Book Club in the Playground: DUNE

[Math_Mage]

So then...why does no-one know how to check for a body in this book?

Because No One Could Survive That!

[happyturtle]

I've just arrived in the US for a few weeks to visit family, so may not be online as much. If someone else can do the next couple of updates, that'd be great. I'll participate as much as I'm able.

I'm still in the US. Is anyone able to do the next update?

[turkishproverb]

Because No One Could Survive That!

And yet about 50% do!

I'm still in the US. Is anyone able to do the next update?

Not sure what kind've update you had in mind.

[happyturtle]

An overview of the next three chapters. It doesn't have to be in the silly format I was using.

[happyturtle]

Overview

Chapter 7: Lady Jessica was badass at cold reading

Jessica is sad and homesick
It's moving in day at Arrakeen
And moving sucks
Even if you do badger your friends into helping you
Jessica and Leto argue about where to hang a bull's head
"Because I'm the Duke and I said so," wins the fight
A Fremen servant named Shadout Mapes turns up
And Jessica cold reads the hell out of her
I guess she made all the right choices in the conversation tree
Because Mapes gives her a special knife
Probably +3 at least

Chapter 8: Everyone hates Yueh

Jessica is sad and homesick
Yueh slips up and calls Jessica by name
Instead of 'My Lady'
Except it was an on-purpose slip up
To make her think he was nervous because of that
Instead of because he is about to betray her family
Yueh and Jessica watch the Fremen
And they realize that water is important
Again
Oh yeah, Mapes reminded Jessica about water too
Anyone thirsty yet?
Makes me want to go run the tap
And stick my face right under it
And drink up until my belly's full
Just like little kids do

Jessica goes to look in on Paul
It's okay, because he's drugged
I mean, come on, what the flip?
He has super relaxation powers but he needs a sleeping pill?
Then they talk some more about
You guessed it
Water

And when they finish talking about water
They talk about how evil the Harkonnens are
And how sad Yueh is because his wife is gone
And how sad Jessica is because the Duke never married her
This would be a good time for an affair to break out
(In my head canon it does
Yueh drugs Paul whenever he wants to get down with Jessica
And they do it in a swimming pool, just to be extra decadent)
But instead Jessica wanders off being sad and homesick.

Comments

Boooooooooooooooring

Way too much moping and pining.

[IthilanorStPete]

Welcome back! Great summary, as usual. Not too much going on in these chapters, though the conversation with Shadout Mapes is fairly significant. The plots and schemes start really ramping up next chapter, IIRC.

EDIT: Probably the most interesting thing is the hints we get about the Bene Gesserit's Missionaria Protectiva: deliberately setting up myths and prophecies for other BG to take advantage of. Is Paul the Super Speshul Chosen One of ancient prophecy, etc., etc.? Yes: but some of that was intentionally crafted.

Spoiler: Spoilers for the rest of this book

Show

And one theme of this book is how those prophecies come back to bite the BG in the end. They got a Kwisatz Haderach, but not as they wanted.

We also see Truthsaying mentioned, I think for the first time.

[happyturtle]

Overview

Chapter 9: Muad'Dib was a good learner.

Last time, Dr Yueh drugged Paul
Only surprise! Paul totally didn't take it!
Why? Because he wants to explore the house
CRAZY REBEL!
YOU GO, BOY!
EXPLORE THAT HOUSE LIKE A BOSS!
Except before he can go, a killer mini-drone flies out of his headboard!
DEATH BED! THE BED THAT EATS PEOPLE!
But that's no problem
Remember how special Paul is?
He totally grabs that drone out of the air.
Right before it's about to kill Mapes the Fremen housekeeper!
Good old Mapes gives Paul his quest reward.
"There's a traitor in your midst. We Fremen know this."
The Harkonnens are the WORST SECRET-KEEPERS EVER!

Chapter 10: Irulan, mountains DO NOT WORK THAT WAY!

Jessica finds an airlock in the house.
She goes inside to find a wet climate garden!
Which means it's time for - you guessed it!
TIME TO THINK ABOUT WATER!
Jessica searches the room and finds a quest message
It says, "Paul's bed is DEATH BED.
Also, there's a traitor among you.
I'm including that bit in case Paul let the NPC get killed before she delivered the same message.
Love, Margot Fenrig.
PS: I'm a Bene Gesserit like Jessica, but I only appear in one scene in this book, so you can forget my name."

Just then Paul rushes in
And Jessica and Paul share information
They try to figure out who the traitor is
But decide that the Atreides are so beloved
That there can't possibly be a traitor at all

Chapter 11: Irulan says something even stupider than the mountain thing

Duke Atreides is angry that the Harkonnens tried to kill Paul

Chapter 12: Pray for Arrakis

The Duke is angry at Duncan Idaho for not finding the killer drone
Paul says, naw, man, Duncan's cool.
Duncan Idaho doesn't agree, and tries to resign.
Duke says shut up and call the meeting
Because I need each of you Duncans to crap out an INFODUMP!

A Fremen named Stilgar wanders into the meeting after the dumpage
Who got past the guards by rolling high on his Dramatic Entrance
He spits on the table
And everyone wants to kill him!
Until Duncan Idaho says something something WATER
Now we're SPIT BROTHERS!
Duke says, 'Not so fast. We need at least one more infodump before this chapter ends'
And that's when Paul realizes his father really is doomed.

