Calling Cote and anybody else interested. I finished, 'Dune' btw.

[RemusLupinsBiggestGroupie]

The final eighth or so was okay. I was really, really bored by the rest of it, mostly because I thought that Jessica was snooty and dull and Paul was dull and a prig. All of Jessica's internal dialogues just made me hate her more and more with every one. I was most interested in the, 'servants' like Duncan and Guerney and co, but they were hardly in it.

Doubt I'll bother with any more in the series.

Now, does anybody want to tell me what greatness I've failed to recognise in it?

Someone recommended it to me on here, after I said I don't read YA. So I thought it was an exceptional cross-over like Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time. It wasn't.

Magnum - yes but WHAT did I miss?
Cote - most of the YA stuff I've enjoyed has been fantasy of some sort or another, so probably not worth me recommending any.

YA fantasy might just do me in

I thought about why I can't stand YA and came to the conclusion that it is because there was no YA around when I was growing up. I read 1984 and Brave New World in my teens, so excuse me if I'm not impressed by a YA book trying to tackle the same themes in my 40s.

How old are you?

Did you not read things like Z for Zacharia or Brother in the Land?

I like some YA stuff, mainly because the writers tend not to fart around trying to 'write' in the way that adult fantasy writers do - if the writer is good it's not so bad, but poor writers trying to be 'writers' (ie in those bloody awful zombie books called 'Autumn' iirc) drive me insane - at least YA writers tend to keep it fairly short and punchy.

I'm 42. You need to remember that I started learning English in secondary school (age ~12) and then was limited to import books I could find in specialist "foreign" stores (no Amazon, obviously).

I'll never read YA again, no exceptions. Reading stuff meant for children gets on my nerves.

Of course. That makes sense.

BUT - iirc you like, 'Death of Grass' yes? Well, Brother in the Land is better imho. :)

I haven't read Death Of Grass. I read about its subject matter and it sounded unrealistic. If there was no grass anywhere, surely all life would die off fairly soon. And I worried that I would kill myself if I read another ancient and badly dated book like laughable book where they are all waiting for the radioactive cloud in Australia

:)

Oh they start raping and murdering each other long before all the grass disappears. It was v stupid.

And you thought I must have read and lived this book because...?

Is it because I loved On The Beach so much?

I must have mixed you up with somebody - somebody who had a big rant about how (ordinary) people raping and murdering each other within about two days of the crisis being announced was entirely credible.

Ranting does sound like me

I may have said something about breakdown of law and order being credible but perhaps not within days. A quick look at history, even as late as Bosnia would show that people become animals when law & order breaks down, without even any existential threat like famine

Ha - I knew it was you ranting all along. :)

Actually, do read it - I'd be interested to know your thoughts on it. It just didn't work for me (but I like On The Beach, so what do I know?!).

Oh yeah. You liked On The Beach which is about 45,788th best sci-fi book and are whinging here about Dune which happens to be #1 or #2 on any Best Sci-Fi list ever compiled

Horses for courses, my dear.

Have you read On The Beach when you were very young, by any chance.

I read and really loved Stranger In A Strange Land when I was about 14. If I read it now, I'm sure I'd appreciate it much less.

I read it as a teenager, but have re-read several times since and still quite liked it - unlike Hardy, who I adored as a teen and can't stand now because it's all so adolescent.

@RemusLupinsBiggestGroupie

The final eighth or so was okay. I was really, really bored by the rest of it, mostly because I thought that Jessica was snooty and dull and Paul was dull and a prig. All of Jessica's internal dialogues just made me hate her more and more with every one. I was most interested in the, 'servants' like Duncan and Guerney and co, but they were hardly in it.

Doubt I'll bother with any more in the series.

Now, does anybody want to tell me what greatness I've failed to recognise in it?

Funnily enough Remus, this was also my problem - couldn't bear Jessica and Paul was personality free

All background characters are basically wallpaper in their blandness. With the exception of the overdone Baron Harkonnen whereby they've also used his sexuality as a means to denote evilness, because of course he's a murderous predator, he's gay