17

WEDNESDAY

I used to be a devout Dunie. I made apologies for the disappointing movie adaptation by David Lynch merely because it bore the Dune stamp. I was faithful right up to the first 100 pages of Chapterhouse Dune (the sixth book of the original series). Hell, I even bought and read a parody, Doon, penned by Ellis Weiner (whose other literary achievement was the adaptation of the Howard the Duck movie). Frank Herbert, the writer of the Dune series, passed away in 1986, and I’ve sorta lost track since his son Brian Herbert started producing follow-ups. His latest is Dune: The Machine Crusade, a sequel to the “super” prequel, Dune: The Butlerian Jihad. (No, it’s not the Jetsons’ Rosie and a legion of bow-tied Robo-Jeeveses going apeshit in the streets.) It’s sweet to continue your father’s legacy, but it’s also hard to imagine even the most devoted sandworm diving through the almost 700 pages of The Machine Crusade (the…ugh…11th in the series). Herbert reads at 7:30 p.m. at Borders, 5871 Crossroads Center Way, Baileys Crossroads, free, (703) 998-0404; and at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 16, at Olsson’s Books & Records, 1200 F St. NW, free, (202) 347-3686. (David Dunlap Jr.)