Comments

* Irulan thinks Duke Leto intended to get killed to make a better life for Paul?!

1. Go to strange, deadly planet
2. Get myself and most of my entourage killed
3. ???
4. And then Paul lives happily ever after

Leto, your secret plan SUCKS!

* My Kindle says 28 people highlighted that gibberish about not being able to see a mountain if you're at the top of it. I can only guess that Irulan and 28 other people have never been hiking before.

* How the heck did the Fremen find out there was a traitor? Did the Baron call them to personally gloat?

* "Hey guys, we've had lots of warnings that someone is going to betray us! Do you think we should check up on that?" "Naah."

* MAJOR infodumpage in Chapter 12, the clumsiest yet.

[IthilanorStPete]

Enjoyed the summary, as usual. Will post my comments when I've got some free time.

[turkishproverb]

I agree that Leto's plan was horrible, but then when aren't his ideas bad? Everything he tries seems at-best overly optimistic, and from a guy who thinks he's aware he's trapped.

[happyturtle]

I don't think that was actually Leto's plan though. That's just what Irulan says about him. Leto's plan was to be able to meet the Sardauker troops with Fremen troops, get proof of the Sardauker involvement, and take it to the other Great Houses - or at least blackmail the Emperor. He wants Paul to think of Dune as home, but that's because he expects Atreides to remain their in command at Arrakis.

[Wardog]

Overview
Paul is also friends with Dr Yueh,
The dude who is about to betray him.

Chapter 5: Dr Yueh = Traitor

But Dr Yueh just gives him homework
And thinks about how sad it is that he has to betray Paul

You could make a Dune drinking game.

Take a drink every time the narrative foreshadows (or outright states) that Yueh is going to betray Paul. (Including every time a character says "We don't know who the traitor is but it definitely isn't Yueh".

You could get pretty drunk from just that, even without adding other rules like "when the Harkkonens do something purely to show how evil they are" or (and I'd forgotten this one until reading happyturtle's summaries) "every time its mentioned how special Paul is".

[Artemis97]

However, DON'T drink when the importance of water is mentioned. Have something salty to make yourself thirsty and reinforce the message.

[IthilanorStPete]

Well, at least something happened in these chapters...and then everyone spent a bunch of time talking about it and dumping exposition. I like the scene with the hunter-seeker; gives us some action and tension. Chapter 12's exposition is clunky, but vital, as we get our first mention of Liet. Stilgar's introduction is a solid scene, though the importance of water would probably feel more meaningful if they hadn't spent so much time talking about it already.

[turkishproverb]

You could make a Dune drinking game.

Take a drink every time the narrative foreshadows (or outright states) that Yueh is going to betray Paul. (Including every time a character says "We don't know who the traitor is but it definitely isn't Yueh".

You could get pretty drunk from just that, even without adding other rules like "when the Harkkonens do something purely to show how evil they are" or (and I'd forgotten this one until reading happyturtle's summaries) "every time its mentioned how special Paul is".

You could kill someone with he first rule alone.



Still confused by the way sheilds work a bit, but only because they're not helpful against the storms.

[russdm]

Shields apparently block fast moving objects, but if you move slowly, you can pass weapons through. As a bonus, if you shoot a shield with a lasgun, you get a nuclear explosion. Shield + Laser = BOOM!!

As for Yueh:

He is trying to save his wife from being killed by the Baron and I think his training was broken because nothing he knew was able to help her. A case of "Doctor, Heal thy wife" and he couldn't; I can see that compelling him to engage in betrayal. Plus, there is some question that Yueh wants revenge on the Baron.

Duke Leto:

He planned to enlist the Fremen to fight against the Emperor's troops, because he had previously embarrassed the Emperor, while the emperor is unable to act because he needs to declare Kanly and the Emperor is not supposed to or something. So he gives troops to the Baron, who can attack the Duke without the other noble houses getting upset.

Basically, If the Emperor destroys a noble house, the rest of the noble houses will believe that the Emperor is going to kill them so they may rise up in rebel or some other issue. It sucks being the emperor.

[happyturtle]

Threatening a loved one is standard operating procedure when you want to force someone to do something that they do not want to do! If that's the point where your special conditioning breaks, then it's about as binding as a pinky-swear.

[russdm]

Threatening a loved one is standard operating procedure when you want to force someone to do something that they do not want to do! If that's the point where your special conditioning breaks, then it's about as binding as a pinky-swear.

I think that his wife got infected with something that he should have been able to heal or cure, when he couldn't, the baron approached him (Having infected her) and offered up the cure in exchange for Yueh's treachery.

The only other solution is that Yueh and his wife were captured and they were tortured, but torture doesn't ever work so it makes no sense.

Maybe one of the other books explains what really happened, though I am not sure if it does ever.

[BannedInSchool]

The first two novels were initially serialized in an SF magazine (now called Analog and may have been Astounding at the time) and as I heard it John Campbell, the editor, rode Herbert mercilessly with rewrites. So the original serialized nature may have something to with the novel seemingly repeating itself, and having an firm editor may explain the greater (IMO) quality of the first two novels.