Welcome

Welcome to my ever-evolving blog. It started out as a blog on Beachbody workouts and products, mainly when I was a Beachbody coach. I no longer coach, not because I don't believe in Beachbody's programs (I subscribe to Beachbody on Demand and use their workouts every day), I am just not a salesperson and hated that aspect of it. I am more than willing to answer questions about my experiences with their products and the various workouts, and I feel freer to do so without the appearance of giving a biased review of something.

I have also started adding reviews for various things I have purchased like movies, books, CDs, and other products. This was brought about by a fight with Amazon in which all of my reviews were removed over a completely bullshit allegation that I posted a review that violated their terms of service. After going back and forth with the morons in the community-reviews department (even after they admitted that my posts did not violate their guidelines) they restored my account (which took them six months to do), but I have been posting my reviews on my blog to have them preserved in case something like that happens again. And here, I will post uncensored reviews so I will swear from time to time and post reviews that may be longer than Amazon's character limit. Everything I post here on any topic or product is my personal opinion, and I take no compensation for any product reviews I post. I am a member of Amazon's vine program and because I get those products for free, I keep those reviews on Amazon only, but everything I have purchased with my own money, whether from Amazon or some other store/website/outlet, I will post here.  

I also plan to do some longer blog posts on various topics, such as how to learn physics, how to get through calculus, and longer reviews of workout programs as I do them. Basically, whatever strikes me as interesting at the time.  As you can see if you navigate around the blog, I had many years in between postings. During that time I was going back to school to get an engineering degree, and learning material that I avoided my first time through college was a different experience and one that gave me a lot of insight into how to do well in those classes, which I will try to impart here for those who are looking to get a science or engineering degree. 

Friday, November 10, 2023

Book Review: Sisterhood of Dune (Dune #4)

 


Sisterhood of Dune is chronologically the 4th book in the Dune series of novels, and the first in the Schools of Dune trilogy. The book was published in 2012 and written by the duo of Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson. 

This novel is set approximately 80 years after the victory over the machines at the Battle of Corrin. Some of the characters from the Butlerian era such as Vorian, Raquella, and Gilbertus do carry over into this book. There are two major themes in the book. The schools run by Raquella, and Gilbertus, and the hatred of Vorian by the heirs of Abulurd Harkonnen. Raquella formed the Bene Gesserit School (or the Sisterhood) and Gilbertus formed a school for people (known as Mentats) to learn to think like the machines did. The anti-machine Butlerian movement is still around and trying to destroy all remnants of technology, while underground groups are trying to bring machines back.

The hardcover version of the book is just under 500 pages long. The authors do a good job of moving in and out of the various storylines and intersecting them at key points. The authors do give signs as to where some of the storylines will go in the subsequent novels but do not telegraph the exact direction for any of the main arcs. It is absolutely worth the time to read.

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