DUNE

           Late yesterday afternoon, I went to see the movie Dune, Part 2. I had just completed watching Dune, Part 1 on my television. Once again, I was captivated and astounded at Frank Herbert’s vision of worlds and people far different from Earth and its inhabitants. I first read DUNE and Herbert’s subsequent DUNE books decades ago when they were initially published. I believe it was the time I devoured science fiction works by authors like Herbert, Assimov, Bradbury, Heinlein and others. Each author amazed me with his interpretation of another or future world.

          The movie also left me wondering how the individuals responsible for bringing Herbert’s visions to the screen could adapt the book in such a profound way. It was as if they had access to what I had created in my own head from Herbert’s written work. It has been rare for me to see a movie after reading the book and feel as though I’d had a conversation about it with those responsible for the movie’s creation. The only other movies where this happened were those based on Tolkien’s works. And, you’ve no idea how hesitant I was to see those movies when the books lived so vibrantly in my mind.

          After I saw the movie Dune, Part 1 when it was released, I went back and requested the book DUNE from the library. It was just as fascinating and involving that time as it had been the first. I continued to read the books that followed. Now, I’ve seen Dune, Part 2 and seriously hope there will be Dune, Parts 3, 4, 5 or however many movies it will take to complete the DUNE arc of books.    

I’ve always wanted to be a writer and have produced a wide variety of efforts, most of which I’ve deleted and/or shredded. Reading books produced by authors like Herbert can be and is very intimidating. How do these individuals come up with such a wide variety of ideas and then write about them in a way that left me feeling as though I’d actually visited, and lived for a time, in those worlds? How do they invent characters who live and breathe with such vividness? How do they create places where and people with whom I’d absolutely love to spend my life?

There are no answers, at least for me, to these questions. I know without doubt that were I to actually become a published author, I’d remain in absolute awe of authors like Herbert. This man, this author, allowed me to spend hours visiting and inhabiting a place called Dune. His books and the movies produced as a result enriched my life and leave me with a feeling of astonishment and reverence. I seriously envy published authors like Frank Herbert but am also extremely thankful for them. They’ve given me hours, nay a lifetime, of enjoyment with the ability to use my imagination to visit other places, become other people and spend many pleasurable hours doing so. Yesterday afternoon was just another instance of such entertainment for which I’m seriously appreciative.