Interview with EVeryone's Favourite Dictater

[Redstar]

For “Hunters of Dune” and “Sandworms of Dune” we were more constrained than in the previous books because we had to follow Frank Herbert’s detailed outline. A lot of the things people were complaining about were the things Frank left for us to do. But we had to write the books in the way he intended for the grand finale to unfold.

So in effect, the chunky egomaniac is saying that any bad bits in the Dune 7 novels are because of Frank.

anybody believe Frank intended to make Duncan the super-duper-Jesus ?

I'm sure something grand was in store for Duncan, but not that.

Even if he was a new KH, wouldn't he be severely handicapped by the Siona-gene? (I suppose being a "super" KH gets around that...)

That's kind of the point, and the point to The Scattering. Besides, his OM is fail, compared to Paul or Leto.

It seems rather obvious to me that a KH could be useful, even after the God-Emperor, but his chief purpose of prescience would be severely limited... It would be helpful if I knew how Duncan was defined as a "super" KH in the sequels, since I don't think anyone said his abilities were prescience-related.

[Tleszer]

He was able to see the Net cast by Daniel and Marty... and he did a mind meld with Erasmus which somehow made him ultra.

Really, it's disgusting what those hacks have done to Dune.

[Redstar]

He was able to see the Net cast by Daniel and Marty... and he did a mind meld with Erasmus which somehow made him ultra.

Really, it's disgusting what those hacks have done to Dune.

Well the first part was all Frank, so I don't know what direction he would have taken it or which back-alley raping Kevin did.

[Slugger]

He was able to see the Net cast by Daniel and Marty... and he did a mind meld with Erasmus which somehow made him ultra.

Really, it's disgusting what those hacks have done to Dune.

Anyone else get the distinct impression that they ripped off the Replicator's from Stargate SG-1? When Erasmus melds with Duncan the first time, doesn't he insert his hand into his forehead or something silly like that?

[Freakzilla]

Have they written anything that ISN'T a SF cliche?

[Slugger]

Have they written anything that ISN'T a SF cliche?

Well, that silly bit about Paul running off and joining space gypsies sounds like a cartoon cliche...

[Sev]

The ideas keep coming, and I keep developing my craft, pushing the envelope of what I can do...which gives me a skill set so that I can try even more ambitious projects....With each project I take on, I try to improve on what I’ve done before, either in complexity of plotting, intensity of the action scenes, the clarity of descriptions, deeper themes, or even just a project that will reach a completely different audience.

Well this one is a complete fallacy isn't it - if there's one thing that Keith doesn't do, it's pushing the envelope and trying to improve as a writer, because every damn book is 'written' the same way in his tried and trusted method. So long as he's content to 'hike and hack', content with the insistence on 3-4 page chapters and 80-120 chapters a book, then every book will 'sound' the same

Complexity, intensity, clarity, deeper themes - all sadly lacking at the moment - and, alas, for the forseeable future. It's easy to trot it out in interviews, Keith, but how about doing what you say?

[rain_maker]

The ideas keep coming, and I keep developing my craft, pushing the envelope of what I can do...which gives me a skill set so that I can try even more ambitious projects....With each project I take on, I try to improve on what I’ve done before, either in complexity of plotting, intensity of the action scenes, the clarity of descriptions, deeper themes, or even just a project that will reach a completely different audience.

Well this one is a complete fallacy isn't it - if there's one thing that Keith doesn't do, it's pushing the envelope and trying to improve as a writer, because every damn book is 'written' the same way in his tried and trusted method. So long as he's content to 'hike and hack', content with the insistence on 3-4 page chapters and 80-120 chapters a book, then every book will 'sound' the same

Complexity, intensity, clarity, deeper themes - all sadly lacking at the moment - and, alas, for the forseable future. It's easy to trot it out in interviews, Keith, but how about doing what you say?

I don't think he even hears the words that come out of his mouth anymore. Basically, I believe he wants to be the author he describes in the quote above (i.e., wouldn't it be cool if ...) but just doesn't have the tools to do it. Yet, he desperately hopes that if he just keeps saying it then it will eventually be accepted as true by those who hear it (i.e., the same way he keeps hacking out 3-4 books a year in the hope that one of them gets critical recognition).

I still can't believe that Mr. Bobo and the HLP let this guy fark-up Dune.

[TheDukester]

I think you're both onto something, and I'll add a third component: he's surrounded himself with enablers.

He gets nothing but fawning feedback from Becky, his "test readers" — and if there's a more useless group of people on this planet, I'm not aware of them — his carefully controlled interactions on the interwebs (blogs, Facebook, etc.), and, of course, his Very Special Treehouse. He's made very sure that what he hears all day long is "You're so awesome, Kevin."

As far as his "craft" goes, I'm not sure what to think. If he actually believes what he's saying, then he's utterly delusional. An Anderjacket book written in 2009 is the exact same as an Anderjacket book from 1994; he's just figured out a way to hike them out quicker. But there's still not an ounce of character development to be found, and there's still the same old KJA tricks he's always used: repetition, storylines that go nowhere, massive overuse of modifiers, characters who are complete morons, and on and on. There are first-time novelists being published right now who have 50 times the "craft" that TheKJA has accumulated in his entire career.

[Freakzilla]

"If you put away those who report accurately, you'll keep only those who
know what you want to hear," Jessica said, her voice sweet. "I can think of
nothing more poisonous than to rot in the stink of your own reflections."

[Lundse]

"If you put away those who report accurately, you'll keep only those who
know what you want to hear," Jessica said, her voice sweet. "I can think of
nothing more poisonous than to rot in the stink of your own reflections."

Perfect.

Maybe we should stop refering to The Special Treehouse as such. It's demeaning. "KJA's own (stinking?) reflections" is much more apt!

I get more and more convinced that Stephenson would have been the right choice. He is an fan of the original. Writes true "novels of ideas" (and the ideas, if I may wax poetical, are novel). And he doesn't... give... a shit... about... fans.
He has spoken out against book readings, and his webpage more or less says "don't write me, you'd much rather have me spend time on writing my next novel than answering". He doesn't hike - he does hardcore engineering to take breaks from writing (or the other way around).

Admittedly, his style is vastly different. Almost flippant, but great ideas and insight. Here's an example:

The difference between stupid and intelligent people--and this is true whether or not they are well-educated--is that intelligent people can handle subtlety. They are not baffled by ambiguous or even contradictory situations--in fact, they expect them and are apt to become suspicious when things seem overly straightforward.