Streaksy wrote:I stopped reading the "new" books after the first two or three. They're of a very different callibre and it all seemed very arbitrary and cashcow-ish. If the son and Anderson have messed up the Dune timeline then I'm not surprised at all. I can't remember any parts of their books that "felt" right or even uncontrary. It all felt very Hercules/Xena low-budget, if you know what I mean. I don't think Brian has yet earned the right to continue his father's work, harsh as that sounds. I haven't read the finale and I never will, as I consider the work of the son and Anderson to be inferior fan-fiction. Hope that doesn't sound too awful.
(I especially loved the "...or even uncontrary" phrase. Puts it perfectly! )
It's not harsh or awful at all: Brian had (has?) a really strong sibling rivalry with his father's Dune books. (How messed up is that? He's lived most of his life jealous of a bunch of books!) He didn't even really read Dune until late in life. (And he loaned out his signed copy of the book and has (had?) a request posted on the Dune Novels webshite asking for its return. )
The Herberts & Merritts have made the mistake of thinking that owning the copyright to the books earned them the right to continue the series. Legally, no one can stop them. But it appears that the moral verdict rendered by the court of public opinion is going to be different, judging from the continuing lagging sales of their books.