Otvorený dopis Briana Herberta fanúšikom Duny - december 2005
Nižšie uvedený text je prekladom otvoreného dopisu Briana Herberta fanúšikom Duny z decembra 2005, ktorý je reakciou na početné (i keď menšinové) odmietavé reakcie na jeho romány z prostredia Duniverza. Originál textu nájdete na stránkach www.dunenovels.com.
Osobný list Briana Herberta fanúšikom Duny
S Kevinom J. Andersonom píšem nové romány z prostredia Duny už niekoľko rokov a vždy to bolo pozoruhodné putovanie fantastickým sci-fi svetom môjho otca. Ako mnohí z vás vedia, neodvážil som sa na túto úlohu hneď. V skutočnosti som sa do žiadneho nového projektu z tohoto prostredia nepustil až do roku 1997, jedenásť rokov po predčasnej smrti môjho otca. Keby som chcel maximalizovať svoj príjem z týchto kníh, najpriaznivejšia doba by na to bola práve v prvých rokoch po jeho nečakanom skone. Z mnohých dôvodov - väčšina z nich mala čo do činenia s nedotknuteľnosťou otcovho literárneho dedičstva - som nepokračoval v epose v čase, kedy by bol finančne najvýnosnejší.
Až o mnoho rokov neskôr, keď značná časť vlny záujmu o Dunu opadla, som sa rozhodol pustiť do nových projektov. V tomto čase som už cítil potrebné nadšenie pre takú impozantnú úlohu a bol si zároveň absolútne istý, že som v Kevinovi našiel toho pravého partnera, spĺňajúceho moju požiadavku udržať mimoriadne vysokú kvalitu eposu.
V roku 1999 viacerí fanúšikovia uverejnili negatívne komentáre k našemu ohlásenému pokračovaniu eposu. Mesiace pred publikovaním Predohry k Dune: rod Atreidov trúsili jedovaté poznámky o románe, ktorý ešte ani nečítali, a Kevina i mňa označovali urážlivými prívlastkami. Tieto komentáre ma trápili, ale povedal som svojmu spoluautorovi, že týmto fanúšikom odpúšťam. Koniec-koncov, cítili, že majú na úžasný vesmír Duny právo a nechceli, aby im tam niekto v ťažkých bagančiach vtrhol a pochodoval na jeho posvätnej pôde. Títo fanúšikovia tak veľmi milovali vesmír Duny, že žiadali aby jeho kvalita zostala bez poškvrny. Nakoniec, niektorí z nich sa nám po prečítaní románu aj ospravedlnili.
Keď som sa spolu s Kevinom v lete roku 1999 objavil na DragonCon-e v Atlante, fanúšikovia si vtedy mohli prečítať z Predohry len krátke úryvky. Román bol stále niekoľko mesiacov pred svojim vydaním. Keď sa ich stovky radili do rady, aby nás mohli vidieť, nevedel som, či neprídu s urážkami alebo zhnitým ovocím. Onedlho sme na túto otázku dostali odpoveď. Muž na čele radu nám poďakoval za to, že po tak dlhom čase pokračujeme v epose. Povedal, že čakal na nové príbehy a že je mimoriadne vzrušený. Toho dňa sme počuli podobné názory mnohokrát; a objavujú sa stále znovu a znovu, vždy keď sa objavíme na verejnosti pri ďalšom ohlasovanom pokračovaní. Sme obaja veľmi vďační za túto pevnú základňu fanúšikov, ktorí sa každý rok tešia na nové príbehy.
Skôr ako som napísal jediné slovo pokračovania, strávil som rok kompilovaním veľkej konkordancie (encyklopédie) eposu o Dune, ktorý vytvoril môj otec. Tak som si mohol byť istý, že naše fakty si nebudú odporovať. Takisto som strávil roky písaním otcovej biografie pod názvom Dreamer of Dune - veľkého projektu, ktorý mi umožnil svojmu komplikovanému otcovi ešte viac porozumieť. Každý, kto vyhlasuje, že som svojho otca nenávidel alebo že som sa mu chcel nejako pomstiť, túto knihu nečítal. V detstve, kedy som vyrastal v jeho prísnej domácnosti, bol môj vzťah k nemu rozporuplný. No v čase, kedy som dovŕšil 20. rokov sa z nás stali najlepší priatelia; dokonca sme spolupracovali na úplne poslednom románe, ktorý napísal: Man of Two Worlds. Hlboko som ho miloval a veľmi mi chýba. Neprejde deň, kedy by som si na svojho pozoruhodného otca a jeho úžasné literárne dedičstvo, ktoré prenechal miliónom fanúšikov, nespomenul.
