Reading for Craft: Dune, Triplanetary (45%)
As I mentioned in Sunday's Asimov Hour journal, I'm spending this week cramming Space Opera into my eyes (via books and movies). The goal here is to pick up on the obligatory scenes and conventions. I am probably starting with the worst two examples I could have. Dune, the film, which is almost unwatchable (the designs are amazing but the plot, I hope, is glossed over). And now I'm reading E.E. "Doc" Smith's Lensman series book prologue, Triplanetary. Of the latter, I am 45% through. Normally by now, I'd expect to have attached my loyalty to a main character, and that hasn't happened. So as far as I can tell, the Arisians are my protagonist? Except they are working behind the scenes, as are the antagonists, and we watch their machinations play out through characters that then die (and sometimes take society with them). So it's very hard to feel tension in the overall story because it's delivered through small action sequences of characters that I then expect to die. I'm going to finish it - my kindle says there's about 2 hours left - but I'm not sure what I'll be able to take away from this story for my own use (at this rate). Now that I look it up on Wikipedia, I see this book perhaps is a bad entrance to the Lensman series. That's what I get for trying to start at the beginning. Also, according to Wiki, the story I'm reading just got to the main portion, so perhaps I'll get more out of the remaining 55%. Back to Dune, the movie, I would break down the plot as follows:
- Political backstory set up of houses and economic forces. Boils and heart plugs.
- Paul leaves his home planet with his family. His father, a duke, is making a political move against the Emperor, son is training for intelligence and battle prowess. Mystic witch leader indicates he may be a chosen one (or may just die horribly). Tests Paul, and he passes.
- Paul shows natural instincts for Dune's environmental oddities and suspects a connection between the killer worms and the spice everyone wants.
- Paul's Father is killed in response to his political move. Paul escapes with his pregnant witch mother to the forbidden zone and are accepted into the culture of native Fremen people.
- Paul trains Fremen with sonic weaponry, falls in love, and develops his male-witch powers. His mom becomes the witch leader of the Fremen, and the little sister is super creepy powerful.
- Paul's male witch powers stop working, so he drinks water that should kill him but because he's the chosen one, it returns and enhances his powers.
- Paul senses the attack by the emperor and leads the Fremen to defeat them, his baby witch sister declares him the chosen one as it starts to rain.
- Also Patrick Stewart; also Gordon Sumner.