What am I reading now?

I am currently reading "Song of Susannah" by Stephen King, the next book of the 'Dark Tower' series. This book continues the story of Roland and his companions as they seek the Dark Tower.

So far it is excellent....

Metafiction and the Dark Tower Series

One of the interesting things that Stephen King does in the Dark Tower series is the use of metafiction as a major plot device

I looked up metafiction in Wikipedia and this is what I found

Metafiction
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Metafiction is a type of fiction which self-consciously addresses the devices of fiction.
It is the term given to fictional writing which self-consciously and systematically draws attention to its status as an artifact in order to pose questions about the relationship between fiction and reality. It usually involves irony and is self-reflective. It can be compared to presentational theatre in a sense; presentational theatre does not let the audience forget they are viewing a play, and metafiction does not let the readers forget they are reading a work of fiction.

Metafiction is primarily associated with Modernist and Postmodernist literature but can be found at least as far back as Cervantes' Don Quixote and even Chaucer's 14th Century Canterbury Tales.

Some common metafictive devices include:
A novel about a person writing a novel. (Secret Window, Secret Garden)
A novel about a person reading a novel. (Neverending Story)
A story that addresses the specific conventions of story, such as title, paragraphing or plots.
A non-linear novel, which can be read in some order other than beginning to end.
Narrative footnotes, which continue the story while commenting on it.
A novel in which the author is a character.
A story that anticipates the reader's reaction to the story.
Characters who do things because those actions are what they would expect from characters in a story.
Characters who express awareness that they are in a work of fiction (also known as breaking the fourth wall).
A work of fiction within a fiction.

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Without giving away anything (remember, I have a strict no spoilers policy here), King uses metafiction by introducing characters, places, concepts and names in the Dark Tower series that appear in his other books and in other popular books, movies and music. Examples include references to characters from the Stand, the introduction of a character from "Salem's Lot" and a major discussion of that book, the characters entering a ruined city and finding an old computer playing a snippet of a ZZ Top song, etc.

The use of metafiction by King does serve the purposes described above in the definition. As a reader, they are often shocking or amusing. To be reading a story about a world that includes gunslingers, wizards, and old robots and then to have them encounter someone at a bar singing "Hey Jude" is jarring to a reader. But in this case it also reinforces one of the key points of the series - that all worlds are connected. But introducing things from our world into the strange landscapes of Mid-World, King helps to remind the reader of these connections.

[Again, there is a great deal more I could say here, but it would spoil some of these books, especially Wolves of the Calla, so I just won't say it.]

Review "Wolves of the Calla" by Stephen King

"Wolves of the Calla" is the fifth book of King's "Dark Tower" series.

This book continues the saga of Roland and his companions as they search for the Dark Tower. The Gunslingers come to a small village threatened by child-knapping bandits called Wolves. Roland and his group must first convince the villagers that they can be saved and then prepare for the coming of the Wolves. But things are never simple for Roland and so it is in this book......... Complications in our world (which can be accessed through doorways from Roland's world) and within the group threaten to destroy the gunslingers.

This book is clearly a homage to movies such as "The Seven Samurai" and the "Magnificent Seven." (gunslingers ride into town in distress, get to know the locals, fight off the bad guys, etc.) King continues with an interesting mix of fantasy / post-apocalyptic sci-fi / western and blends in interesting touches from our modern world.

This book was enjoyable and I look forward to the rest of the series. I did not enjoy it as much as "Wizard and Glass" but it was still a very enjoyable read. Overall, I would say that this series is definitely worth slogging through the first book for...

The Guide

One of the greatest series of books every written is the "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" by Douglas Adams. The books are very creative science fiction but more importantly, they are hilarious. I have read them 7 or 8 times and if I read them again now I would fall down from laughing so hard. Here are a few samples of the kind of things that are in those great books:



"You know," said Arthur, "it's at times like this, when I'm trapped in a Vogon airlock with a man from Betelgeuse, and about to die of asphyxiation in deep space that I really wish I'd listened to what my mother told me when I was young."
[Ford Prefect:] "Why, what did she tell you?"
[Arthur:] "I don't know, I didn't listen."
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy


"If I ever meet myself," said Zaphod, "I'll hit myself so hard I won't know what's hit me."
- The Restaurant at the End of the Universe


For instance, on the planet Earth, man had always assumed that he was more intelligent than dolphins because he had achieved so much - the wheel, New York, wars and so on - whilst all the dolphins had ever done was muck about in the water having a good time. But conversely, the dolphins had always believed that they were far more intelligent than man - for precisely the same reasons.

