I finished Chapterhouse Dune last night, and with that I conclude my re-read of the Dune series. In the case of this particular book though, it was the first time I had read it - I think when I read the first time maybe Chapterhouse wasn’t released yet? I forget. Still, the book was an interesting read. I was even a big surprised to discover that the book is a direct sequel to the previous book, Heretics of Dune. Given the time jumps between Children and God Emperor, and then again between that book and heretics, I half expected it to happen again.
Overall I liked Chapterhouse, it was definitely of a piece with Heretics in quality I think. Didn’t grip me the way the first three books had, wasn’t as batshit nuts as God Emperor, but introduced new characters that I thought were really interesting, especially Miles Teg. They go to some weird places in this book, including one that I imagine most people would find reeeeeeeally sketchy but still, totally worth reading. Big thumbs up on the series overall, definitely holds up.
I guess my quandary at this point is, do I drop the Dune series there? Because it isn’t actually finished with Chapterhouse. Unfortunately, Frank Herbert died a few years after this book was published and he had planned further books to continue the story. And while I wouldn’t call Chapterhouse’s ending a cliffhanger, it does leave things very much up in the air. The problem is that while the series does get a conclusion, it’s written by Herbert’s son, Brian, and, ugh … Kevin J. Anderson. Sorry, hang on a second -
And I just don’t think I can go through with it. Especially after reading a synopsis of the next two Dune books on Wikipedia. So I think at this point, I bid farewell to Dune while I can still look back on it fondly, incompleteness and all. Hey, that’s life right? We don’t always get neat tidy endings. But now, I have a wonderful new problem - what to read next? And maybe you guys can help me. I have a decent backlog of stuff I can start with, and I feel like a little more SF so here are the options I’m weighing:
The Expanse series by James S.A. Corey (I own the first three books on Kindle)
Earth Abides by George R. Stewart
The Budayeen Cycle by George Alec Effinger (I’ve actually read the first two back when they were released, but never read the last)
The Forge of God/Anvil of Stars by Greg Bear
Exhalation: Stories, and Stories of Your Life by Ted Chiang (two books, I think both story collections but if one is better than the other, let me know)
A Head Full of Ghosts by Paul Tremblay (horror I think, but it’s nearly Halloween so I’m throwing it on the pile)
The Reality Dysfunction by Peter F. Hamilton (tried to start this before, didn’t get too far but I don’t remember why)
Revelation Space by Alastair Reynolds
Stand on Zanzibar by John Brunner
The Stars My Destination by Alfred Bester
Stars in My Pocket Like Grains of Sand by Samuel R. Delany
Way Station by Clifford Simak
I actually have more than that, but I figure that’s my initial set I want to draw from. Given enough time I plan to read them all, just curious if there might be any opinions about where I should start, maybe one jumps out at you. I’m willing to be persuaded.