The Sound Of One Hand Clapping

You might have heard of Frank Herbert, one of the greatest writers in the history of Science Fiction, and his 1963 work Dune - considered to be one of the most popular, most influential and most critically acclaimed novels in the genre. The David Lynch movie version came out in 1984, the "year of George Orwell", but couldn't do this epic any justice - if you ask me. If you don't care for SF, because you think it's just a pile of something, reconsider. I was introduced to Dune quite some years ago by a friend who was raving about the complexity of the story, expanding over political, religious, human and what not aspects connecting those with a well thought-out plot. It was an interesting read, to say the least. Even more interesting, however, is the background of Frank Herbert, and his influences / inspirations which of course include Shakespeare (which he reportedly completed reading at the age of 12), but go back as far as Ovid and Sophocles and authors I had never heard of.
I stumbled over a site called "A Far Cry From The Official Site - Star Wars Origins" which holds a plethora of interesting stuff and quite some links. I recommend you pay a visit and see yourself. Really. The site was created by Kristen Brennan, and I assume she wrote the article I'm linking to, as it is not otherwise noted. She obviously has a profound knowledge of literature, and on top of the above mentioned you'll find the works of Samuel Butler, Sir Thomas Moore, Fyodor Dostoevsky, Joseph Campbell, Lord Raglan, Sir James George Frazer, Alfred Korzybski mentioned as well as Zen Buddhism, Taoism, even Alexander The Great, Aristotle and, well - much more (Gödel's Incompleteness Theorem, or Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle anyone?). This site was made with great care and expertise, and it's not that often I get so enthusiastic, as you might know. Well, probably you don't.