Lost Worlds’ founder Stuart interviewed

[Seb Lucas]

Melville is boring af. I live for reading, love "classics" but couldn't finish that book. Same as Dune. That one I did read to the end but I honestly wish I hadn't.

I loved Moby Dick, astonishing novel that may still offer readers an entire world. But no book appeals to all people. The story isn't really about chasing after a whale, it's about how revenge may permanently consume a pious human soul. Maybe that's what happened to Stu.

 

[Monitor]

I rather liked Moby Dick. Theres' some of it of it's time (I imagine nowadays Queequeg would be written off as a "noble savage" trope, though I always rather liked him as a character more in tune with nature than fighting against it), but for me it's a deserved classic. Something about the fatally obsessive search for the great, white whale speaks to me of the search for the Holy Grail leather jacket.... Never tried to read Dune, though I have fallen asleep in front of the film once or twice.

The whaling stuff bored me to death because I get it, the dude used to be a whaler but it's really too technical and long to belong in a novel 'cause since I am obviously not a whaler nor do I have any interest in becoming one, the never-ending quantities of detailed specifics of whaling didn't seem to do anything for the story nor for me personally. When he'd get into it, it would just dilute the narrative and yet it's still written under the assumption that the reader ought to know at least some basics of it so... It was just lost on me.
The story itself was great.

As for the Dune, it's also mostly nothing happening at all other than what you would call world-building which for the most part doesn't really matter at all and barely even sets the tone of the universe and then when it finally gets to the point it's been building up for the past 400 or so pages, it's all done in, if I remember correctly, three pages. Sort of like Dracula but Dracula is super mega fun all the way till the end with everything going on at once.
I suppose it's world building but I've never cared much for lore. And the main character sucks. He's so flat you just don't care for him. Literally everyone around him is so much more interesting that I actually felt that the stupid boy God Emperor cheated some of the other characters, like Gurney Halleck, of what should've been their story.

But I appreciate the work. He's really given it much thought and built a fantastic world, not unlike Tolkien's Middle Earth... If you care for it.

 

[Seb Lucas]

T
I suppose it's world building but I've never cared much for lore..

I'm with you there, brother, - all that world building is bloody tedious.

 

[dannyk]

Dune was painful. I tried reading it 2-3 times and couldn’t. Same with the film. I’ve probably seen it from beginning to end but never at once. Trying here and there several times until finally i had seen it. No good. Moby Dick I agree that the whaling part was boring, the story itself I enjoyed. I consider it “ok.” Dracula was so good, the newer versions that include the small prologue story just add to it and make it more enjoyable. But then there’s the end...so much happening and so many questions and then it’s just kind of over. Often times in films people will say well it was boring or kind of sucked but the ending was incredible and makes up for it. Can we do that in reverse? Everything up to it was first class but the end failed? Still enjoy going back every few years and reading it though.

 

[Dav]

Loved Dune, the book and the film, must admit though if I hadn't read the book the film wouldn't have been very good, far too short in my opinion.
Do you chaps get into audio books? I've recently had War and Peace read to me, it's a fine listen, although I must admit I'd have never got around to actually reading it.

 

[dannyk]

Loved Dune, the book and the film, must admit though if I hadn't read the book the film wouldn't have been very good, far too short in my opinion.
Do you chaps get into audio books? I've recently had War and Peace read to me, it's a fine listen, although I must admit I'd have never got around to actually reading it.

War and Peace is on my "list" in fact I even own it-hard copy not audio/digital-Im finishing a two part history book first.

 

[handymike]

My favorite novel about fishing is The Perfect Storm.

 

[torfjord]

The whaling stuff bored me to death because I get it, the dude used to be a whaler but it's really too technical and long to belong in a novel 'cause since I am obviously not a whaler nor do I have any interest in becoming one, the never-ending quantities of detailed specifics of whaling didn't seem to do anything for the story nor for me personally. When he'd get into it, it would just dilute the narrative and yet it's still written under the assumption that the reader ought to know at least some basics of it so... It was just lost on me.
The story itself was great.

As for the Dune, it's also mostly nothing happening at all other than what you would call world-building which for the most part doesn't really matter at all and barely even sets the tone of the universe and then when it finally gets to the point it's been building up for the past 400 or so pages, it's all done in, if I remember correctly, three pages. Sort of like Dracula but Dracula is super mega fun all the way till the end with everything going on at once.
I suppose it's world building but I've never cared much for lore. And the main character sucks. He's so flat you just don't care for him. Literally everyone around him is so much more interesting that I actually felt that the stupid boy God Emperor cheated some of the other characters, like Gurney Halleck, of what should've been their story.

