I don't need to write a full review of this because it's Dune; literally what else can I say about it that hasn't already been said?

What I can say is that as someone who doesn't read a lot of sci-fi/high fantasy, I found this a lot easier to read than I expected! Particularly because I watched the 2021 film (Part One) before reading this so I had a visual reference as well as general understanding of the various factions/politics at play which really helped. As well as the terminology and concepts the book explores.

That made the first 55% or so of the book fly by as more of a 'refresher' since the movie pretty faithfully adapts that portion of the story. Of course in the book you get a bit more detail and character depth which I loved.

I'm a sucker for themes of politics and religion, fate and humanity (animals vs humans), and more that was explored through this exciting and fast-paced story. The dialogue was great. I loved the epigraphs at the start of each chapter. All in all, I am shocked but happy with how much I loved this!

I’ve been sitting at this keyboard for longer than I care to admit trying to coalesce my thoughts about Dune into something coherent. You already know it’s fantastic though, right? Dune is one of those novels that is spoken of in reverential tones by seasoned reader and relative newbie alike. It’s considered by many to be THE best sci-fi novel of all time and Herbert’s son, Brian Herbert, rightfully calls it sci-fi’s equivalent to Lord of the Rings for inspiring all that came after its publication.

So, I mean, what in the name of Shai-Hulud am I supposed to add to that?

Well, I’ll begin with the story of how I came to read Dune. I’m sure that there have been ample opportunities to read the book. I can remember seeing the black-spine amidst a forest of other spines on my cousin’s bookshelf, of which I had free reign. Yet something always kept me from picking it up. It could have been my obsession with fantasy novels at that time with only the briefest allowances for sci-fi. Whatever the reason, the book continued to pop up. Its sliver of desert on a black background called to me from piles at used bookstores, the shelves of friends and relatives, and even on public transportation. All the same, I never got around to it.

Two factors finally made the difference. The first, my well-read friend (Josh Bragg in real life, but he’s on Goodreads too!) always brought it up as one of the best books he’s ever read. He also took the opportunity to remind me to read it whenever book recommendations went flying between us and, foolishly, I kept putting him off. But I’m a sucker for a great looking book and these Penguin Galaxy sci-fi collections sealed the deal for me. Their elegant cover designs, the intros by Neil Gaiman, a selection of books I’d always been meaning to read, AND Dune was on it? I was absolutely delighted to find the book under the tree on Christmas morning and tore into it in earnest.

THE TIME HAD FINALLY COME

Though it took near 200 pages to really pick up speed, the novel had me hooked from its immersive opening. Here was a world that was familiar and strange at the same time. There are elements of fantasy and religion coupled with interplanetary travel and space empires. The characters touted titles that were inscrutable at the beginning, but became part of my vocabulary before the novel’s end. The novel refused to tell me everything I needed to understand, secreting mysteries without ever outright stating them. How could I not want to know what Kwisatz Haderach meant? How could I not want to know the secrets of Arrakis?


The Layers of Dune

I was swept away by this novel that mixes sci-fi concepts of higher dimensions with political intrigue. Environmental change mixed with an unlimited cast of enthralling characters, and a drop of religious philosophy. Dune is a novel of the highest order: it combines entertainment with brilliant questions that pull from an incredible number of disciplines. Of course, if you just want to read a compelling tale of political plotting, murder, adventure, and discovery, you can totally do that too.

In the afterword, Brian Herbert notes a conversation he had with his father about the writing and structure of Dune. Frank Herbert constructed Dune so that it would be immensely dense. Herbert wanted to create a tale that could be enjoyed on the level of the central conflict: a boy becoming a man trying to reclaim his heritage against astounding odds in a world beyond imagining. Here’s an excerpt from that afterword about the layers.

Ecology is the most obvious layer, but alongside that are politics, religion, philosophy, history, human evolution, and even poetry. (Page 693 of the Penguin Galaxy Edition)

The fact that the novel can be enjoyed from any number of different readings alone makes it a novel of huge significance. Dune doesn’t force you into thinking, but it invites the interested to partake in its rich metaphor and multifaceted meaning. What’s more, Herbert makes statements about his concepts, but rarely does he offer them as the only solution (barring, perhaps, an ecological viewpoint that bemoans industrialization). I dove into different fields of thought between and during readings. I contemplated elegant ideas Herbert proposes and marveled at the structure of the plot and the boundless ideas of this world.

What a world it is! The world building here could fill a university course as Herbert establishes a world unlike any other, but totally believable. When I read about the stillsuit I was astonished by its creativity, but also how it imparted valuable information about the world of Arrakis. Though the sandworms scream for attention throughout the novel, equal care is given to the hierarchy of the Empire, the mystical Bene Gesserit religion, and the curiosities of culture. Herbert also seems to have invented a group of hallucinogenic compounds that are in equal parts trippy, interesting, and betray an interesting look at 1960s culture.

Dune drew me in and took me for a ride that I never wanted to get off.

