/lit/ - Literature

>Tolkien

>>14753099
dune is one of the only books i have ever gave up on because it was so boring. i'll try it again before the new movie comes out tho.

I suppose he meant what he wrote. That's what letters are for, usually.

>>14753099
Dune is shit

>>14753287
>imagine being this new

go back

>>14753107
is that a basedjak?

>>14753146
>dune is one of the only books i have ever gave up on because it was so boring. i'll try it again before the new movie comes out tho.

Maybe you should just stick up to the movie for the special effects and big CGI crawling worm monsters if you find the most famous and influential sci-fi book of all times boring.

is it possible to write foundational mythology in the form of sci-fi

>>14753600
It's still very recent, and very much a product of its time. It may not pass the test of time, anon.

Tolkien was a classicist and immersed in linguistics, far future and theme of gene-edited prophecy was something far too close to industrialized future he despised, on top of the overly-romanticized theme of the desert messiah that clashed with Tolkien's divine order that brings peace as opposed to Paul's Jihad.

>>14753640
Sci-fi as an already shaped and established form as we know it today is itself a recent genre.

>>14753622
>>14753792
Dune isn't sci-fi though.

>>14753936
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dune_(novel)

>>14754098
>an empire divided by feudalist monarchies
>technology is opposed by humanity (robot wars)
>esotericism prevails over hard sciences (most powerful characters are witches)
>the spice with infinite uses is described as a magical substance without much science behind its nature
>sword and shield combat preferred over futuristically conceivable military tactics

Dune may have sci-fi overtones, but it really falls over to the realm of fantasy imo. This isn't a bad thing by any means, however.

>>14753936
It's soft sci-fi

>>14753293
this.

>>14753107
this is the most pseud post ive seen today, congrats

>>14754456
Soft sci-fi because it focuses on the social sciences? By this logic, every fantasy or genre fiction book that explores these areas of thought ought to be considered sci-fi. I bet you also consider Star Wars to be sci-fi.

>>14754338
From the points you listed the only valid one that could be possibly brought up as an argument is the Bene-Gesserit witchcraft. Overall I think you could call it science-fantasy at best, but to be entirely put under the fantasy umbrella is stupid.

>>14754540
It is. Genres such as science fiction and fantasy are more a loose collection of tropes and trappings than strictly delineated subject matters, and such a ridiculous purism would remove many of its best authors from the genre.
>>14754338
>Empire divided by feudalistic monarchies
Well, Asimov's out
>technology is opposed by humanity
What sci-fi doesn't have this?
>esotericism prevails over hard sciences (most powerful characters are witches)
PKD isn't one of the best known figures in the genre or anything.
>the spice with infinite uses is described as a magical substance without much science behind its nature
Oh shit even popular stuff like Leviathan Wakes can't be science fiction, either

What's even left?

I think the "mythology" in Dune is rather awkward and to me "dates" the novels because they seem to subtly reflect 60s pop culture aesthetics which I don't like. I know I need to provide examples and I probably could, but I can't now. Just something about it overall, not even one specific example. Whereas Tolkien's shit is obviously timeless and it would be hard to pinpoint when it was written (could've been any time in the last 150 years probably).