i m N s h o

I grew up fascinated by our space program… in love with the idea of space exploration and the possibilities inherent in that notion. Star Trek was my grail, and the Apollo astronauts were the heroes of my day. The interest, and hero worship, waned over time… not incidentally as NASA's agenda was redirected from space exploration to near-earth exploitation (I don't mean that with any negative connotations… but as the shuttle system was intended to be a "space truck" to ferry goods and personnel from earth to orbit and back, exploitation seems the right word.)

Last year about this time I was speculating about Frank Herbert's motives when he wrote Dune Messiah. I had decided to read the entire series — starting with Frank's books then circling back to read Brian's. I got sidetracked briefly by Paul of Dune *, but have continued on with the original series… with some dismay, I have to admit. The last time I tried reading the Dune series I got as far as God Emperor of Dune … and could proceed no farther. I hated to admit it, but I was simply bored by it all by that point.