Sci Fi Stories and Authors – The Sons and Daughters of the Grand Masters

by StevieVee on January 21, 2010

Being Born on the Border of an Alternate Universe…

Probably the most challenging goal one could set for their entire life would be to step into their father’s or mother’s footsteps on the road to greatness – especially when your genitor happens to be author of THE most respected Masters of Science Fiction stories of all time.

It is not easy to be a great Sci Fi writer in any circumstance, but when the burden of previous ancestor hangs on the walls all around the house or sits on the chimney in the form of Nebula Awards, Hugo Awards – to mention just two of the most prominent achievements in sci fi, at least the most well known… it is tough indeed!

Long after the ink has dried, what seems like even an ice age after the pen writes its last…to really overcome all these odds and to truly be yourself, while perhaps still following the same paths in the same imaginary worlds… can you imagine the difficulty?  Yet, how could one be surrounded with such wonder and fantasy, and not be deeply touched?

I want to take you back, again, after being mesmerized by this thought…to peer into these lives of the children of the great ones, and find a tale or two…

Consider Anne McCaffrey’s son – Todd McCaffrey… and Frank Herbert’s son – Brian Herbert (again, to mention only two of many successful heirs) to succeed at such a task?  To write novels like that…is it even possible for these offspring?

It is my best guess they must be out of this world. They’re not necessarily aliens or anything like that, but for sure they have been born under the light of a different sun (metaphorically speaking.)

The Universe of Dune, sequels and prequels to the Dune series by Frank Herbert

Obviously, the other one to talk about here would be Brian Herbert, who has now written a lot of Dune novels, co-authored with Kevin J. Anderson.

Brian Patrick Herbert

Brian Patrick Herbert, co-author of the Dune novels

Brian Patrick Herbert is the elder son of Frank Herbert the famed science fiction author of the Dune series. Brian was born June 29, 1947 – when his father was 27. He lives in Washington state.

Brian co-authored with his own father the sci fi novel “Man of Two Worlds.”

Later on, he worked closely with Sci Fi author Kevin Anderson, producing both their own unique visions into the Duniverse, through the prequel trilogies

  • Prelude to Dune (Dune: House Atreides published 1999, Dune: House Harkonnen in 2000 and Dune: House Corrino – 2001) and
  • Legends of Dune (Dune: The Butlerian Jihad in 2002, Dune: The Machine Crusade in 2003 and Dune: The Battle of Corrin published 2004)

as well as a sequel to his father’s series, based on Frank Herbert’s own notes for a Dune 7 follow up – yet never written by him due to his death in 1986

  • Dune 7 (Hunters of Dune in 2006 and Sandworms of Dune published 2007)

Apart from these, there are a few more stories they worked together and the new plan they have for an “interquel” taking place starting sometime after the events in ‘Dune’ and the ones depicted in ‘Dune Messiah.’

The title for the planned series is Heroes of Dune.

As far as I know, they only published in 2008 the first of four novels: Paul of Dune

There are at least three more planned to be written: Jessica of Dune, Irulan of Dune and Leto of Dune. However, there were recent changes in their plans, so at least the 2nd and 3rd titles were changed to The Winds of Dune and The Throne of Dune.

If these are here to stay or even if they will see the press, only time will tell – I have no prescient powers, as the God-Emperor of Dune had, he, he…

BUT

One thing I know for sure.

Frank Herbert can be proud of his son’s achievements. The Universe of Dune is expanding as we see and there are no signs yet of stopping.  The Dune wars continue, thanks to Brian’s talents.

I’m just as curious to see what’s next and to read the one that is coming soon. Ohhh… loving Sci Fi hurts!

The Universe of Pern, prequels to the Dragonriders series by AnneMcCaffrey

Now here comes the youngest son of AnneMcCaffrey: Todd Johnson (born in 1956) – who obviously used his mother’s name later on to publish either his own (outside of Pern’s world) original sci fi stories, or the dragon inspired ones.

Todd McCaffrey has joined forces with his mother, Anne McCaffrey

Todd McCaffrey signing his sci fi book

He started by co-authoring Dragon’s Kin (published 2003) with his own mother – excellent idea!

The action on this one (as well as the others he wrote later) is taking place a couple millennia before Anne’s “Dragonriders of Pern” or “The White Dragon“. We are in fact in the era of Pern’s step-sister planet (The Red Star) Third Pass on Pern.

