He wrote the introduction to "Dune: Collector's Edition" and the conclusion to Asimov's Foundation series. Legendary science-fiction author David Brin discusses the new movies, TV-series, and classic thematic elements of Frank Herbert's Dune & Isaac Asimov's Foundation.

In this interview, our focus is comparisons between the novel & cinematic adaptations of Dune & Foundation, based on "Gods & Rogues" in Tim O'Reilly's 1981 book, "Frank Herbert".

Author Tim O’Reilly not only provided a point-by-point comparison of these two series, but outright says, "Dune is clearly a commentary on the Foundation trilogy. Herbert has taken a look at the same imaginative situation that provoked Asimov's classic—the decay of a galactic empire—and restated it in a way that draws on different assumptions and suggests radically different conclusions. The twist he has introduced into Dune is that the Mule, not the Foundation, is his hero."

In addition to our comparison of plot & thematic elements, David will also discuss how Dune & Foundation approach the concepts of artificial intelligence, ecology, statistics & sociology, and other key aspects of both the film and novel versions.

Finally, we'll be touching on David's YouTube critique, called "Dune, the Movie Good vs. Evil". One of the key points he made in this critique was that Frank Herbert was quietly testing the readers to see if they notice that the Atreides themselves are morally questionable. In "Good Vs. Evil" he said, "The duke is a good character, with a strong moral compass, but he nonetheless supports a cruel form of feudal society. As a reader or viewer, you may identify with the leaders of this fictional world, but if you were part of it you'd almost certainly be cannon-fodder."

Dr. David Brin is the author of dozens of best-selling novels & short-stories, some of which have been adapted for film & television, as well as a variety of novels, including "Foundation's Triumph", published in 1999 on behalf of Isaac Asimov's estate, and the book we're discussing today - "Existence", published in 2012.

David is a 2010 fellow of the Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies, helped establish the Arthur C. Clarke Center for Human Imagination, serves on the advisory board of NASA's Innovative and Advanced Concepts group, and does futurism consulting for diverse organizations including the US Department of Defense, Procter & Gamble, SAP, Google & many more.

David is the winner of numerous awards & honors, including the prestigious Nebula, Hugo & Locus awards for science fiction, and holds a PhD in Space Science from the University of California.

LINKS & RESOURCES:

Frank Herbert's Dune (Wikipedia)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dune_(novel)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dune_(franchise)

Isaac Asimov's Foundation (Wikipedia)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foundation_(Asimov_novel)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foundation_series

Frank Herbert, by Timothy O'Reilly (chapter 5)
https://www.oreilly.com/tim/herbert/ch05.html

Dune, the Movie Good vs. Evil (David Brin)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F1iS38VJkeQ&t=2sc

Vivid Tomorrows, by David Brin
https://www.davidbrin.com/vividtomorrows.html

Wired: Give Every AI a Soul—or Else
https://www.wired.com/story/give-every-ai-a-soul-or-else/

The Transparent Society, by David Brin
https://www.davidbrin.com/transparentsociety.html

David's Homepage & Amazon Books
https://www.davidbrin.com/
https://www.davidbrin.com/books.html
https://www.amazon.com/David-Brin/e/B000APAXV6