I read Heretics in September and October, and Chapterhouse in October and finished it yesterday. Heretics was not a thrilling read for me and I was not looking forward to slogging my way through Chapterhouse, but I am really glad I did. That book really held my attention and I have very little memory of it from when I read it probably 20 years ago now.
This book series concludes on a cliffhanger and I had forgotten how weird the final chapter was. But the book drew me forward and I was trying to piece together the clues for what Dune 7 was going to have been. A lot of threads from the first few books came back, and the explanation of what happened to the Tielaxu and the Reverend Mothers who went into the Scattering is partially explained.
I have the next two books on reserve at the library and I am looking forward to reading them. I am not a big fan (as I’ve said multiple times) of Brian Herbert and Kevin Anderson’s writing style. I feel it is too bloated and long to tell a story. It reminds me very much of the Orson Scott Card Enders prequel books which are similarly too long. That trilogy could have been one book. I read the Legends of Dune books about 20 years ago also and I remember thinking that that trilogy could have been one book. So, I have similar expectations for Dune 7 and 8 (Hunters and Sandworms of Dune) but honestly, at this point I am all the way in to the series and I am going to read them. In fact, I stayed up past my bedtime to read the preview first 50 or so pages on the library website and i enjoyed it. I will be reading it for fun.
I think the biggest takeaway for me from reading this whole series again is that it really shows me the starting point of my own writing journey. I read Dune for the first time in about 1986 in High School after several false starts. So many of the things I put in my novel stem from ideas from Dune. And from Ender, and from Star Wars, and from a host of other works from around that time. Of course, I am a product of my times, and what I have done is put all of those pieces together in my own new way.
I have not been writing much this month. I was initially planning to write a bunch of short stories after editing 2 or 3 and getting them subbed, but I haven’t. I birthed a 400 page monster in October and I need the time and space away. I found myself actually getting excited about writing again last night though; so much so that I was having a hard time falling asleep. 2 more weeks and I will start editing again. I can’t wait.