Later on, Todd J. McCaffrey wrote Dragonsblood (published 2005) all by himself while one year later (2006), he wrote Dragon’s Fire co-authored again with AnneMcCaffrey.

There are many stories that I would expect to read – pouring in a thin thread from Todd McCaffrey’s skilled pen onto the paper. Although there were no Historians in the world of Pern imagined by AnneMcCafrey, there was still Harpers and their guild. And Todd is obviously the most recent Masterharper of Pern! One more heir to be proud of as a parent in the world of Sci Fi authors. What’s ahead of us now?

The Universe of Pern, the Dragonriders series by AnneMcCaffrey on the big screen?

Hot news are spreading that we will soon see a Pern inspired Dragons movie!

I, for one, can hardly wait. The experience with 3D Avatar in 2009 made me think that Banshees there were directly inspired by the mighty dragons of Pern.

If those looked so great… imagine how a world like Pern would look like in 3D IMAX: the bronze or brown Dragons fighting Thread, Menolly singing ballads, Jaxom thorn between (sic!) holder and dragonrider while jumping between North and South Pernese continents with his companion Ruth the white dragon to find his love on the beach of the Cove Hold (sort of a pristine Blue Lagoon, he, he…), his future to be Lady Sharra. Should I go on?…

StevieVee, seeking a starship back to his home Universe…

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Bene Gesserit Litany Against Fear – “Without fear, I die but once”

by StevieVee on January 10, 2010

Frank Herbert’s Bene Gesserit’s Reverend Mother and the Dune Universe Saga Best Known Fear Quote

The Litany Against Fear is nowadays recited by students, scribbled on quote books, tattooed on young bodies and taught at poetry classes.  How come, you wonder? A fear of flying, perhaps? His other stories come more at the end of top 10 lists than this one, yet the gem of every sci fi fan’s top 10 list is one with Dune and a plan for one to read it ten times or more.

Well, first of all Frank Herbert’s Dune Novel and subsequent trilogies in the Duniverse is undoubtedly one of the most amazing science fiction literature pieces of work ever written. How other could I describe it? Hey, it would be sin just to own this book and not plan its time in the spotlight.  It is daredevil amazing.

Herbert’s febrile spirit not only depicted fantastic worlds, epic characters and strange technologies, but he most thoroughly imagined a second stage, a historical, philosophical and religious canvas on which he painted all his stories.

fear is the mind killer

fear is the mind killer

The Bene Gesserit, The Tleilaxu, The Fremen, The Sardaukars, The Imperial House Corrino and the always enemies House Atreides and Harkonnen make a good plot for a Sci Fi novel of huge epic proportions, but the wisdom is in the all present quotations from various ancient sources that preface every chapter of Dune books.  Old, one might say, but this year I think we should acknowledge that Litany Against Fear is a real quote to make a significant impact on our culture.

I was a student when I first encountered one of the novels in the second trilogy – Chapterhouse Dune.  As a matter of fact, come to think of it… it is the last in the six books of Dune series.

So I kinda started reading from the end back to the beginnings, he, he… But later on – a leap forward in time – I managed to get a hold of the complete saga and started to read them properly, from the first one to the last in…less than six days I believe!!!

It was not longer that a band from Sweden, Amon Amarth, caught my attention, but I digress…

As a result, I had to read again… and again… devouring all I could get a hold of:

  • I read them 5 times by now.
  • I watched a movie: Dune (1984) – director David Lynch
  • And another TV mini series Dune (2000) directed by John Harrison, launched in Germany as ‘”Frank Herbert’s Dune – Der Wüstenplanet”

Time and time again, whenever I come back to my love (Dune) I read with the same awe and thirst.

Oh, I forgot to mention, I even played the first Dune PC game launched in 1992 by Virgin Interactive for DOS operating systems.
To be honest, I played it with my son when he was 5 years old, only in 1996… or was it 1995?  Who cares!  At that time it was like magic!
The only thing that I couldn’t yet add to my Sci Fi collection is the very rare by now audio track album Dune: Spice Opera (artists Stéphane Picq and Philip Ulrich if i recall correctly.)

But I read a lot of other books and epic space operas and watched movies ever since.

What is then, so impressive about Frank Herbert’s Dune?

