September 2021 – Pages to Remember

Review for Dune

Dune by Frank Herbert

Genre – Science Fiction, Adventure, Political

Series – 1st in the Dune series

Rating – PG-13 for skirmishes, battles, and betrayal

Well folks, I’ve finished Dune a few days ago and it has been rolling around in my head. I picked this up at the library, sort of spur of the moment situation; I saw it sitting on the shelf and recalled that they were making a movie out of it. So I figured I’d give it a shot. This year has been my sci-fi year, am I right??

I went into it thinking it was going to be Tolkienesque with lots of descriptions and perhaps some dry bits. So, I was pleasantly surprised when Herbert was able to draw me into the story within a few chapters. Let me just say, Herbert’s word building is incredible. He masterfully creates a world that is different from our own, but also relatable. Arrakis sounds awful, but also has a natural beauty that I didn’t appreciate at first. You are drawn into his universe and yet, he doesn’t overwhelm you with ton of details at the start. He slowly builds the story.

Now, I’m torn about the characters. The characters I was drawn to were more minor, except for Paul. Paul started out really interesting with his Bene Gesserit training and visions of the future. I also liked that he was wrong on occasion despite all his wisdom. But later on once he realized he was Muad’dib he become less connectable. And I didn’t like him as much. He was a brilliant military strategist and I liked his friendship with Stilgar! In fact Stilgar was one of my favorite characters. He was a noble leader and cared for his people.

I also liked Duke Leto and Jessica to an extent. They made an interesting couple. The Emperor put him in tight position and he did the best he could. It would be interesting to see if Leto knew he would be betrayed? Chani was ok, didn’t really connect with her. Duncan Idaho went up in my opinion with his sacrifice. Wish he was in it a bit more.

Plot-wise, the best part for me was the survival in the desert. I love survival stories and this was neat to see how they conserved water. Also, the worms, loved how the Freman rode them. One of the reasons why I love sci-fi is seeing the creatures and worlds the authors create.

The main concern I had was the whole new age thing the Bene Gesserit taught. Very force like from Star Wars. I mean I get when you create a world, you sometimes create new religions, but it messed so many together, it got very convoluted in my opinion. Also, wasn’t a fan of the joined consciousnesses that Jessica did with the Reverend Mother. It just left a bad taste in my mouth. Coming from a Christian background, I don’t agree with many of the author’s ideas. Especially the stuff about being one with the world. I believe we are only here on this world for a little while and our job is to glorify the Creator.

Content – Language is pretty minimal, only a few mild choice words. Violence is pretty typical of a fantasy movie, we do see several characters poisoned. Several die by knife wounds. There are references to concubines. Mostly used as statement of fact, we don’t get details thankfully.

Conclusion –

How to sum it all up? Its an interesting novel, with some political intrigue as well as a journey. I can see how this classic has influenced other sci-fi movies. I liked it a lot more then I had thought I would. Stayed engaged and interested in the plot to finish. I am curious to see what they do with the movie.

So, have any of you read Dune? What were your thoughts?

Up Next – I’m rereading The Book Thief!

Anna

Tolkien Blog Party!!

Hello one and all! I’m so exciting to be participating in the Tolkien Blog Party hosted by Hamlette over at https://theedgeoftheprecipice.blogspot.com/. What a fun way to kick off fall! I did the tag last year and had so much fun seeing how other people answered the tag. This year Hamlette has some great questions focusing on the number 9, some are quite tricky to answer.

So let’s get started shall we!!

1. Aragorn: Favorite Tolkien hero/heroine –

Alright, so I have two! 😉 The first being Aragorn. I fell for his character the first time I read the books; his mysterious appearance and willingness to support Frodo. Plus, he made such a great king. He fought for what was right and showed courage in the darkest night. Viggo Mortenson was spot on with his character. I absolutely love the army of the dead scene!

My second fav is Bilbo, particularly the movie version! Martin Freeman does such a great job portraying a homebody who loves all the comfort of home. And his facial expressions are fantastic. You feel for Bilbo and truly want him to become a part of the dwarf group. Plus, he is an amazing poet which I wished they showed more of in the movies.

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2. Boromir: Favorite Tolkien character arc –

I’ve been mulling two in particular, but I’m going to go with the more canonical one – Faramir. When I read the Lord of the Rings last year, the chapter House of Healing really struck me. I had forgotten much of it and loved Faramir and Eowyn’s relationship. The book version of Faramir goes a lot deeper and shows him a more upright man then the movies do. He goes from this Robin Hood type character to becoming royalty. He goes through quite the learning curve while with Frodo.

3. Frodo: Favorite song or poem by Tolkien –

In Western lands beneath the Sun the flowers may rise in spring,

the trees may bud, the waters run, the merry finches sing.

Or there maybe ’tis cloudless might and swaying beeches bear

the Elven-stars as jewels white amid their branching hair.

A long time ago I stumbled across an audiobook of the Lord of the Rings. They sang many of the poems and they had set this piece to music. I adored it then and still do!

4. Gandalf: Favorite wise Tolkien quotation –

“In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit. Not a nasty, dirty, wet hole, filled with the ends of worms and an oozy smell, nor yet a dry, bare, sandy hole with nothing in it to sit down on or to eat: it was a hobbit-hold, and that means comfort.”

“I wish it need not have happened in my time,” said Frodo.
“So do I,” said Gandalf, “and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.”

