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Title: Dreamer of Dune: The Biography of Frank Herbert by Brian Herbert ISBN: 0-7653-0646-8 Publisher: Tor Books Pub. Date: 19 April, 2003 Format: Hardcover Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $27.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.7 (10 reviews)
Rating: 3
Summary: Leto's confessions?
Comment: Not quite, although I did tire of hearing about what a rotten father Frank Herbert had been to Brian. I don't idealize Herbert and can see the need to be true to how his children experienced him, but as my other reviews indicate, I am not a fan of people bringing relentlessly into print recurrent complaints that ought to be voiced within the family, between friends, or in therapy. Nevertheless, to see the two reconciled was warming to read; both fathers and sons will appreciate many of the obstacles involved.
I was going to comment at length on the poor editing job (the main reason I only gave this book a 3) but reviewers below have already done so. An obvious catch would have been asking the author to decide between Dad, Father, Frank, and Frank Herbert. The frequent shifts made my eyes sore. (I should own up here to a negative impression going in to this biography: when I wrote the author to ask a question about Chapterhouse, he responded only with a pitch for his own serializations. This lost him a potential customer.)
Many interesting connections are drawn between Herbert's personal experiences and various themes in his books, particularly the Dune books. For those alone it's a worthy read, and may enhance your appreciation of the original series. There are also many interesting anecdotes about Herbert's life and the sense of jovial humanity that shines through in his writing.
The book is clear and very readable and organized in chronological fashion to make Herbert's life story unfold in a meaningful and easily understood order. The death of brave Beverly and the family's reactions were particularly moving, and upon hearing at one point that the author could not continue writing, I too put down the book for a moment, feeling the pain in the words.
Rating: 4
Summary: I loved it, but it's not for everyone
Comment: A reader usually does not pick up the biography of an author unless seriously interested in that writer's work. I've bought and read most of Herbert's works, and have found them uniformly fascinating and mind-expanding. What interests me most about SF writers I admire is the intellectual content--the level of depth they put into their writing--and I'm always curious about where they get their information. Unfortunately, Brian Herbert did not deliver those particular goods.
That said, I gave this book four stars because it moved me. This was a very interesting, smart man, and his works have greatly impacted my views and my writing. He presents his father from a truly unique perspective. Perhaps Hemingway's kids wrote about life with "the great man," but otherwise I haven't seen many sons-writing-about-their-fathers books. Maybe I was just affected by the father-son dynamic of the book. (Herbert had another brother, Bruce, who was apparently estranged from his father because he was homosexual). Perhaps, if viewed from that perspective, Brian Herbert's book deserves to be called a triumph. You can read it and respond to it even if you aren't a science fiction fan.
This, then, is the story of the Herbert family, a group of itinerant travelers who centered its collective life around the father in order to ensure the success of his career-as seen through the eyes of the "number one son." There is also a remarkable love story here, that between Frank Herbert and Beverly Stuart, his wife. Fans can get some idea of this love between husband and wife by reading the postscript of Chapterhouse: Dune. The death of Beverly tugs at the heart, as does the death of the great man himself, when it comes. You can empathize with Brian Herbert and his struggles getting to know and love his brilliant, driven, and difficult-to-know father.
There are flaws with the book, though. There are many places where passages repeat. I also found it odd how Herbert would alternate between calling Frank "Dad" or "Frank Herbert." Sort of like the discomfort one might feel hearing a friend address their parents by first name instead of "Mom" or "Dad." One gets the feeling that anything the author experienced personally was attributed to "Dad" while anything the author looked up was attributed to "Frank Herbert." And, of course, the author didn't deliver the goods when it came to some of the intellectual aspects of his father's work. Everyone asks an author, "Where do you get your ideas?" Brian Herbert answers a few of these questions with regard to Dune and other stories, but not enough. I suppose one would have to read a more "lit-crit" analysis of Frank Herbert's work to know where he acquired his unique, super-cerebral style or lofty political insights. Having read a couple of Brian Herbert's books, I'm afraid he doesn't know, either. The prequels he's written have not matched the father's work, much to my dismay.
So, bottom-line, if you want a good father-son story that just happens to involve a famous author you might like, by all means, read this book. If you're looking for an intellectual analysis of this SF colossus, you will have to look elsewhere.
Rating: 4
Summary: A Sons Books About His Father
Comment: I thought this was a nice ode by Brian Herbert to his father. Some reviewers felt it was hatchet job, but all Brian Herbert is doing is presenting an honest picture of his father. No, he was not perfect, not a great father, and a little strange; but then, that's how he was. If you're looking for some insight into how Frank Herbert struggled and slaved to create the Dune universe, this the perfect book to read. It shows us how long Frank struggled until he finally came upon the idea for his greatest novel; moreover, it shows the great love he had for his wife, his muse Beverly, and how much he truly loved his children, even though he wasn't always capable of showing it. The major negative for me was that it was so "Brian-centric," but then it was more about Brian's relationship with his father and how they got past their early problems and developed a close personal and professional relationship. This book is an excellent ode by a son to his father, and especially to his mother.
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Title: The Machine Crusade (Dune Series) by Brian Herbert, Kevin J. Anderson ISBN: 076530158X Publisher: Tor Books Pub. Date: 16 September, 2003 List Price(USD): $27.95 |
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Title: The Butlerian Jihad (Dune Series) by Kevin J. Anderson, Brian Herbert ISBN: 0765340771 Publisher: Tor Books Pub. Date: 02 September, 2003 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
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Title: The Secrets Of Frank Herbert'S Dune by James Van Hise, Michael D. Messina ISBN: 074340730X Publisher: I Books Pub. Date: 31 October, 2000 List Price(USD): $18.95 |
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Title:Frank Herbert's Children of Dune (TV Miniseries) ASIN: B00008RUYH Publisher: Lionsgate/Fox Pub. Date: 17 February, 2004 List Price(USD): $19.99 Comparison N/A, buy it from Amazon for $16.39 |
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Title: House Corrino (Dune: House Trilogy, Book 3) by Kevin Anderson, Brian Herbert ISBN: 0553580337 Publisher: Bantam Pub. Date: 27 August, 2002 List Price(USD): $7.50 |
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