Category: Books

Dune

Dune is an amazing read that’s hard to strictly categorize. Most people say that it’s a science fiction book, which I guess it is to a certain extent. After all, it does take place in the future when mankind has moved out into the solar system and colonized many worlds. The book takes place so far into the future that all knowledge of man’s origins has faded into obscurity. There are certain technology elements to the book, but you won’t find robots, space battles, or anything of that sort. In fact, the author deliberately downplays technology and offers technology run amok as a reason for man’s venture into an almost anti-technology society.

In some respects, Dune is a fantasy. You’ll find mention of the strange spice melange which imparts almost magical characteristics to those who indulge in it (and almost everyone in the book does to some extent with differing effects). The backdrop for the book reads somewhat like a Gothic novel with kings and queens. The main character is a duke seeking to repair an incredible wrong done against his family. The book is also filled with the mythical creature, a sand worm that’s so large that people can ride it. Dune is a desert planet and it invokes a somewhat romantic view of the difficulty of living in such an environment.

However, in its innermost being, Dune is a book about political intrigue and the author, Frank Herbert, does an amazing job of creating a twisted plot. Because this book is a bit complex, some people will find it hard to read. Still, once you get into the meat of the book, you’ll find that it keeps your interest. Dune is for someone who likes almost Machiavellian complexity and doesn’t particularly relish a book with little substance—mere mind candy.

The book has a strong cult following and you’ll find many follow on editions for it. In fact, two movies have come out about Dune in the past. The first is a shorter version (a little over 2 hours for the original theatrical offering) that stars Kyle MacLachlan, Virginia Madsen, Francesca Annis, Leonardo Cimino, and Brad Dourif. This version also includes Patrick Stewart before he became famous as the captain of the Enterprise in Star Trek. The second is a longer 265 minute version that stars William Hurt, Alec Newman, Giancarlo Giannini, Uwe Ochsenknecht, and Saskia Reeves.

Both theatrical versions of Dune diverge from the original book plot in a significant way—the book doesn’t spend much time discussing the action in battles, while the movies seem to focus on it to an extent. In fact, Frank Herbert is apt to simply say that the battle occurred and that a certain party won. Consequently, the movies and the book both have something to offer and are different presentations of the same plot. I enjoy all three and plan to review the movies at some point.

Dune is the sort of book to get if you want to become totally immersed and forget your cares for a while. The writing is good and you won’t find yourself distracted by inelegant prose. When you’re done, you’ll definitely find yourself wishing for more (and fortunately, there is more to be had in tomes such as Children of Dune).

 

Rod Stephens’ Visual Basic Programming 24-Hour Trainer

Learning a new skill, such as programming—learning it quickly and easily, is much harder than it sounds, but “Rod Stephens’ Visual Basic 24-Hour Trainer” makes the task considerably easier. The book begins with possibly the best Introduction I’ve ever seen. The author tells you precisely how to use his book to learn how to code in Visual Basic in a short interval. Additionally, he makes it clear what the book won’t tell you. This is most definitely a book for the rank beginner—someone who has never written code before and the author makes it clear that better educated developers need not apply. (More advanced readers will benefit more from another of Rod’s books, “Visual Basic 2010 Programmer’s Reference“.)

The chapters tell you how to perform most basic tasks associated with desktop applications. You won’t find any Web development techniques in this book, but the author makes that clear in the Introduction. The reason for focusing on the desktop is that it provides a controlled environment that works anywhere—no Internet connection required, no special setup needed. All you need is your system and Visual Basic.

The first chapter is the usual description of how to get Visual Basic installed on your system. Rod discusses a few different options and doesn’t wimp out by covering only Visual Basic 2010 Express Edition like many beginner books do. Because of the target audience for this book, Visual Basic 2010 Express Edition works fine.

The book takes the usual college approach of starting with a basic application, working through variables and structures, and then moving toward more complex application types. You learn all of the basics of working with classes, printing documents, working with the clipboard, and other usual fare for a book of this type. Rod does provide a couple of nice perks such as working with LINQ and databases using the entity framework. The goal is to learn how to use Visual Basic at a basic level, so these exercises will serve the reader well. Someone looking to start by creating a relatively complex example almost immediately will be disappointed. I know that some readers look for this approach now and Rod’s book definitely won’t serve their needs; this book is more traditional (and proven) in its approach.

Each of the chapters provides several methods to learn the material. You can read about the technique, try it yourself on your machine, work through exercises, and even watch a video. Most readers will find a technique that works well for them. Rod suggests using some or ideally all of the techniques to obtain a better learning experience.

The videos are a nice touch and Rod does them well. The longest video I watched came in at 17 minutes, the shortest at 4 minutes. He has a nice speaking voice and an easy manner of approaching the topic. The reader should definitely feel at ease during the presentation. Rod doesn’t resort to humor to cover up a lack of depth in his book. It’s not that he’s incredibly serious—he’s simply straightforward and businesslike in his approach.

Will you actually get through this book in 24 hours as the title says? I doubt it. I tried out a number of the chapters and found that I averaged about an hour in doing them fully (including the exercises) at a rapid pace. There are 39 chapters in the book for a total of 39 hours of training as a minimum. Even if you attack the book at a rabbit-like pace and skip some of the features, you still won’t get through it in 24 hours and manage to gain anything worthwhile. I’d suggest setting aside at least 40 hours of focused time to get through this tome.

The bottom line is that this is a great book for the rank novice to learn a new skill and discover the joys of programming. It’s not the sort of book that anyone who has written code before will want and it’s also not the sort of book that the impatient reader will find helpful. Rod has done a marvelous job of presenting a complex topic in a manner that will help most people get up to speed working with Visual Basic in a short time.