5. Gimli: A Middle-earth location you’d like to visit –

arrow archery and arrow archery and bow kép

Ugh, there are so many! Well, I’ve been thinking about the Hobbit recently, and I think it would be fun to visit the Lonely Mountain and city of Dale before the dragon of course.

6. Legolas: Favorite Middle-earth Weapon –

To be honest, I’ve always wanted to learn how to shoot a bow and arrow. I mean Legolas makes it look so easy! Despite the inaccuracy of him always having enough arrows. 😉

7. Merry: Favorite way to celebrate Tolkien’s stories –

Rereading the books is always a good way to go or a re-watch of the movies. Recently I have to discovered a new way to celebrate … listening to the Friendship Onion podcast!!! Billy Boyd and Dom Monaghan host a new podcast where they discuss life and the Lord of the Rings. They make me crack up so much! It has literally made my Tuesdays so much better!

8. Pippin: Favorite funny Tolkien quotation –

“Fool of a Took!” he growled. “This is a serious journey, not a hobbit walking-party. Throw yourself in next time, and then you will be no further nuisance.”

“Sorry! I don’t want any adventures, thank you. Not Today. Good morning! But please come to tea -any time you like! Why not tomorrow? Good bye!

9. Samwise: A Middle-earth food you’d like to try –

There is so much to pick from! I would love to try Sam’s Potatoes! I’m a big fan of anything potato and would love to see how he cooks them. But a dinner with Tom Bombadil would also be lovely! Anybody else curious about what Lembas would taste like??

Well that’s all that I have folks! Hope you are enjoying the blog party! Happy first day of fall!!

Anna

End of Summer Books

Hello friends!

I hope you all have enjoyed your summer! This year it felt like it especially went by fast. I love summer! The swimming, picnics, campfires, walks, ice cream, and of course 4th of July! I did a fair amount of reading as well! My favorite summer read has been Project Hail Mary which I’ve previously talked about.

Today, I wanted to talk about two books I’ve recently finished that I enjoyed, but didn’t quite cut it for me. They fell a little short, but there are some good things in each. Also, both are somewhat summery which fits.

Season 8 Running GIF by Brooklyn Nine-Nine

Let’s get started shall we!

This Won’t End Well has an interesting premise. Annie quits her job after an incident with a coworker made her realize the truth about him. Right after this her fiance, Jon, suddenly leaves for France only telling her on the way to the airport. For good measure we have a mysterious neighbor who does some odd things which cause Annie to investigate. Throughout the book Annie makes several discoveries about herself and realizes she needs to make changes.

I liked several things in this novel. First, Annie cares very much about her mom and currently lives with her due to her mom’s health problems. There is a touching moment at the end where both Annie and her mom tell each other the truth. I also loved Harper the next door neighbor. I found her character hilarious and quirky. Naming her dog, dog! 😉 Also, have to give a shout out to Viola, the next door neighbor, who spoke some much needed wisdom Annie.

Sadly, there were several times when Annie really got on nerves. Her indecision and lies to the neighbor. Also, Jon was no better. Like why would you leave 4 months before your wedding?? Plus, wanting no communication with your fiance? Glad they split amicable though. Now I did like Moe at first, but then later on when we found out why he was spying on Annie, he went way down in my estimation. Even at the end, I kinda wish the author would have left Annie single.

The plot was a bit predictable at times, I mean most Rom-coms are, but the author threw a few surprises in. The main thing that kept me reading, was the whole who Harper was. Her and Annie’s friendship was fun to read. Also, the Moe the private investigator was different and I didn’t see that coming.

As far as summer reading goes, This Won’t End Well was light and breezy. Had some cute moments, but nothing deep. Good book for the beach!

Now on to Ember’s End!

I discovered the Ember series several years ago and liked how Smith created a world around rabbits. For middle-grade fiction, he packs some good themes into his writing: Perseverance, Forgiveness, Family, & Loyalty to name a few.

This latest and last book in the series came out last year. For some reason I didn’t have an interest in reading it for the longest time. Kinda put it on the back burner. But, a few weeks ago, I was looking in the MG section at the library and saw it sitting there and knew I should go for it. Cannot leave Heather and Smalls stuck in a pit. 😉

Overall, Ember’s End was a decent conclusion to the series! Our characters have matured and changed throughout the 4 books which I appreciated. We see many heroic acts of bravery in front of certain doom. We also get to see Heather and Smalls romance bloom, while Picket become quite a leader. There were several rousing speeches before a battle that were inspiring.

Yet, it felt a wee bit off to me. Maybe it was all the battles which took up a good chunk of the book. I’m not sure. This last book in particular felt very predictable. I saw the ending from a long way off. *Spoiler Alert** I almost wish Heather and Smalls would have died in the tunnel. It would have made their victory so much sweeter. *End of Spoiler **

The plot was a bit slower then some of the previous books, part of this I think was due to the big battle sequences. We see the rabbits parry and thrust quite a bit which slows the pacing. I mean we needed a big battle to defeat the birds, but maybe could have been smoother.

I do have to say I loved the addition of a dragon. Dragons seem to be in a lot of fantasy, but Smith did something a bit different with them that I really liked. That whole section was one of my favorite parts!

Ember’s End finished Heather, Picket, and Smalls’ story in beautiful way despite some bits I disliked. If you know someone who is reads MG or enjoy MG fiction yourself, this book is a good reminder to not give up when the going gets rough. Very fitting for our times.

Up Next – I’m working on Dune by Frank Herbert. Almost half-way though. 🙂

So, have you had a good summer? Do you have a favorite summer book? Have you read either of these two books? Tell me below!

Anna