'Dune' gets a makeover

Frank Herbert's Dune series were always my dad's books. I tried reading his copies (still have them, as a matter of fact), but I just couldn't ever get into them. Part of the problem probably stemmed from the fact that I'd already seen David Lynch's adaptation by the time I got around to actually reading the novel. I never got  the chance to build the world in my head based on Herbert's writing. I always pictured Paul Atreides as Kyle MacLachlan and so on. Don't get me wrong, there were some things about Lynch's Dune that got my attention. I'm a Sting fan, so that was one cool thing, but I also found the underlying mythology, that was only alluded to in the film, very provoking and it was that mythology that spurred me on to trying to read the actual book. Well, needless to say, I never made it past the half way mark of the first novel. I'm still scratching my head over Bene Gesserits and the Kwizatz Haderrach.

Nevertheless, the books were immensely popular, and could probably be accurately described as The Lord of the Rings of science fiction--all the more reason that I should like them. And apparently, like Tolkien's son, Herbert's kid is still trying to squeeze every last dime out of the franchise by continuing to write Dune sequels (with the help of Kevin J. Anderson. Yuck.).

I don't know if I'll ever spend the time required to buy into the Dune universe, but I might be willing to shell out a few hours for a new, more faithful film adaptation. Which is exactly what French director Pierre Morel (Taken) is claiming he is aiming for now that he has picked up helmsman duties from Peter Berg (Dune fans can breathe a sigh of relief for that). Though, no word is forthcoming on when we can expect this new film, Morel is supposedly completely re-drafting an existing script, and it is claimed that he is a HUGE fan of the books. So, perhaps there is hope for an intriguing adaptation of Frank Herbert's Dune yet. Wait and see.

 What do you think about a new Dune adaptation? Are you a fan of the books?

Check out this Screen Rant article for a more in-depth look at this remake, adaptation, whatever.

Kirk out.

Joe Abercrombie's 'The First Law Trilogy': Something nice came in the mail for a change.

My wife came home a few nights ago and dropped a pretty good sized box on the kitchen island. She said "What did you order from The Pampered Chef?", to which I had no answer. But there it was, a large, cardboard box with "The Pampered Chef" written all over it, and my name in the "ship to" field. What was I to say?


And having nothing at all to say about the matter, I quickly disemboweled the container with a pair of Wusthof kitchen shears and discovered, to my surprise, a trilogy of books. The First Law Trilogy by Joe Abercrombie, to be exact. Logan, of Rememorandum had said that he would send them to me, but I didn't think a lot of it at the time. I am beginning to realize that there is more to this Logan fellow than meets the eye. He is a man of his word, and I couldn't be more excited to have this trilogy of books to dive into.

 So, thanks Logan. I promise to read them, give a review, and then pass them on to someone who will appreciate them. I already have someone in mind. This blogosphere, man... it throws something new at me everyday.


Kirk out.