DUNE
DUNE. Frank Herbert Ace Paperbacks, $0.95 Unlike many science fiction writers, Frank Herbert finds man more interesting than spaceships. As a result, his epic novel, DUNE, provides us with a unique vision of the future. What he sees in store for man in the year 23,000 is based solidly on what he knows about man today--and he knows a great deal.
DUNE
DUNE. Frank Herbert Ace Paperbacks, $0.95
Unlike many science fiction writers, Frank Herbert finds man more interesting than spaceships. As a result, his epic novel, DUNE, provides us with a unique vision of the future.
What he sees in store for man in the year 23,000 is based solidly on what he knows about man today--and he knows a great deal.
Herbert employs almost every field of knowledge to create a comprehensive, realistic world of tomorrow. His general understanding of sociology, psychology, ecology, religion, mysticism, economics, warfare, politics, drugs and technology seems virtually limitless.
DUNE is such a vast work (541 pages, including four appendices, a glossary, a map and cartographic notes) that it is very easy to overlook the depth of its predictions, and even easier to overlook the sound reasoning behind them.
For example, many people talk about interplanetary exploration as if it were something that will quietly develop without troubling everyday affairs.
However, Herbert’s basic premise is that the demands of space technology will place a constantly increasing burden on the earth’s population, and that it will require larger and larger governments to keep people in line.