Greetings, artists from all worlds and all realities!
I have finally finished reading all Herbert's Dune Chronicles, and made a piece in commemoration of the experience it was!
The following images were made using my custom build of Disco Diffusion, photo-manipulation, photobashing and sketching through Gimp and Inkscape, and post editing/composition in darktable.
I'm one of the person who hadn't read the books,
when the new movie came out, though I was familiar with the older movies and the show, which I did not particularly like. So needless to say that when I started reading, I got absolutely taken away starting the first chapter.
All I kept hearing throughout my existence was "Yeah, Dune is great, the first book is awesome, but then the rest is weird." That's the state of mind I was in when I took in the other books. But I think most people missed out on the Herbert's point, most people just wanted the basic "hero scifi adventure" experience that the first book gave, without thinking a second about the meaning of it, the consequence of it, what was underlining the whole world that Herbert was creating.
The second book, Dune Messiah, is amazing.
You wanted an all-powerful rightful hero in the first book? Well, here comes the danger and the negative consequences of that hero's victory, almost depicted as an anti-hero now, with all its political ramification and social impacts.
The third book, Children of Dune, is a new start.
In a sense, Herbert's started in this book to setup the foundation of his long plan, of a system that will only unravel itself at the end of book 6. Without spoiling, this book is absolutely fantastic as it goes FURTHER than what Paul Atreides dared to do in the first book. And the consequences of this book will stretch through millenium.
The fourth book is the least appreciated one.
You've heard of God Emperor of Dune, and his gigantic worm-like monstrosity of an emperor, character introduced in the third book. For some reason, this book did not please the audience at all. It is extremely political and religious, with social critics and demonstration of systemic inequalities and corruptions art every turn of the book. Less of an adventure-epic, more of a social study, but before all, the ABSOLUTE MAIN POINT of Herbert's work, the introduction of The Golden Path.
The fifth book, the beginning or the end?
The universe doesn't have limits anymore, the infinite possibilities of planets and systems is finally taken into account in Herbert's work, but in a way that doesn't contradict nor destroy what he built before! The Golden Path is followed, but the real reasons behind it are still elusive. Dune as you knew it is not a thing anymore, but has taken a whole new meaning, a whole new function as well.
The final book, the conclusion, the consequence.
In Dune Chapterhouse, all is explained, the infinity beyond isn't a mystery anymore, and some of what was started in other books find their finality, all makes sense, the Golden Path has its purpose, the political relationships and conflicts are globalized and turned into a system, a system of durability and of expansive logic. What a conclusion and a beautiful end to a 6 books masterpiece of a work!