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We all watched or at least heard about the Avatar movie. Wonderful movie with wonderful special effects and beautiful visuals. But where James Cameron took his ideas?

Many people claim that the planet Pandora was borrowed from the Strugatsky brothers. In their work "The Snail on the side" really the planet on which the action takes place, is called Pandora.  But the name does not prove anything. While Cameron's Pandora, and Strugatsky's Pandora revolve around binary stars. But Cameron's  Pandora is also a satellite of gas giant, spinning around Alpha Centauri. But besides the Strugatsky brothers also Frank Herbert wrote about Pandora, Herbert became famous for his series of books "Dune" about sand planet Arrakis. And Herbert's Pandora also revolves around a binary star. This book by Herbert is called " Pandora's Box" and has two sequels: "Lazarus effect" and "Factor of ascension". That is, we are dealing with a full trilogy, co-written with poet and writer Bill Ransom.
Many deny the relationship between the works of Herbert and James Cameron, but it is not a fact. For example, in the " Pandora's box", we can observe a reasonable alga, which covers all the planet. This type is called kelp or Avaata. In the film, the sensible tree is called Eywa. Scientists from the book created a clones of the human DNA and various Pandora genes. You can catch some similarities, but you also can not do that. In any case, Frank Herbert, as always, is a genius. Perhaps trilogy about Pandora can rather be compared with "Dune." The author raises many common problems and issues. He is masterful in his inimitable style, talks about the environment, human relationships, religion, philosophy, describes the political intrigues... All these are a brand attributes of the author's work. The first book is strong, although at first not very clear. The second holds the bar, but the third, we have to admit giving up its positions. This is explained by the fact that during the writing of "Factor of ascension" Frank Herbert died and Bill Ransom respectively has finishing the book. Unfortunately, Mr. Ransom was unable to transfer and disclose all of the ideas, however the book deserves attention. He finishes the trilogy, but the ending is still open, as always (or almost always) did Frank Herbert. By the way Avatar will also have two sequels...
But that's not all. If it is possible to doubt that the " Pandora's Box" has some attitude to " Avatar", then there is no doubt about the story "Call me Joe", written by the famous American science fiction writer - Paul Andersen.
The story reveals many of the conceptual idea of ​​the film: the appearance of the characters, moving in the avatars, the desire to stay in a new, more powerful body. The hero of the story - a scientist Edward Anglesey, disabled, which in the body of avatar Joe, explores Jupiter. There is no a reasonable life on the Red giant besides him, he was the first and only one. Yet. The story, despite its small size, is quite deep and leaves a strong impression. As in the movie, the hero in the story chooses a new life, full of dangers, adventures, and new knowledge. All lovers of fiction worth reading it.
Probably, James Cameron is a true fan of the science fiction genre of literature and generally genius director, once he was able so skillfully to transmit on the screen similar emotions, develop characters and allow viewers to enjoy the magical world of Pandora for three hours.