But I appreciate the work. He's really given it much thought and built a fantastic world, not unlike Tolkien's Middle Earth... If you care for it.

Never tried reading Dune, but Tolkien is a life long obsession/passion ever since I read Lord of the Rings when I was 10 (28 years later and I still reread it almost every year). The only other forum/internet community where I’m active besides TFL is r/tolkienfans. I know parts of the Tolkien community hold Dune in high regard, I should really give it a try.

 

[HoosierDaddy]

How in the world did Stuart's attitude of being a dick somehow transform into a discussion about Moby Dick ?

 

[zebedee]

It was the Ph.D tangent that did it. I really like Melville; although Moby Dick is a tome, it's likely that readers serialised their own reading. Without writers like Melville and Faulkner we'd probably not have McCarthy's Blood Meridian: 'They were watching, out there past men’s knowing, where stars are drowning and whales ferry their vast souls through the black and seamless sea'. No Country For Old Men was much more fun, though.

 

[Superfluous]

 

[navetsea]

sometime I listen to Moby

 

[zebedee]

Sometimes I listen to monkeys.

 

[Carlos840]

My favorite novel about fishing is The Perfect Storm.

The old Man and the Sea is my favourite fishing related book.

 

[Superfluous]

Since you are discussing whales, fishing, and oceans, this recent shark breach video is truly extraordinary:

 

[Will Zach]

^^
The seal is not happy... Amazing creatures, great whites. Due to seal overpopulation the've been trying to taste humans as well. Usually spit them out, but sometimes it is too late.

 

[Monitor]

Since you are discussing whales, fishing, and oceans, this recent shark breach video is truly extraordinary:

Lions and tigers and bears are pretty scary but nothing on land compares to this insta-death stuff the oceans have.

The old Man and the Sea is my favourite fishing related book.

Mine too. I was obsessed with that book for a good year after I re-read it. They give us all this stuff to read at school when we know nothing about anything or at least I personally was an idiot who didn't know nothing about life, which is what the book is about (don't mean it's an allegory or nothing, just that it's about how things turn out) so of course I didn't get it. Then I read it again later and man, what a beautiful thing it is...

Same as when I couldn't even finish reading Anna Karenina in school because I thought it's freaking boring with all the grownup stuff happening and then later on it became my favorite book in the world. Coincidentally, at the time I decided to read the book again which happened by mere accident, I had my own Anna thing going in life on so the timing couldn't have been any better. Or worse. Either way, it was nice.

 

[AbbaDatDeHat]

Since you are discussing whales, fishing, and oceans, this recent shark breach video is truly extraordinary:

Anyone else immediately wonder what kinda jacket that would make??
Manly man jacket.
B

 

[Harris HTM]

Melville is boring af. I live for reading, love "classics" but couldn't finish that book. Same as Dune. That one I did read to the end but I honestly wish I hadn't.

That's a coincidence. I read both books after I came upon songs or albums about them. In the late 80's I've heard a song named "To Tame a Land" which refers to Dune. Except for this song being the reason I later picked up a P-bass, I also picked up the book, didn't really enjoy it.
Then, in 2006 I came upon an album called "The Call of the Wretched Sea". Concept album, based on Melville's book. Although some chapters seem longer than needed, the progressive fall of Ahab into madness is haunting.
Sorry for derailing the thread further.

 

[Monitor]

No Country For Old Men was much more fun, though.

Brilliant book. Unfortunately, I read it after seeing the movie so it affected the way I was imagining things though that's not bad at all because it's a brilliant movie. One of the best movies made in the 2000's.

That's a coincidence. I read both books after I came upon songs or
albums about them. In the late 80's I've heard a song named "To Tame a Land" which refers to Dune. Except for this song being the reason I later picked up a P-bass, I also picked up the book, didn't really enjoy it.
Then, in 2006 I came upon an album called "The Call of the Wretched Sea". Concept album, based on Melville's book. Although some chapters seem longer than needed, the progressive fall of Ahab into madness is haunting.
Sorry for derailing the thread further.

Not sure what else to add about the interview so this is as good of a discussion as any and at least we're no longer hatin' on Stu! XD That said, this'd be a perfect subject for The Reading Room sub-forum which I realized actually exist this very second!