I have said many times that Frank Herbert would not have been the incredible man that he was, or the genius author, if it had not been for the contributions of my mother, Beverly Herbert. She was his inspiration, his intellectual equal, and his loving companion for nearly four decades. To understand Frank Herbert, it is essential to understand her as well, so I worked hard to bring her back to life in Dreamer of Dune. But I am also part of the process of understanding Frank Herbert. I am genetically linked to him, and I also heard him say many things (politics, philosophy, etc.) that I have been able to include in new Dune novels. I don't claim to be Frank Herbert or to have anywhere near his talent. But I have bits and pieces of him in everything I do and in every thought I have. He is always with me.
I am not asking anyone to respect me just because they respected Frank Herbert. But I am asking for a fair shake. Unfortunately, it is part of our culture for people to make snap judgments about others without a scintilla of evidence to support their views. They simply have gut reactions, or preconceived notions, and confuse that with evidence. The news media and others are constantly asking people if they think that So-and-So is guilty of this or that, and opinions pour in -- on both sides. Guilty or innocent. But those "trial by public opinion" verdicts are based, in large degree, on filtered information and not on actual evidence. This is a form of shallow thinking, if it can be called thinking at all. It is more emotion-based than intellectual, and the emotions can easily send people careening in the wrong direction.
Obviously, we have vastly more fans who support our new Dune stories than there are detractors. That's why sales of the new novels have been so strong, and why the overwhelming majority of letters that we receive are positive. It is also encouraging to us that sales of Frank Herbert's six Dune novels increased dramatically after Kevin and I started publishing our prequels. Dune in particular has enjoyed a renaissance, as new, younger readers are picking up the classic novel for the first time.
Even with the few negative and unfair comments that Kevin has responded to in his "Conspiracy Theories" blog, I respect those fans. They love the Dune universe and they want the best for it. Remember, though, that it is not possible to please everyone all of the time. Even Frank Herbert could not do that, as many fans and editors did not understand his first sequel Dune Messiah, in which he made the dark side of the hero central to the story. More than a decade after that, in 1984, the David Lynch movie "Dune" was severely criticized as well. In both cases, it was largely because fans had their own images of what the Dune universe should contain, and the sequel novel and the movie did not match those images. For some fans, it is undoubtedly the same now, as the books that Kevin and I write do not match their own images.
In the Dune universe, however, it is important to keep an open mind. It has such an incredible wealth of ideas that anyone working in that "sandbox" is bound to go in any number of directions. That's part of the enjoyment of writing new Dune stories, and I can assure you that Kevin and I are having a wonderful time in the creative process. It is great fun as we play off each other like riffing in a jazz performance, taking each other's ideas to new levels.
Thinking back, I remember how much I enjoyed L. Frank Baum's "Oz" series when I was a boy. I was six years old when my mother handed me a thick Oz novel and told me I was ready to read it. It wasn't long before I had read through all of the Baum books and I was looking for more. Baum had died, but the series was continued by others afterward, particularly by Ruth Plumly Thompson. To my delight, I found that I enjoyed her novels just as much as the originals. In a very engaging style, she wrote Purple Prince of Oz, The Gnome King of Oz, The Silver Princess in Oz, The Cowardly Lion of Oz, and other great stories. If she had not continued the series, it would have been a great loss to me.
On a different level, the Dune series is like that. While the novels are much more complex than Oz stories, Frank Herbert generated a tremendously loyal readership, and those fans were disappointed when he died. They wanted to read new stories. It would be better if he could be here today writing the new novels, but that is not possible. In his absence, Kevin and I are doing the very best job we possibly can. We don't expect to please everyone, but in each novel we always try to write for the most demanding of fans, because we understand why their standards are so high.
The Dune universe stands on its own pinnacle. We recognize that, and we will not publish any books that are not the highest quality. I take this very seriously, and you have my word on it.
Brian Herbert December 15, 2005
