In case you are unfamiliar, Lord of the Flies by William Golding is a classic novel that follows a group of British schoolchildren during world war 2, after their plane crashes onto an uninhabited island. At first they are all content to be without adults and have fun and live a productive life under the rule of charismatic leader Ralph. After many days on the island with no sign of rescue however, things take a turn for the worse for the boys as violent hunter Jack butts heads with Ralph, until eventually everything spirals down to a chaotic and bloody ending that teaches us a valuable lesson on how easily society can crumble, no matter how logical and and reasonable its leaders may be.

I am only about halfway through this novel, but it already has me hooked. I like seeing the contrast between Ralph and Jack, and how their society of young men slowly devolves into a rampage. This story has many valuable lessons and morals, which are tied together by Golding’s old fashioned yet still relevant writing style. Overall I would recommend this to anyone interested in reading an old yet highly enjoyable book.

The book Dune by Frank Herbert is a long and complex book that has an interesting way of writing the different chapters. Throughout the chapters we see the characters through the eyes of a narrator. Not through the perspective of one of the characters. The setting switches usually along with the chapters. At the beginning we are on the planet of Caladan, home world of House Atreides. Then in the second chapter we transition to the home world of the Harkonnen. This switch is disorienting but necessary to get the reader involved in both sides of the story. The main character of the story is the son of Duke Leto, the leader of House Atreides. He was trained by his mother, the Lady Jessica, in the way of the Bene Gesserit, a secret order who seek out a messiah of sorts. Paul seems to be a viable candidate.