Novelists Kevin J. Anderson and Brian Herbert, authors of the bestselling post-Frank Herbert DUNE novels, discuss on their blog some of their bizarre encounters with "talifans":
They started appearing as soon as our first DUNE prequels were announced, vehemently opposed to *anything* new
connected to DUNE, regardless of whether the novels were based on Frank Herbert’s own notes, regardless of whether
Frank had asked his son to write additional DUNE novels with him before his death. We can certainly understand
many devoted fans being protective of their favorite universe, and we can understand their initial skepticism.
Frank Herbert was a genius, against whom few writers in history can measure up. We felt the fans were showing
their passion and dedication, and Brian and I worked as hard as we could so as not to disappoint them.Unfortunately, their tactics soon became apparent. Even before HOUSE ATREIDES
was published, before review copies were ever distributed, these "Talifan" got together and posted 60
one-star reviews on amazon.com. None of them had read the book, but that didn’t stop them from trashing it with
quotes like "This can’t possibly be good, so it has to be terrible" and "I don’t even need to read
this book to know how bad it must be."
But Talifans can be found throughout "fandom," as Kevin and Brian are well aware.
You’ll find the same sort of rude nastiness on
the Star Trek boards, on Robert Jordan boards, on X-Files boards. The behavior of a small group of unpleasant fans
has driven virtually every Star Wars writer to avoid participating in online discussion groups. [My favorite
ridiculous posting from a Star Wars fan board: "I absolutely hated the first thirteen books in Kevin J.
Anderson’s series, and I hate the fourteenth one even more!" Any rational person would say, If you hate it so
much, why keep reading? Go to a bookstore — you’ve got plenty of choices if you don’t like my work.]The problem is, they hate *everything.*
I gave House Atreides a chance. I really wanted to like it. But I’m sorry, it sucked. Actually, it read like Dune fanfic.
Brian ain’t the writer his daddy was.
Sorry, but this: http://www.penny-arcade.com/view.php3?date=2003-10-15&res=l
is still the best comment on the issue.
Yeah, simply because of their nature, those posthumous works are always going to go through this – especially if the original author left material that was in no way ready to be published. Look at what happened with Juneteenth or any of the notebook novels from Hemingway that keep cropping up. Weary shrugs, half-hearted praise, a turning away in embarrassment. It’s not just science fiction where this happens.
I will admit I sometimes have a very hard time keeping my prejudices out of something like this. However, I would never complain about something before it was published. And if I hate something, I won’t continue reading the series. Seems simple enough to me.
And here I thought I was insane, too.
We weren’t against anything new, we were (are) against the most notorious hack in science fiction being allowed to write in the Dune universe.
It would have been great if a GOOD author could have a shot at it.
Freakzilla
http://www.jacurutu.com
So, does the fact that Brian Herbert and KJA’s “books” are illogical, contradict what Frank Herbert wrote, and are terribly written in terms of prose and character development, count for anything?
How sad that younger generations will equate Dune (DUNE!) with anything these hacks have written.
I read several of them. Did I know they would suck before I opened them up? I suspected they would, but I did not post a pre-reading review. These two have a persecution complex. The fact that they do suck soiled ass drives that pathology deeper into their psyches.
I’m not opposed to anything new, in fact I was thrilled when I heard House Atreides was coming out. And then the writing was Young Adult, the plots were lame, Deus ex machinas abound, and each new book wrecked canon and leached all the mystery out of my favorite sci fi series of all time.