Well, for me it was mostly the wisdom.  There is a lot of action, there are a lot of dialogs… but those pieces of thinking diamonds hidden between the books covers… that is something I will always remember.

The Litany Against Fear

Let’s digg into the history before the era of the first Dune novel:

“I have no fear, for fear is the little death that kills me over and over. Without fear, I die but once!”

- ancient form of the Litany Against Fear from The City of Introspection monastic retreat outside of Zimia (before the Butlerian Jihad.)

In my honest opinion, this is THE most comprehensive of them, very concise and full of wisdom.  Try to recite it yourself.  It focuses your mind and frees you of any fears indeed.  You feel a new drive inside you and a wave of confidence rising and bursting to surface your consciousness.

BUT

This is hard to find, as in fact, later on in Dune’s saga, The Bene Gesserit sisters were using a different (longer) form, the same one that young Paul Atreides – the son of Duke Leto Atreides I (future to be Muad’Dib and secretly unknown yet Kwisatz Haderach) -  have used when the Reverend Mother Gaius Helen Mohiam compelled him to put his right hand in a device (gom jabbar) that was causing pain – as a test of his intellect and a proof of being ‘truly human’.

The litany helped Paul at that time to withstand the excruciating agony:

“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.”

Now, you read again, try to focus and do not let anything else to disturb you…

Read loud:

“I must not fear.
Fear is the mind-killer.
Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration.”

Now brace yourself…

“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.”

And clear your mind:

“Where the fear has gone there will be nothing.
Only I will remain.”

This is what Dune is all about…  not necessarily the action, but the spirituality.  That is why I love this saga.

That’s why this flyer was not full of rage, because a memory, a voice…something of amon, a person, a bundler…these visions filled my head…

I think I may even drink the tattoo ink and thus let the Litany Against Fear spread from inside my body out to my skin like Leto II the son of Paul Atreides Muad’Dib let the sandtrout cover his skin and became a human sandworm and ultimately God-Emperor of Dune for over 3500 years.  Whoaaa!

I’m part success because the things in top control cannot control me….

StevieVee in a prescient dream vision…

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Memorable Star Wars Yoda Quotes and Stories

January 6, 2010

“There Is No Try.”
One of the most famous Yoda quotes…
Yoda, that lovable little guy whose strength flows from the Force and not his biceps, spent all his time trying to keep Luke and the other Skywalkers away from the dark side, and what a job it was…
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Avatar Unobtainium Cheaper Than Dune Spice Melange?

January 2, 2010

James Cameron’s Avatar Movie 2009 is somewhat of a twisted Frank Herbert’s Dune in the jungle…
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December 29, 2009

“The White Dragon” by Anne McCaffrey – the little Dragon that could…
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Avatar The Movie 2009 and 2010 Best Sci Fi Movie For Now

December 23, 2009

“Avatar” Movie 2009 (and 2010) – James Cameron to Set The New Frontiers…
Why does it say Avatar Movie 2010 in the title when we’re talking about Avatar The Movie 2009? Has Cameron gone off his rocker?
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Great Sci Fi Novels – The Andromeda Strain – by Michael Crichton – Part 2

December 18, 2009

Michael Crichton and “The Andromeda Strain”
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The White Dragon by Anne McCaffrey – The Dragonriders of Pern Series – Part 1

December 17, 2009

“The White Dragon” by Anne McCaffrey – the little Dragon that could…
This is a story about a novel, by a master writer, who i had love at first read, who helped me discover the depth and magic of character, and guide me on my scifi journey…
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Sigourney Weaver Avatar Performance Best In 30 Years Since Alien

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Sigourney Weaver Pushing Back Alien Frontiers Again in James Cameron’s Avatar Movie…
“The MOST ambitious movie I have ever been associated with..” said Sigourney Weaver – three times Oscar nominee – who plays Dr. Grace Augustine in James Cameron’s Avatar Movie released for the first time on Dec 18th, 2009.
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Sci Fi Novels – a Book That Changed My Life – Part 1

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Michael Crichton and “The Andromeda Strain”
Back in 1978 I was just a seventh grader with no idea about sci fi novels.  In fact, Michael Crichton’s “The Andromeda Strain” sci fi book was my first encounter with the world of science fiction books, but it rocked my world like nothing else.
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