Thought for the Day

"Don't join the book burners. Don't think you're going to conceal faults by concealing evidence that they ever existed. Don't be afraid to go in your library and read every book..." -

Dwight D, Eisenhower, U.S. General and President, 1890-1969

Use of the Library

I obviously read a lot of books. I cannot afford, and don't want to own, every book I read. Some books I truly love and will read many times, and those books I enjoy owning.

Therefore I use the public library - a lot. I am lucky in that my own local library is part of a good system. I can search and reserve books online - I can see what I have checked out and what I am waiting on.

When I was younger I would spend hours wandering around the library looking at different books, trying to decide what to read. Now I spend time finding out about books on the internet and then reserve them at the library over the internet. I walk in the door and my books are ready to go!

Sometimes, the order I read books in is determined by the library - if I am on the waiting list for a popular book and my turn comes up, I only have ten days to read it after I pick it up. So that book moves to the top of the list, even if I am in the middle of another series.

Re-reading the whole series before reading the new book?

Often when a book comes out in a series that I really enjoy, I will go back and read the entire series in the months leading up to the new book. I did not do that for "Hunters of Dune" but I certainly considered it. I probably should have re-read "Heretics of Dune" and "Chapterhouse: Dune" first.

Why do I do this? First, because in a good series the plots and characters can get complicated and if I have not read the previous books recently then I will miss some of the subtle points. I find that I get more of a book in a series when I have the previous books fresh in my memory. But I also do it for the pure pleasure of reading good books and savoring them.

But there are not that many series now that I would consider doing that for - "Song of Fire and Ice" by George R.R. Martin, the "Harry Potter" books, and after that I am not sure. I love Colleen McCollough's series on Caesar and the Romans but I am pretty sure it is complete - I will definitely read that again whether a new one comes out or not.

Thought for the Day

"In a very real sense, people who have read good literaturehave lived more than people who cannot or will not read.It is not true that we have only one life to lead; if we can read,we can live as many more lives and as many kinds of lives as we wish."

~ S. I. Hayakawa ~

What am I reading now?

"Wolves of the Calla" by Stephen King - the fifth book of the Dark Tower series.

Back on track with Roland and company!!

Review "Hunters of Dune" by Brian Herbert

"Hunters of Dune" by Brian Herbert is the 'lost' sixth book of the Dune series. After finishing the first five books Frank Herbert passed away. According to the story, his son found a safe deposit box some time later that contained outlines and notes for the remaining books of the original Dune series.

"Hunters" picks up the story where "Chapterhouse: Dune" left off. Sheena and Duncan Idaho have stolen a no-ship and escaped from Chapterhouse with an oddly assorted crew. Back on Chapterhouse, Murabella works to unite the Bene Gesserit and Honored Matres before the arrival of the mysterious Enemy.

The book has all the complicated political intrigue that Dune fans have come to expect. While I feel that it may lack some of the depth of Frank Herbert's writing, the book is better than the Dune 'prequel' books written by Brian Herbert. The motivations, plots and schemes of the different factions are well described and the characters (old and new) are well developed.

If you are big fan of the original Dune series then go grab this book immediately and start reading. If you have never read the original, then I highly recommend reading that before you go read anything else - it is still a great and powerful book.

Frank Herbert's Vision

"Dune" is the best selling science fiction book of all time and the series is the best selling science fiction series of all time. But more than an entertaining story, Frank Herbert created a world where he really thought about the future of humankind. That is what I like best about Dune.

"Beyond a critical point within a finite space, freedom diminishes as numbers increase. ...The human question is not how many can possibly survive within the system, but what kind of existence is possible for those who do survive." - Dune by Frank Herbert

The statement above indicates the kind of deep thought Frank Herbert put into all his work, especially the Dune series. I came across the following description of the themes of his work and I thought it was very accurate, so I am pasting the text and the link below.

