Dune Messiah by Frank Herbert
1969 / 338 pgs. ( ~ 70,000 words) Science Fiction

Dune Messiah is a starkly different experience from the original. While it lacks the fast-paced “page-turner” energy of the first book, it serves as a fascinating bridge to Children of Dune.

In the introduction, Brian Herbert notes that many readers disliked this sequel because of Paul’s trajectory. I suspect Frank Herbert realized he had created a character so powerful that Paul had essentially become a narrative dead end. How do you challenge a man who has the power of prescience, the abilities of a Reverend Mother, and a loyal following conducting a bloody Jihad in his name?

The heart of the book is the conspiracy to take Paul down. Even though the Emperor knows it’s coming, he is trapped by his own foresight. The most striking moment for me was Paul’s conversation with Stilgar, where he compares his “statistics” to the dictators of Ancient Earth:

“I’ve killed sixty-one billion… I’ve wiped out the followers of forty religions… We’ll be a hundred generations recovering from Muad’Dib’s Jihad.”

This quote perfectly captures the “darkness” Paul has brought to the universe. While the ending for Paul and Chani might be polarizing, I found it satisfying. It felt like a necessary way for Herbert to move the story forward, removing an all-powerful lead so we can explore the Dune universe without Paul seeing every outcome before it happens.

Would I recommend it? Absolutely. It’s a really good book. If you are in love with the first book and don’t want anything to change in the world of Dune. I would recommend not reading Dune Messiah.

Lopaka

The Time Machine by H. G. Wells
1895  / 92 pgs. Science Fiction

The Time Machine is the first novel by H.G. Wells and is considered a science fiction classic and the start of the time travel subgenre. 

Drawing from his pipe, the time traveler sits in his smoking room and narrates his adventure of the last six days.  His time machine took him to 802,701 A.D.  What wonders and evolution of man he hoped to see.  The utopia that communism promised, alas, was not.

In this time, man has evolved into two races, the Eloi, a short beautiful people who wear robes and frolic playing and making love throughout the day.  They don’t clean or tidy, let alone work—just happy people.  They are vegetarians as there are no animals around for meat. However,  at night, they gather in a group and sleep in the same dormitory.  Not for comfort, because of their fear of the dark.

The other, those that live underground, the Morlocks  They supply the food and clothing for the Eloi.  Their world is machinery and loud.  They fear the light. They have evolved into Ape/Spider humans who come to the surface only at night to gather their meat, the Eloi. 

The traveler has an adventure trying to get his machine back and understand the evolution of man in the year 802,071. He narrates his adventure to his astounded and skeptical friends.  There is a lot of symbolism in The Time Machine, as Wells portrays what he believes society will evolve into under Capitalism.  The symbolism is better understood if you think of the Eloi and the privlidge and the Morlocks as the lower class.

Yet, if you read the story just for the narrative, it’s a quick, fun story.  One could read it in a few hours.  As this is the only H.G. Wells book I’ve read, I would recommend it.  I do have in my reading queue War of the Worlds and The Island of Doctor Moreau.        

Enjoy a good cup of coffee and a wonderful book!

Lopaka

Project Hail Mary
by Andy Weir 2021 / 481 pgs Sci-Fi

From the author’s imagination which brought us The Martian and Artemis, comes his next space story, Project Hail Mary.   
A computer is asking him a simple mathematical question.  As he awakens from his deep sleep, his mind is lost about where he is and what is going on.  The computer keeps asking him the same question until he can answer it.  Then, the same computer voice asks another question.  He is still lost.  Why are all these tubes in me, and where am I?  As the questions flow, he finally receives the question he can’t answer. However, it’s so simple that anyone could answer, what is your name?

A flashback, as his memory slowly starts to come back to him, gets him the answer he’s looking for.  Dr. Ryland Grace.  As he begins to explore his environment, each flashback explains more and more of where he is and why he’s there.  Slowly, he realizes Project Hail Mary, appropriately named, is humanity’s last hope from a danger that threatens the extinction of all life on earth.  While Dr. Grace is trying to work on what he needs to do, he realizes that he is not alone…

Naturally, I don’t want to give away the plot.  It’s a quick read as I finished it in about 14 total hours.  Like his previous two novels, there are lovely science explanations that don’t bog your mind in trying to decipher in his illustrations.  Just enough to whet the appetite for the reader to understand and move the plot forward.  The only downside is there are flashbacks throughout the main plot.  Dr. Grace’s flashbacks are explained why he has them; however, they serve as a plot voucher for the next scene.  Which sometimes makes it seem like, really nice segway for the story.  It, in all honestly, doesn’t ruin the overall plot, and the story flows well.  It just makes the reader think, nice flashback, and what a convenience for Dr. Grace. 

Would I recommend Project Hail Mary? Yes. It’s what I expect from Andy Weir.  If you have never read any of his three books, I would recommend in order The Martian, Project Hail Mary, then Artemis.

Enjoy a wonderful cup of coffee and a good book! 
   
Lopaka