Viewing the Icons

I found many of Herbert’s words disturbing, the fact that he openly used terms like jihad, Catholic Bible, sisterhood and a host of others that are clearly unimaginative. On the other hand, he crafted other beings like the mutant Guild representatives who fold space for travelers. Definitely more entertaining than Asimov, but equally doomed to repetition in the constant depiction of the Bene Gesserit and their ill conceived attempts to both raise and prevent a Kwisach Haderach. The series stretches out by transferring the worms to another planet so that Arrakis no longer becomes the only source of the spice melange.

Herbert’s work seems truer to the motif of escape fiction than Asimov and perhaps more deserving of its status. The problem with the series is its relatively undeveloped theme, which never really metamorphoses from the original novel. He establishes his worlds and never broaches any sort of interference from the unknown mysteries of the void, something that Wells and Bradbury would not have permitted to pass the fertility of their brilliant minds. The other books are simply echoes of the first, rather than explorations into insightful, crafted dimensions. Like Asimov, Herbert becomes trapped in human concepts, never taking advantage of the myriad possibilities that life demands in its infinite variety. In doing so, he deliberately limits his fine imagination to a stagnant theme and denies us his versatility. Very sad considering his energy in writing the novels, however, the milieu of the publishing world and its self-designed fallacy of mindlessly reproducing past successes is quite evident.

What we all need is greater imagination from our writers and those who wish to profit by them. Escape from the mundane or the current geopolitical horrors has never been more manifest. If ever we needed SF/F/H to make a statement, now is the time for authors to shelve the influence of the screenplay and make some lasting contributions.