of those compendiums of terms for the forgetful and uninitiated. Actually, wrong. Not only is the encyclopedia a work of fiction that is set in the Dune universe after the events of God Emperor of Dune (in the hand of a certain Hadi Benotto in 15540), it was also written with the consent of Frank Herbert, drawing upon some of his unpublished ideas. While this might sound worryingly similar to the preludes and sequels of Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson, the fleshed out back-stories here are considerably different from the newer novels. Perhaps for this reason, the Encyclopedia is allegedly now seen as non-canon by the Herbert estate. Nevertheless, it offers some genuinely well-written, well-illustrated and substantial (at over 500 pages) fleshing out of the original books that is well worth tracking down for those craving more Dune. Sadly, it is no longer in print, but it is still possible to track down second-hand copies at relatively low prices on the internet (I found one for around £20 in good condition).


As this post comes to a close, someone is bound to mention that I've not included the recent documentary film, Jodorowsky's Dune. This is for the simple reason I've not seen it yet! Rest assured a future companion post on this site will discuss it, along with other non-canonical visions, such as the Geidi Primes album by Canadian musician Grimes. Stay tuned.