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The Seinfeld of sci-fis. A chaotic tome. A cult classic. A rearranging of the mind and the emotions. Self-serious pulp detritus interspersed within a sea of stirring philosophical musings. A pleasant plunge. A thought provoking fever dream. The most memory-holed best book of the 20th century.
Is it a novel about nothing or everything? Poetic and soul punchingly beautiful at times, gratuitously sexual and grotesque at others. Period piece or borderline problematic - or perhaps just a dose of progressive realism? Genre defying or defining? A journey, a morass, or a deluge?
All of the above.
As a sci-fi head, Dune used to be one of my go to answers when people would ask what my favorite book was (War and Peace or The Name of the Rose are others). But [*puts on asshole hat*] after everyone and their mother became dune-pilled from the movies, I needed a new answer. Dhalgren has now taken Dune's spot. And I think it's safe to say that there will never be a Dhalgren.
Jan 3, 2025
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Frank Hebert is a magnificent world builder, and a sci-fi author that really thrives off of concepts and the development of ideas and philosophies. However, his prose and his characters are not all that great - so in that sense, he's very much a classic sci-fi writer.
I personally love sci-fi that focuses on ideas and concepts, and find Herbert's philosophizing about the future of humanity and its relationship to technology, spirituality, and politics really fascinating (and impressive, just the sheer amount of vision and creativity he possessed). I've read them all multiple times (they're dense and possess a lot of depth). Also, its good to take into account that the series spreads across massive amounts of time, and unlike other series, plot-wise each book doesn't necessarily have a direct or immediate connection to the books before it (once again, he focuses on history and development, sort of like an annales school approach - albeit mixed with a bit of a "great man" approach too).
So if you're looking for closure with characters from the first book, you're not necessarily going to get it. And Frank Herbert ultimately died before he was able to fully realize everything. So yeah, it really just depends on what you're into and what interests you.
Mar 11, 2024
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Strange guy and somewhat inconsistent, but a conceptual genius. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? is my favorite scifi novel for how thematically relevant it is to the modern human experience.
Slaughterhouse Five is amazing but only vaguely qualifies as scifi
Mar 9, 2025
Poignant ideas about AI, religion, and the nature of consciousness from the 1960's. A lot of proto-Dune bits going on here for the real ones.
Jan 2, 2025
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I don't know how well this actually answers your initial question, I think it's more of a counterpoint to some of the stuff people have already said, but here it goes.
In the past (prior to social media or search engines) specific styles, specialized knowledge, and niche awareness actually took effort. You had to go out into the world and find a scene, be accepted, participate in it, contribute to it, and learn from others with specific knowledge within the specific sub- or counter-cultural scene. It took time, effort, and experience to craft an identity. Nowadays people cycle through various identities and trends like commodities because it takes no effort (they're sold to them by social media algorithms, influencers, brand accounts, etc.). It comes to you in your phone without you ever even having to leave the house or put in the time to discover it or participate in it (you just follow specific people or subscribe). You can be a passive observer or consumer, not an active contributor. As a result, you're not invested or tied down and committed to that core identity. You can cosplay depending on your mood or who you want to momentarily convey yourself as, because it's easy. Essentially, being a poser has become normalized. An identity is now something to be momentarily consumed and affected, rather than grown, built, and developed over time.
Granted, it's always been different in regards to "mass" culture and popular trends (both in the past and now). Those are impossible to miss and were always monopolized by specific trend setting institutions, but always by the time it gets to that point, the actual initial counter- or sub-culture that inspired it has already been coopted and has started to disintegrate under the weight and attention of mass consumption.
Feb 18, 2024
It's an action deserving of its own nickname. My cat's name is Gomez, but when he crosses his paws like this, he turns into Hodgkins Plumpersocks.
Feb 2, 2024
I feel like everything about this photo captures that unique period of time - the covid masks, the protest signs, the boarded windows, the national guard.
I look at it now and I still feel glimmers of the hope I felt in that moment, when the rigid and all encompassing oppressive and systemic ruts of society felt like they were becoming more plastic and might even come undone. However, in retrospect, I am of course also hit with the ultimate disappointment, betrayal, and futility of it all.
So in that sense, it really captures that hovering sense of disillusionment and hope that I'm perpetually caught between within my day to day life.
Mar 30, 2024