What are you currently reading?

[brlesh]

It is an absolute Classic and lifelong favorite of mine. But as I always say, not everything is for everybody. I have enjoyed the movies!

Yeah, my expectations were probably too high going into the book, based on the book’s classic reputation and my viewing experience from Part 1 a few years ago.

Maybe a book I’ll revisit a few years in the future, when I’ll have a better sense of what I’m getting into.

B.


 

[mhatchett]

Finally finished up Dune the other day, and have to say it was another sci-fi classic I found to be overall disappointing.

I thought the first part (250 pages) was great. If you saw the recent movie, it pretty much followed the first part of the book. The story was well paced, there were multiple character POV’s, political intrigue, blackmail and betrayal.

Part 2 (the next 200 pages) was were the story went off the rails for me. This was were Paul and Jessica escape from the attack into the desert and are taken in by the Fremen. The pacing slowed to a crawl as most of this part was told from Paul’s POV and adjusting to life in the desert and coming to realize you maybe the most powerful person in the universe. This part was definitely a novel from the 60’s - a lot of mysticism, mind altering substances & group consciousness. It felt like this part could have been written by Timothy Leary or Carlos Castenados.

Part 3 (the last 150 pages) was better, as the pacing picked back up (though not to the level of Part 1) as some of the characters from Part 1 are revisited and some new characters are introduced. However, I just found the last 50 pages to be rushed and rather anticlimactic. Plus, the most interesting new character just seemed to disappear at the end.

Overall, I found Paul’s story arc to be interesting (from a scared kid meeting the Reverend Mother in the beginning to essentially usurping the emperor at the end). But the slow pacing and very anticlimactic ending certainly dragged the story down for me.

I am still looking forward to see what they do with the second movie, as I did like the first.

B

It is an absolute Classic and lifelong favorite of mine. But as I always say, not everything is for everybody. I have enjoyed the movies!

[sholloman81]

Based on my recollection of the two similar books, I'm inclined to agree...Ketchum's work felt slightly more literary, the sharpest edges polished and burnished a bit to keep it from cutting bone deep. Johnson's work had edges that were comparatively rougher and cut a bit harder, its vibe more documentarian than Ketchum's somewhat cinematic approach. I suspect that difference can simply be chalked up to the fact that Ketchum was the better, more accomplished writer..but there's something to be said about a new but capable author deliving into a subject of that type and delivering something that has a certain rawness and honesty to it that a more experienced writer might not quite achieve in his quest to deliver a finer product.

I totally agree with this assessment. Plot-wise, I also found it interesting that Ketchum's book had an adult among the group of kids whereas Mendal's story did not. I know Ketchum was hewing closer to the true crime source material; however, I personally found Mendal's choice of having no adults among the kids more chilling since the children's thoughts, choices, and actions were wholly their own.

[RonClinton]

Just finished reading the Centipede LE of Mendal W. Johnson's "Let's Go Play at the Adams'", a first-time author and read for me. I was aware of this books' reputation going in and was generally aware of what to expect, nevertheless, this book completely destroyed me. There were multiple times where I had to set it aside because it was just too intense or horrible, and yet, I found myself eventually picking it right back-up, if only so I could get to the end of poor Barbara's plight. Man, what a twisted tale, and what a messed-up ending! I'm a huge Ketchum fan and remember reading Ketchum's "The Girl Next Door" and being pretty horrified, but for me, I think Johnson's "Let's Go Play at the Adams'" may have exceeded it.

Based on my recollection of the two similar books, I'm inclined to agree...Ketchum's work felt slightly more literary, the sharpest edges polished and burnished a bit to keep it from cutting bone deep. Johnson's work had edges that were comparatively rougher and cut a bit harder, its vibe more documentarian than Ketchum's somewhat cinematic approach. I suspect that difference can simply be chalked up to the fact that Ketchum was the better, more accomplished writer..but there's something to be said about a new but capable author deliving into a subject of that type and delivering something that has a certain rawness and honesty to it that a more experienced writer might not quite achieve in his quest to deliver a finer product.

[sholloman81]

Just finished reading the Centipede LE of Mendal W. Johnson's "Let's Go Play at the Adams'", a first-time author and read for me. I was aware of this books' reputation going in and was generally aware of what to expect, nevertheless, this book completely destroyed me. There were multiple times where I had to set it aside because it was just too intense or horrible, and yet, I found myself eventually picking it right back-up, if only so I could get to the end of poor Barbara's plight. Man, what a twisted tale, and what a messed-up ending! I'm a huge Ketchum fan and remember reading Ketchum's "The Girl Next Door" and being pretty horrified, but for me, I think Johnson's "Let's Go Play at the Adams'" may have exceeded it. Overall, I'm glad to have finally gotten around to this infamous book and am happy to have added the Centipede version to my collection.

Am now reading the Thunderstorm Black Voltage Private Reserve of Matt Serafini's "Rites of Extinction", a first time read & author for me. No idea what to expect and hope to find a gem here!