DUNE

Dune never ceases to amaze no matter how many times it is read or viewed. Its content is relevant for both when it was written and when it is viewed. It is one of the most extraordinary and exciting books I have ever had the privilege of reading.

Dune A book review by Nathan Poulson Written by Frank Herbert in 1959, “Dune” is an epic adventure of political betrayal, ecological brinkmanship, and messianic deliverance. It won science fiction’s highest awards—the Hugo and the Nebula—and went on to sell more than twelve million copies during Herbert’s lifetime. The mantel piece of sci-fi, Star Wars, owes many of its’ widely popular ideas to Dune. To this day, it is still acclaimed by readers and critics alike as a “science-fiction masterpiece”. I highly recommend it to all readers, as I believe it will put a new perspective on things, deepen your understanding, and excite you to the edge of your seat. Dune follows the 15 year old boy Paul Atriedies and his mother, Jessica Atriedies in the very distant future. He is an only child of the duke of the Royal house of Atriedies. The house is given the stewardship over the desert planet of Arrakis or “Dune”, which controls the most valuable resource in the universe, the spice. On the planet where water is more valuable than gold, desert sand worms that are bigger than spaceships, life is lived to the extreme. With the spice comes a longer life span, increased perception, and in some cases prediction of the future, but at the cost of being highly addictive. The Harkonens, a noble house that previously owned the planet is intent on revenge and recapturing the spice. The spacing guild, which relies on the spice for navigating their spacecraft, is also intent on preventing anyone restricting or destroying their monopoly on space travel. Paul finds himself thrown into the mystery of Dune and its fierce natives, the Fremen. They think he is the savior their prophecy speaks of - is he destined to be the great preserver of their world or a false prophet to be purged? With multiple factions fighting, deceiving, and pulling strings, you never know quite what to expect in this awesome futuristic battleground. One side I really like about Dune is that it is not just a distant sci-fi to be enjoyed, but a book to learn and understand from. I really enjoy the themes Herbert establishes in the plot; one of them including the danger of entrusting too much power to a super being. Although his themes might be very serious and almost depressing, I admire that he has the courage to end the story based in reality, instead of a unrealistic Hollywood ending with no depth. Although the plot was very engaging, at some times the writing style really dragged things down. This can be a real turn off for even patient readers as Frank ambles around in unimportant details describing made up words and the very boring thought process of the characters. This is the one thing that made this otherwise a perfect book. Even though I thought the plot was almost pulling me down, somehow I still enjoyed it through the few sparks of almost perfect harmony when the style actually worked for the story. What makes Dune so special is the pure atmosphere. You can really tell that Frank put in a lot of effort into his fictional world and society. Even though the story is set in another universe, the planets, the characters, and the motives seem very real. He had the worlds built before he set the plot on them; you can see he studied Greek and Near East history extensively to make this book really come to life. Most books have characters that you can easily relate to. With Dune, it is a little bit harder to do that. In it, you have a story that instead of a personal account, it is more like a “retelling” and it is sometimes a little harder to relate to the feelings and values of the characters. My favorite character Paul is the most distant character for most of the book. Most of this isolation comes from the fact that people look to him as an idol, even though he still has human flaws. Throughout the book Paul is the character with the most burdens, and in constant pressure that he doesn’t measure up to other’s expectation of him. “They think they have a God, but I am only a man”. In reality he is a character we can all reflect from, he just has some layers in his personality that you have to peel away to really get to the core. This book is near from perfect, but it still hits home. Frank Herbert has done a difficult thing that combines ancient myths and stories with laser guns and mind control. He was the first one to do it, and the last to do it so well. Even without its deeper meanings, this is still a great read to just casually absorb. I cannot explain to you how amazing this book really is; so experience it yourself and pick up a copy, you will be surprised to what it has to offer.

