Sunday, March 4, 2012

Winds of Dune – Entry #1


Way behind.  School work and running FIRST LEGO League tournaments have been getting in the way.  These have consumed my chunks of ‘me’ time.  But mid-semester break is in one week and the academic year will end a short seven weeks after that.  Now, time for a little catching up.

Winds of Dune provides the insight into how Alia fairs as Regent and how Stilgar, Duncan, Irulan, Gurney, and Lady Jessica end up where we see them in Children of Dune.  Brian Herbert and Kevin Anderson try to provide a seamless flow between the two Frank Herbert books (Dune Messiah and Children of Dune).  But this book is just not as interesting as the other books.  However, it is in this book that we really find out the full story of Bronso of Ix and his role in history.

Much of the first part of the book is the telling of the story when Bronso and Paul, as twelve-year old boys, ran away from home.  In these adventures, Paul learned about the Wayku who serve on the guild ships but have no home planet.  He also learned about the art of a Jongleur performance and about Face Dancers.  All these skills were applied later to his manipulation of the masses as emperor.   The following is a quote from the Jongleur master, Rheinvar: “Honor or dishonor depends on how you employ your talents, not the natur of the talents themselves” (Winds of Dune, p. 163).

Rheinvar used this to justify the use of his talents to deceive his audience.  By convincing Paul that he was honorable, he successfully tampered with and twisted Paul’s sense of honor.  Was this good for the long term success of the human race?  I am not convinced but it does shed light on Paul’s apparent ability later to do things that did not seem honorable by Atreides standards.

The following chapter starter is so true … and sad.

One sharp tragedy can erase years of friendship.
-- THUFIR HAWAT
Weapons Master of House Atreides
(Winds of Dune, p. 188)

Rhombur’s dying words to Bronso: “Is Paul safe?” (Winds of Dune, p. 187) was a terrible blow to Paul and Bronso’s friendship.

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