Chapterhouse: Dune Club Session 1 Questions and Observations

YES

DanikaXIX

Observation: when I moved to California, the lack of rain for weeks on end made me dream of rain. So the Sea Child bit brought me back to that. It was a bit of a climate shock. Rain feels so soothing and healing in arid climates.

PJ B

So I got behind and just finished book 5. I knew it from watching the last Dune Club but Arrakis gets destroyed at the end huh? Did that freak you out at all the first time you read Heretics? It's like when they kicked Van Halen out of Van Halen(Beavis and Butthead reference). They don't give that many details on how the deed was done. It was the Honored Matre's right? They had a way to destroy whole planets or some shit?

p.33 "Scatter into the weeds, my chicks! Run! Run!" I love these things now and again where Odrade's like 'oop-no. If i say that to the com-eyes they lock me up immediately." ("FLEEe flee for your liives"--and then Gandalf interrupts Denethor by bonking him on the head with his staff) p.58 Prester's an interesting name choice to make the history buffs think of Prester John. p.75 Woolgathering. p.75 (further down) Tamalane administering the standard riposte against weak language. Euphemism. p.92 This was nicely done (paraphrasing: Truthsense works all the time, including right -now-, so just...don't :) ) p.95 "It's not a balance book you would set aright. How far back would you go?" Super relevant to current U.S. politics at this precise moment, but I won't go there.

So... Space Jews... did they invent lasguns in the Dune Universe? Cuz if so, Frank Herbert may have unwittingly inspired one of the dumbest antisemitic conspiracy theories that has been around somewhat recently. Otherwise, we don't get yet into the nitty gritty of food descriptions and barely enough sex talk (no real act to speak of) to get to the bacchanalian heights we expect from Herbert later in the book. Presumably. Also, Futars can't be sex enslaved by humans... but we don't know much about Futars yet, will they play a bigger role later? Do they have their own honored *c*atres that enslave their brethren with powerful feline pussies? Finally, there's a chapter beginning that talks about not being able to control a puppet with a single string. That sounds like a challenge to me, you can probably jig a very long string in the right way with anchor points or knots to reproduce the structure of a wooden frame with multiple strings. It's like whoever wrote that line never studied mathematics.

PJ B

It's interesting jumping straight into Chapterhouse and picking up not too long after the climatic ending of the previous book. Usually we have waited a year between books and there was always a distinctly different feel and focus between past books. This time however, it really feels like a continuation of the same story including the focus and feel. I think it's fitting that we're completing both Heretics and Chapterhouse together! ☺️ Also before asking a question I also just want to say - With our established love of Teg and knowing he's now the greatest character in Dune, I'm glad he's back! So question: Odrade had the cute memories of being a 'Sea Child' that helped her live with resilience and to manage stress by imagining herself floating and allowing the present to kind of wash over her. I loved this - very similar to riding the wave/ embracing the chaos 😉 I grew up in an inland city surrounded by mountains and have always viewed myself as a mountain girl (even though now I live by the sea). 😜 I have sometimes thought about the resilience needed for hiking and walking and still love the meditative mindset I get from walking in nature and I do still have an affinity for mountains. Curious, do you have any landscapes that come to mind from your childhood home area that helps you feel calmer/ more relaxed/ more strength? I wonder if Frank Herbert is tapping into a bit of truth here and how our natural habitat from our youth can help shape us in some unconscious ways? 🧐

Cazzamatazz

Observation: 1) In Heretics, the BG were adamant they would never serve as axolotl tanks. Chapterhouse starts announcing that they just unloaded Teg from an Axolotl tank. It turns out that the BG Axolotl tanks were volunteers, but still it sounds awful. I was wondering if being a BG meant that they could serve as Axoltle tanks without having to be lobotomized / hooked up to controls like the Tleilaxu Axolotl tanks since the BG have so much conscious control over their bodies, but that is not a life I would wish on anyone. 2) In God Emperor we find out that Leto II had banned shields specifically because of the devastating reaction that happens when Laze gun meets shield. Maybe he was trying to stop the Honored Matres from creating those horrible space landmines that exploit the effect. 3) I was always under the impression that Truth Sayers exploited some sort of nearly psychic ability akin to prescience, but according to Rebecca's husband, it may just be a very well trained skill at observation of oneself and others. 4) I am not clear on how Rebecca had access to the knowlege or training necessary to undergo the spice agony. The BG train their lives for it. 6) The road to Damascus story is about a man's conversion to Christianity. Odd thing for the rabbi to mention...

Did you mean chapterhouse in the title?

JTRgotYou