@Albert Bancroft That's really interesting about "Sabres of Paradise," I didn't know that. Maybe it was more than just an influence if Frank Herbert took things. I still think Dune is a really effective story, though. The eugenicists are the villains. Paul is caught in the middle of their schemes and has to decide whether or not to lean into their propaganda and start a holy war that will kill billions of people, but would save his people and humanity from what could be an even worse fate. It's a really compelling crisis to me, and it brings up an interesting warning around cult of personality. My opinion on Dune, which some consider controversial, is that Paul was not a hero. You can call him a tragic hero, but a lot of people claim that Frank Herbert's own interpretation of the book is wrong. Frank Herbert said it's a warning against powerful, charismatic figures, but others claim that Paul simply saved his people and did what he had to. I think it's more complicated than that. The warning is still there, and he did save the Fremen, but with great consequences. He's not an entirely moral character; he saved his own people and caused the deaths of many others, he leaned into the history of eugenics to fight his enemies. To me, that's a good basis for a warning against a powerful, although incredibly competent figure. To say that Frank Herbert is wrong or that Paul was a real hero is to overlook the complexity, tragedy, and nuance that, in my opinion, makes Dune so interesting

@Albert Bancroft good points, I do think Herbert's message was dulled in the story but that ultimately ended up in a more compelling narrative to me. What's interesting is that you can argue for or against Paul just based on the first book. Much of it focuses on his heroism and exploits, keeping the preaching out of it unlike Dune Messiah, which was more on the nose at times. One way to look at it though, is to see Paul's heroism as an argument for his cult of personality. The fremen, and maybe even readers, become convinced that he is a true hero through his extreme competence and its results, which make it easier to overlook his visions of jihad and genocide

Hello! My name's Rory. I write various genres but sci-fi is definitely one of my favorites. I've been working on a novel that takes place in a sci-fi/fantasy universe. This book is mostly fantasy but there are some sci-fi elements. Lately though, I've been taking a step back and learning some fundamentals, things like scene structure and line by line writing. That's pretty much what brings me here. Currently working on finishing a sci-fi short story to apply and extend what I've learned. I'm very interested in physics and engineering so I lean towards hard sci-fi in terms of realism but I'm also really into the philosophical and the unknown, questions with no answers or things that might be possible in physics but are currently mysterious. 2001: A Space Odyssey is my all time favorite film. It inspired a lot of my sci-fi writing, just short stories so far. To me, it's a perfect example of hard sci-fi mixed with philosophy, it gets into things like transcendence, beings of pure energy, and our place in the universe as well as the dangers and limits of technology. I love the sense of mystery and awe I always feel watching it. My favorite novel is Slaughterhouse Five. Some people call it sci-fi, and it is at times. But you can't place it into a single genre, that's one of the reasons why I love it. It's war, sci-fi, and satire combined into something that's a lot more than any of those. It's in a category of its own. I'm also a big fan of Dune and Ted Chiang's short stories. Glad to be here. I look forward to getting to know you all