Sci-Fi Odyssey: A Tour Through the Great Works of Speculative Fiction – Frank Herbert

Come join David White for the next installment of a salon series dedicated to exploring the themes, ideas, and world-building of science fiction. We will be exploring the world of Dune and discussing futuristic feudal systems, political intrigue, resource constraints, and the importance of destiny. 

Dune is one of the most ground-breaking and best-selling novels of sci-fi. The political tension between the Bene Gesserit Sisterhood, the Spacing Guild, Houses of the Landsraad, Fremen, and the Emperor set the scene for an intense plot centered around the planet of Arrakis. We will discuss how destiny can shape you, the effects of having one resource control the entire economy, how feuding political families differ from modern political systems, and consequences of environmentalism.

We will explore the impact of resource extraction on native populations and how the Fremen, Atreides, and Harkonnen emphasize tendencies to improve survival odds. Other potential topics include why some novels are difficult to adapt to film, how ecology shapes the creatures that live in a given place, and the dangers of thinking machines.

Suggested Reading:

Dune – Frank Herbert

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