Of course, when the ride does end, it is immensely satisfying. Dune ends leaving unanswered questions in a fashion that made me feel like I knew enough to be entirely contented. Which, of course, begs the question: will I read the other Dune novels?

Welllllllllllllllll, maybe.

It’s highly daunting to look at the entire Dune Chronicles and think that I would tackle that. Especially when Dune ends in a way that makes me so happy, and especially when the subsequent novels purportedly deliver diminishing returns. For now, I’m too overjoyed and impressed by Dune to consider returning to the world anytime soon other than to re-read the novel.

Obviously, I can’t recommend Dune enough. That’s also not a recommendation that goes to the sci-fi crowd alone. Oh no, this is a book that has great appeal to a wide variety of people. You like A Song of Ice and Fire? Perfect: you’ll love the backstabbing, the plots-within-plots, the combat, the story. You don’t read sci-fi? No worries: there’s a wealth of important themes upon which to reflect. You like sci-fi, your friends continuously recommend you read Dune, and you keep putting it off?

Goodreadians, I think you know what you need to do!

I MEAN ... WHERE THE FUCK DO I REALLY EVEN START??? It's been a long time since I've been sucked into a FANTASY / SCI-FI world and didn't wanna leave it. Early examples of that happening include Potter, the Ink world and Lord of the Rings (first through the movies, and later the books).

In recent years, it has only happened with A Song of Ice and Fire and The Kingkiller Chronicles – two unfinished series ... a fate that DUNE, unfortunately, shares. [Can you hear me screaming all across the universe, Frank???]

Anyways, I stopped reading fantasy and sci-fi for the simple reason that I was no longer excited by it. I read so much from these genres over my young adolescence (most notably fantasy ... sci-fi was never really my thing) that it felt right to "move on" at one point. I never regretted it, and rarely look back.

BUT when I saw DUNE in theatres, I felt a like an excitable kid again. That movie had me hooked. From the first minute on, I knew I would be going on one hell of a ride. I saw the film with my best friend and we both couldn't believe what we had just witnessed. Cinema history akin to Lord of the Rings (or at least that's how I imagine the people who got out of the cinema back in the early 2000s). This is a FRANCHISE that one can work with. This is something that will stick with us for the next couple of years, especially if they make TWO more movies (instead of just one).

DUNE didn't have that typical sci-fi feel (...my only reference point is Star Wars tho, lmao). It felt much more like Game of Thrones set in space. What drives DUNE forward is not its setting and all of the space travel, it's the political intrigue.

n  As someone once observed, given the right lever you can move a planet.n

When Duke Leto Atreides gets the order from the Padisha Emperor Saddam IV to replace his cousin, the Baron Harkonnen, as ruler of the planet Arrakis (also known as DUNE), he knows that that's not a gift. The Emperor is intimidated by Leto's power and that he's held in high esteem by the other Higher Houses of the universe. And therefore Leto (along with the other Atreides) must be stopped. What then ensues is an exhilarating and complex net of plots which focuses on the all encompassing question of power. What makes a good ruler? Who is "allowed" to rule? What about the people who are ruled?

I didn't expect DUNE to be as psychological and philosophical as it was ... even though I heard it gets even more META throughout the rest of the series (CAN'T WAIT!). At the heart of the story, we follow Paul Atreides, son of Duke Leto, as he moves with his parents and their entourage from Caladan to Arrakis.

n  "It is said a man will come one day and find in the gift of the drug his inward eye. He will look where we cannot - into both feminine and masculine pasts... Many men have tried the drug... so many, but none has succeeded."

"They tried and failed, all of them?"

"They tried and died."n

Paul was trained throughout his young life (he is 15 at the beginning of the book) by his mother, Lady Jessica, in her Bene Gesserit ways. The Bene Gesserit are a pseudo-religious organization of all-women spies, nuns, scientists, and theologians who use genetic experimentation, galactic political interference, and religious engineering to further their own agenda of ascending the human race with the advent of their chosen one, the Kwisatz Haderach. Paul struggles with the burden his mother has chosen for him. He knows that there is no such thing as "the chosen one"; it's a farce, a manipulation – and yet something he can't escape.

Not gonna lie, I had my problems with Herbert's writing throughout the first third of the book. I have never read something quite like it. I know lots of people had problems with the rich world building in DUNE because Herbert tends to throw hundreds of terms (unique to his world) around without any explanation for them in the text; but having seen the movie BEFOREHAND (something I would highly recommend) made it SUPER EASY for me to picture everything and follow along. No, the problem I had was the actual WRITING STYLE. At first, it felt really clunky and ... just weird? Like, not literary at all? I know I'm doing a piss poor job at explaining it but at first I felt like I was reading a weird fanfiction of the movie (LMAO).

