Why wouldthe legendary author ofThe Hobbitharbor such distaste for HerbertsDune, a book celebrated as much as his own?
Given that Tolkien had a reputation for being a gentleman, he never elaborated further.
Tolkien and Frank Herbert would have a mannered yet deeply debated talk on storytelling.
Image by Collider Staff
Though equally important, both golden standardnarratives stood at polar opposite ends of the ethical spectrum.
Tolkien in 1966 along with a copy ofDune.
It is impossible for an author still writing to be fair to another author working along the same lines.
Image via New Line Cinema
At least I find it so.
More so, characters like Gandalf and Frodo operate with a quiet sense of providence guiding their steps.
Arrakis isn’t the only planet in the universe.
Image via New Line Cinema
The Ring’s demise is the best example of this brief fortune.
Despite Frodo being the hero, he never actually destroys the Ring.
Frank Herbert leaned more into consequentialismthe belief that the morality of an action is defined by its results.
Paul Atreides, the protagonist ofDune, makes ethically questionable choices.
To some, hes a tragic figure; to others, he’s the bad guy.
Sams loyalty and Aragorns humility are seen as virtues independent of outcomes.
They saw the role of stories in human life very differently, and that’s okay.
Fiction is always subjective.
And maybe thats why both books have stood the test of time.
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