Comments by "Thurso Berwick" (@thursoberwick1948) on "Dune's Writing is Incredible. Here's why." video.

  1. He's a science fiction writer, it's fashionable to attack them.
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  2. The litany of fear is a great piece of writing, almost like scripture.
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  3.  @scottr2279  I think he churned too many Dune books out, but when he's good, he's good.
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  4. You've got him muddled up with François Hubert, the author of 《le Dune》, about Jean-Paul Atreîde who settles on a planet called Arraques.
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  5. I did feel that way. The next books had great ideas but were not so lived in.
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  6. So, he has issues as a writer? They all do, even greats like Hemingway and Dickens. I see Herbert as more of an ideas man than a stylist though.
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  7. Which aspect of people's writing annoys you most as a dyslexic?
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  8.  @jamesbailey5350  I find it owes more to Shi'ism and Sufism than the NT.
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  9.  @jamesbailey5350  I think the Messianic elements are more akin to Al Mahdi than Christ. Paul is a military leader, and does not teach a gospel of turning the other cheel.
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  10.  @jamesbailey5350  I've considered the Christological parallels years ago and they don't really fit. The one thing that is similar perhaps would be the lines of descent from David (two contradictory ones in Matthew and Luke respectively), and a slightly odd conception. Paul resembles Gautama more than Jesus in his royal upbringing and Mohammed more than Jesus in his warrior ethic. There is also a major element of the renaissance dynasties of Italy. I'm well aware Herbert had some RC background. Paul Atreides' name combines the New Testament with Greek mythology. St. Paul however, was not the Messiah, but a propagandist for him. The Islamic references are pretty explicit in the text, and the Fremen based on the Touareg (whose name supposedly means free men).
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  11.  @jamesbailey5350  I'm not sure what you mean by hyperliteral here. Paul is the leader of an ethnic uprising which eventually spills over to other planets. It's a very different scenario.
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  12.  @jamesbailey5350  I've been even handed, it's not an "aversion". The warrior archetype doesn't fit. Likewise the Golden Path is more in line with Chinese thought, although I can't make up my mind whether Taoism (non-action) or Confucianism (ethics) fits better here. Herbert takes from a broad cross section of religions, some Christianity but also many other elements. The Bene Gesserit seem to arise out of Catholicism for example, but with other elements thrown in.
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  13.  @jamesbailey5350  Yes, and certain orders of nuns.
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  14. Herbert is more an ideas man than a stylist.
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