Frank Herbert's Dune is simultaneously one of the most sublime and frustrating works of literature ever produced. I gave this novel a 5/5 rating outright for two reasons: it's my favorite novel, one I never tire of re-reading; and it's a book that should be read at least once by anyone interested in science fiction, fantasy, history, political science, economics, mysticism, or narrative. Regardless of whether or not someone actually enjoys Dune, every reader can glean something from it. That said, were it not for the latter two points, I would likely give this novel a lower rating, and here's why: Dune sacrifices storytelling for story. What in the name of Thor am I talking about? Let me explain. The world-building of Dune is outstanding, and I mean, REALLY outstanding. Tolkien can't hold a candle to Herbert's work in this regard - sure, he came up with a number of artificial languages, but from a narrative perspective that's actually one of the less productive things you can do to flesh out a setting. In Dune, every story element has relevance and connection to every other story element. The political reality of the galaxy depends on economic power, which is derived from trade, which is made possible by the Spacing Guild, who uses the spice, which exists only on Arrakis, whose administration depends upon the political climate. Paul's character is related to the mystical aspects of the story, but also brings relevance to the ecological and historical aspects. And so on, and so on. There isn't a loose thread here, no equivalent of the Fellowship of the Ring's Barrow-wights; nothing here could be removed from the whole package without substantially diminishing it. Tapping into all of these fundamental spheres of thought and creativity gives Dune the feeling of being a real history, and it gives the reader the feeling they're witnessing a change in the axis of civilization - something more subtly epic than big battles, of which we only get one (and an indirectly described one at that). That said, because Herbert is so dedicated to giving us as much material to work with as he can, in many instances this novel misses out on what might have been effective dramatic elements. An important plot point early on in the book is the supposed presence of a traitor in the midst of the Atreides, a traitor who will make the Harkonnen plot possible. Ordinarily I wouldn't mention this for spoiler concerns, but the novel basically comes out and tells you who the traitor is from the beginning, a while before it even comes into play in the events of the story. The reason this is problematic is because in a story which is so dependent upon political intrigue, it makes the decisions of the characters more powerful when we share in the mystery of the information around them. Another narrative problem is Paul himself. Though he is unquestionably the central character of the story as well as its protagonist, Paul starts off as a precocious fifteen-year-old and ends as a major player in galactic politics. In other words, he starts of as unrelatable and becomes less relatable as time goes by. In fact, several of my friends told me they stopped reading after a while because they didn't like Paul. This is an entirely fair criticism. In fact, the only character with whom a reader could form a true emotional connection would be Paul's mother, the Lady Jessica, whose problems are much more grounded in humanity. Now Paul's nature is basically vital to the fabric of the story, so it would diminish the story's complexity for him to become a more human character; but Dune would undoubtedly have been an easier reading experience had the novel chosen to focus on Jessica. This should give you a taste of what I mean. Dune isn't a novel that really engages a reader on an emotional level; because it reads so much like a history, it engages you on intellectual and thematic levels - but again, not emotionally. This is still my favorite novel, because measured against the standards of what it's trying to accomplish it succeeds beautifully; but potential readers should know what sort of undertaking they're facing when they pick this up.

👍

A very good hardcase version of dune. Together with Dune: Messiah of the same publisher really good. Just fair warning there is no children of dune in this version

This is also a pretty decent book to read and fairly slim to put into a backpack

Hace ya años que leí Dune por primera vez, y me encantó. A partir de leer Ready Player One, estoy volviendo a leer mucha ciencia ficción, con lo que valía la pena revisitar Dune. Es un libro espectacular. Personajes bien trazados, un universo interesante, una trama potente, y un desarrollo perfectamente elaborado. Junto con Fundación, es mi libro favorito de ciencia ficción, y es por algo. Además, es una caso muy claro en el que la película (ni la mini-serie) llegan a dar una idea lo más mínimanete remota de la historia que te cuenta el libro, con lo que vale mucho la pena leerlo. En cuanto a la edición, totalmente correcta. Típico ebook, que se lee perfectamente en el kindle. Un poco caro, pero muy recomendable.

If there is any challenge to the Russian masters then it comes in either Les Miserables or Dune, in either Jean Val Jean or Paul Atreides. Because if there was ever two comparable fictional characters greater then I don't know of them. Dune is not just a book, it is a universe, in itself. The depth of character construction makes Dune stand out among it contemporaries. It takes awhile for the reader to warm to the world that Dune inhabits, but like the Fremen it grows on you. You sense, while reading Dune, the time in which it was written. The leftover ramifications from WWII, and the onging threat of the Cold War. But it is the story that carries you along, the interwoven character plots, the frictions, the machinations. Dune is such an enjoyable read because the true discerning reader approaches it with a reverence, of almost religious form. A treasure to be experience, rather than a book to be consumed.