The God Emporer of Dune

Another in a long line of Frank Herbert books The God Emporer of Dune is the chronicle of a time three thousand years after Paul took the Imperial throne. Paul is not very involved in the story as he has evolved into something other than human, controlling the universe from his spice gas chambers. His decedent Leto Atredies is the presiding lord of Arrakis, a world that has been transformed from a barren wasteland to a lush tropical paradise. The book follows a band of smugglers, one of which is apparently a descendant of Paul, and the rightfull heir to the Arrakan throne as well, as they try to supplant Leto despite his tyrannical hold on the planet. Their struggle is similar to Paul's in the first Dune book, as they are exiled individuals of enormous potential power, who are hunted by a despotic force.

Foundation Trilogy: Book 2

Reading the second book of the Foundation Trilogy, I noticed a change in Asimov's writing style. Rather than follow a detached story line which is based around the planet Terminus, book two follows actual characters and develops them to progress the story line. The First part relates the story of the Mule, the dictator of the galaxy who uses mind control to re-enforce his power, as he hunts, and is hunted by the Second Foundation, that Hari Seldon created. This story is different from other Asimov books I've read, it focuses on the characters and operates almost as a physiological thrill, for only at the end of the first half do we figure out who has maneuvered whom. The second half focuses on a little girl in the center of a conspiracy by the telepaths of the second foundation. While this story is a necessary part of the Foundation universe, it was a disappointment.

Final Anthology post

Anthology Title:

I, Robot

I'm reading I, Robot by Issac Asimov. This book is not that long (like 200 pages) and maintains a middle diction throughout. Asimov skips from story to story, but holds the book together with the narrator Dr. Susan Calvin, the aging chief robopsychologist of U.S. Robotics and Mechanical Men. This format is similar to Asimov's Foundation Trilogy, where the story line skips forward time, sometimes by hundreds of years, but is always based around the planet Terminus and it's Foundation. In spite its brevity, I, Robot accomplishes far more through commentary on the social issues of Asimov's time, and in the abstraction of a potential future scenario, than the top sci-fi novels from the past several years combined. The 1940's and 50's, during which I, Robot was written, were a significant time for the advancement of civil rights. Asimov uses robots to symbolize African Americans; by examining the questions "What constitutes sentience?" and "Does sentience necessitate treatment as a human?" , Asimov hopes to convince the reader that the robots of I, Robot are sentient and therefore human (or should be treated as humans). By suggesting that a being, of equal intelligence and value to a human, that is subservient to humans should be considered a human, he attempts to persuade 1950's society to accept african americans as equal to european americans. This abstract social commentary is common in science fiction and is substantially more effective than any amount of marching, occupying, or viral video making because it removes the issues from our reality and places them in a foreign universe where they can be observed objectively.