Ideas and themes

Quotation

"I think science fiction does help, and it points in very interesting directions. It points in relativistic directions. It says that we have the imagination for these other opportunities, these other choices. We tend to tie ourselves down to limited choices. We say, "Well, the only answer is...." or, "If you would just. . . ." Whatever follows these two statements narrows the choices right there. It gets the vision right down close to the ground so that you don't see anything happening outside. Humans tend not to see over a long range. Now we are required, in these generations, to have a longer range view of what we inflict on the world around us. This is where, I think, science fiction is helping. I don't think that the mere writing of such a book as Brave New World or 1984 prevents those things which are portrayed in those books from happening. But I do think they alert us to that possibility and make that possibility less likely. They make us aware that we may be going in that direction."
Frank Herbert

There are a number of key themes in Herbert's work:

• A concern with Leadership. He especially explored the human tendency for human beings to follow charismatic leaders slavishly. He delved deeply into both the flaws and potentials of bureaucracy and government.
• Herbert was probably the first science fictioauthor totpopularizeee ideas about Ecology and Systems Thinking. He stressed the need for humans to think both systematically and long term.
• The relationship between religion, politics and power.
• Human survival and evolution: Herbert writes of the Fremen, the Sardaukar, and the Dosadi, who are molded by their terrible living conditions into dangerous super-races.
  Human possibilities and potential: Herbert offered Mentats, the Bene Gesserit and the Bene Tleilax as different visions of human possibilities.
• The nature of sanity and madness. Frank Herbert was interested in the work of Thomas Szasz and the anti-psychiatry movement. Often, Herbert questions, "What is sane?", and while there are clearly insanebehaviorss and psychopathies as evinced by characters, for example, Piter De Vries, it is often suggested that "normal" and "abnormal" are relative terms which humans are sometimes ill-equipped to apply to one another, especially on the basis of statistical regularity.
• The possible effects and consequences of consciousness altering chemicals, such as Spice in the Dune saga.
• How language shapes thought. More specifically, Frank Herbert was influenced by Alfred Korzybski's General Semantics.
• Sociobiology. How our instincts unconsciously influence ourbehaviorr and society.
  Learning, teaching and thinking.
• Frank Herbert carefully refrained from offering his readers firm answers to many of the questions he explored.

from the Wikipedia page on Frank Herbert:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Herbert

Thought for the Day

"I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past, I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain. "
Bene Gesserit Litany Against Fear.

from "Dune" By Frank Herbert

Thoughts on...........Dune

Since I am reading "Hunters of Dune", it is an appropriate time for some comments about the entire Dune series.

I believe that "Dune" is the science-fiction equivalent of the "Lord of the Rings." It is an amazing story with original and memorable characters. It is a vision of a distant future which is crafted with real foresight and deep thought. How would humans and human society evolve if, at some point we decided to do less with computers and truly forced ourselves to use our brains and our innate abilities more? And what if, over many generations, these abilities were carefully bred to increase their potentcy, at the same time the training for the human mind was refined in many areas.

The essence of the story: thousands of years in the future, mankind has banned 'thinking machines' and learned to live without them. A mysterious order of women (the Bene Gesserit) have been carefully breeding bloodlines for years to create a super being - and they think that person might be young Paul Atridies. In a galaxy organized along feudal lines (an emperor and royal family rule everyone with Dukes and Barons running solar systems), Paul's family is assigned to the most important planet of all - Dune. Dune is the source of a spice which has amazing properties - it allows some to see the future, unlock super abilities, move spacecraft long distances through space, etc. Soon Paul is thrown into a whirlwind of intrigue and assassination....


The books so far:
1) "Dune". The original. If you want to read a great book, just read this one. You don't have to read the whole series. Brilliant and creative.

2) "Dune Messiah" - takes the plot from the first book and attempts to explain why some things happened - shows the deeper plans and motivations behind the action of the first book.

3) "Children of Dune" - Paul's children come into their own amazing powers.

4) "God Emperor of Dune" - Paul's son Leto II becomes the God Emperor and reigns over the galaxy for three thousand years.... This was honestly my least favorite of the series. But it is still worth reading.

5) "Heretics of Dune" - Much more like the first book - multiple factions fighting for power and survival - making alliances, double-crossing each other, etc.

6) "Chapterhouse Dune" - A continuation of the events and characters from "Heretics" - new enemies arrive and none can oppose them.

7) "Hunters of Dune"

I have read some of the prequel books by Brian Herbert and I just don't enjoy them nearly as much as I do the original series. They seem to lack a depth and intensity that the original books had. Brian Herbert's Dune prequels seem to be ordinary sci-fi space opera stuff - and not the great, visionary writing of his father.