Reviews and Comments

Eine interessante neue Perspektive auf die Menschheitsgeschichte, die zeigt wie Natur und Klima das Leben der Menschen in verschiedenen Zeitaltern und auf verschiedenen Kontinenten geprägt und beeinfluss hat, und wie die Menschen anfingen, umgekehrt ihre Umwelt zu beeinflussen, im positiven wie im negativen.

Ein Buch, das zum Nachdenken anregt, und vielleicht auch (oder gerade ?) für "Klimaskeptiker" empfehlenswert ist, Peter Frankopan erzählt seine Version der Geschichte differenziert und sachlich, immer untermauert durch wissenschaftliche Fakten, und kommt deshalb weitgehend ohne erhobenen Zeigefinger aus.

Der ist auch nicht notwendig, denn die Entwicklungen vor allem der letzten 30 Jahre sprechen für sich, und so bleiben am Ende Zweifel, ob die Menschheit in ihrer heutigen Verfassung willens bzw. in der Lage ist, ihre Probleme in den Griff zu kriegen, oder ob uns am Ende doch nur höchstens ein großer Vulkanausbruch "retten" kann (der zwar zu einer Reduktion der Durchschnittstemperatur führen würde, aber vermutlich um den Preis hunderter Millionen Menschenleben).

Published first in 1965(!) Frank Herbert's masterpiece is still one of the best Science Fiction novels ever written. And unlike other works of its era it has aged really well, Dune is still as timeless and relevant today as when it was first published more than 50 years ago.

The term "universe" has been strained pretty hard by using it for loose collections of superhero movies based on DC or Marvel characters, but Herbert really creates a whole universe in one book, or at least a considerable part of a galaxy, making Dune a must read for every Science Fiction fan.

It's also the first part of a series, but later additions by Frank Herbert are not as compelling to me as the original work (especially after part 4, "God Emperor of Dune") and the even later prequels and sequels written by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson, while not bad as "popular fiction" in their own right, just don't play in the same league.

This is how "The Wandering Inn" started out, as a web series ... and developed, from this simple idea, into one of the most interesting Fantasy series of the recent years, a whole world, as colorful as the "Disc World", sometimes as funny, sometimes as cruel and heartbreaking as our own world, the original home of many of the heroes of the Wandering Inn, who were cast into this strange new world with nothing but the clothes on their backs and their iPhone (if they were lucky).

The Wandering Inn is full of creative ideas and creatures, epic drama and ridiculous fun. I came across the series on Audible, and the excellent reading performance of Andrea Parsneau made the 43 hours (!) of the book feel like mere minutes and at the end of this volume I was so hooked that I listened to the whole series since.

There are 8 parts so far on Amazon, the ninth coming out in April and I'm already looking forward to that.