Does anyone else regularly check the Ali page just in case Simon releases this before it is announced here?
Nah… why bother… 
Yes still interested.
Because ever since that J-Dub74 fella didn’t tell me that the AR coated S series lenses had arrived I find it hard to trust him 
I think you made a mistake in your sig. We both know that it’s the mighty power of “the mapache” to derail your threads with constant requests for a Tusken Raider edition Convoy that should be feared!
!http://pixeljoint.com/files/icons/tusken3.gif !
But all we have to do is say “Boo!” and you go running off to hide behind a dune. 
Yeah, I know… you’ll be back…and in greater numbers. 
Edit:
Did I mention that AR coated lenses for the S series are available?
Ahh, the old Tusken Raiders startle easily myth. I gather you have seen that grossly inaccurate documentary, most people don’t realize that it was largely funded by moisture farmers! It portrayed us as being scared of krayt dragons but the truth is that we hunt them for the pearl in their stomach.
You calling Obi-Wan a liar? Dangerous ground there my friend.
The Tusken Raiders were IMO created by a fan of Frank Herbert’s Dune stories. Notice the similarities to the Fremen? Their desert gear reminds me of a still-suit. The dragons of their lore remind me of sandworms (aka Shai-Hulud), hunted for a pearl which reminds me of the crysknife made from a sandworms crystalline pearl-like tooth.
I see a lot of parallels to the Fremen of Arrakis. Long Live Muad’Dib!!! :sunglasses:
From what I understand Obi Wan didn’t say those things in that context and it was edited to sound that way, they even used a body double in some scenes to make it more dramatic. FYI, watch out for Obi Wans party tricks, that guy never has to buy drinks 
mumbles I haven’t read Dune.
I was sick when I watched the movie and fell asleep after 30 or so minutes.
For he is the Kwisatz Haderach.
You what???
Dude it’s like the Tolkien of Sci-Fi!
Reading it is of course the best way to experience it. Honestly the original movie though a cult classic is a bit cheesy. The mini-series that originally aired on the Sci Fi channel is WAY better IMHO and more true to the book. The follow-up mini-series is also very well done. I have both sets on DVD. Highly recommended.
Just stay away from the books his son wrote to cash in on the cult classic, no fan of those. But everyone should read Dune.
Also J-Dub74… sorry mate, you are wrong. Asimov is the Tolkien of SciFi. The Foundation and Robot series are the defining works of science fiction in the 20th century. Not saying they are the best scifi books ever, but they are the foundation (see what I did there?) every one else builds on.
Btw (to get back almost on topic at least), when are the naked Convoys showing up? I don’t like waiting, and it feels I’ve been waiting forever! 
Aren’t we forgetting Heinlein? Until Lois Bujold came along he had more Hugo Awards than anyone else. Arthur C. Clark, Larry Niven, Jerry Pournelle, Robert Silverberg, many others as well in th heyday.
Oh yeah, there are plenty of great authors in the genre, and I would add Heinlein and Clark to the list of the people that helped define science fiction.
Gotta say though, not very impressed with Nivens Ringworld that I just listened through (and then the Fate of Worlds series). I mean, the idea in itself is awesome and the first book definitely has its merits… I just wish someone else, with a more Tolkien-esque way of writing, had been the author. He just slaps things on as he goes along, instead of building up the entire universe before starting his writing. So many after thoughts and fixes in later books, I find that quite annoying, especially since he uses a lot of the fixes of the physics as the base of the rest of the books in the series. And don’t even get me started on rishathra…
Try reading Tales of Known Space or some of Kzin anthologies. The Ringworld stories came long after.
Ha…ha…haaaaaa (thats supposed to be maniacal laughter) The mapache successfully derails another of J-Dubs threads!!! :smiling_imp:
I do feel like I should be handing my geek membership card back though, I am only familiar with about half of the listed authors, don’t tell anyone in my sci fi/fantasy club.
Edit: J-Dub, I just realized you changed your sig back. Are you trying to make me look silly when I call myself “the mapache”?
AAHHH!!! those names to my ears from my youth thank you!
I have a ton of old paperbacks and didn’t mention but a small portion of even the better known authors.
We could argue these points for days and never get anywhere! LOL
Nice word play BTW. :+1:
To me…at least at this time, Frank Herbert is to Sci-Fi as Tolkien is to Fantasy. My opinion could of course change with additional reading. Also, I did not mean to imply that Herbert is the father of Sci-Fi, just as Tolkien is not the father of fantasy. What each is to me is the first author that I have personally read in each style that took their respective categories to another level where it could be appreciated by a much more diverse audience. Some of that earlier Sci-Fi stuff is no doubt brilliant conceptually but is so over burdened with geeky detail that people’s eyes glaze over…
Edit:
I don’t entirely agree with your take on the follow up books written by his son Brian Herbert in collaboration with Kevin J. Anderson. Yes, I’m sure there is a bit of cashing in going on there and I will not say that every one of these new books is good but a few of them are fantastic, truly diving into the Dune universe rich with epic battles and some very good stories.