But when I got used to the writing and accepted it for what it is, I got reeeeaally lost in the book. And was actually amazed at how MODERN??? the writing felt. Like, DUNE could've literally been written in the 21st century. The writing definitely didn't feel OLD, even though it felt WEIRD in some parts. :D

Anyways, I finished DUNE within three days (which is a feat for me ... the book is almost 700 pages long and I usually only read 50 pages a day). It was a true page turner, especially two-thirds into the book – when we finally got to the part of the story that wasn't shown in the movie – I was glued to the pages. I couldn't believe what was happening. All the twists and turns were just AMAZING. And the ending was puurrrfect. [I really like that DUNE can be read as a standalone ... especially since I don't feel like committing to a 6-book-series that isn't even finished and literally 20+ extra novels that Herbert's son wrote to broaden the universe.]

DUNE is not a book I'd recommend to just anyone. You must have an appetite for it. You must be willing to forgive its author a couple of things for full enjoyment (like the role of women in the story, and that there are very few female characters to begin with; or Herbert's homophobia which comes through in his portrayal of the Baron Harkonnen). If you can't do that, you won't have a fun time. But if you really WANT to go on this journey, then DUNE will hold many adventures and purse-clutching moments for you.

FAVORITE QUOTE: THE LITANY OF FEAR

"I must not fear.
Fear is the mind-killer.
Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration.
I will face my fear.
I will permit it to pass over me and through me.
And when it has gone past, I will turn the inner eye to see its path.
Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain."

I WANNA TALK ABOUT SOME THINGS I REALLY LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING IN THE SECOND MOVIE AND EVERYTHING THAT I LEARNED THROUGH READING THIS BOOK, SO – SPOILER WARNING – PROCEED WITH CAUTION:

- from the introduction: the Bene Gesserit have secret computers to keep track of their breeding records??? when will this come into play?? and what is the significance of this??
- Castle Caladan served the Atreides family as home for 26 (!) generations
- Faufreluches class system: The faufreluche system was meant to provide some sort of order for the way in which humanity related with one another, both to maintain order and civility, and to keep certain groups under control within the Imperium. However, it attempted to minimise alienation of individuals or minorities by providing for everyone: The motto of the faufreluche system was "A place for every man and every man in his place."
- Butlerian Jihad: a.k.a. The Great Revolt -- two generations of chaos (200 BG - 108 BG). The god of machine-logic was overthrown by the masses and a new concept was raised: "Man may not be replaced."
- Orange Catholic Bible: It was supposed to be a fusion of all significant religious thought in human history, with a strong emphasis on religious beliefs originating on Earth. These included the Maometh Saari, Mahayana Christianity, Zensunni Catholicism, and Budislamic traditions. It was produced by the Commission of Ecumenical Translators in the wake of the Butlerian Jihad. Its supreme commandment was: "Thou shalt not disfigure the soul."
- The Spacing Guild: The Spacing Guild, also known as the Guild of Navigators, or more simply the Guild, was an organization which held exclusive access to faster than light space travel. The Guild monopoly on space travel and transport and upon interstellar banking is taken as the beginning point of the Imperial Calendar.
- the reason Gurney hates the Harkonnens so much is that his younger sister is held captive in one of their pleasure houses
- on Arrakis live the Fremen and the people of the graben, the sink, and the pan
- Paul has Mentat capabilities
- the Duke "bought" Lady Jessica???
- crysknife will disintegrate if it's more than a week away from flesh => people with a crysknife may never leave Arrakis without the Fremen's consent
- Dr. Yueh's motivation is so much better in the book than in the movie: he just wants to kill the Baron, he KNOWS that his wife is dead (in the movie he felt like such a fool)
- the Atreides' raid on Giedi Prime, destroying the Baron's spice stores => EXCELLENT!
- The Fremen are paying the Guild for privacy (paying with spice) => the Guild therefore forbids satellites over Arrakis ... bc the Fremen slowly want to change the face of Arrakis (make it a green planet)
- DUNE is a great lesson on climate change, looking at the conditions of Arrakis, especially in regards to the water scarcity and the extreme weather, it is a bleak (but realistic) look into the future ... especially since Herbert stresses that this is man-made and could've been prevented had people (CAPITALISM) not seen more value in the resource of spice than in an actual liveable green planet - I CANNOT (written in the 60s, ladies and gentlemen, yet more accurate than ever)
- "He recalled another thing the old woman had said about a world being the sum of many things—the people, the dirt, the growing things, the moons, the tides, the suns—the unknown sum called nature, a vague summation without any sense of the now."
- Muad'Dib: The Mouse (Paul's chosen Fremen name but also a constellation from the Arrakeen sky)
- Once you're addicted to spice, you need it to live => you literally can't leave Arrakis without spice (or else you'd die)
- LADY JESSICA IS BARON HARKONNEN'S DAUGHTER (I YELLED WHEN THAT WAS REVEALED)
- the conditioning of a Suk School: Imperial Conditioning was a development of the Suk Medical Schools. It was the highest conditioning against taking human life, which meant that a Suk Doctor who had this conditioning could even serve an Emperor.
- Stilgar and Liet Kynes are brothers => Liet Kynes is Chani's father!!!
- The Fremen storing all of that fucking water in these caches (I NEED TO SEE THAT ON SCREEN) => they literally have thousands of caches with 38 million decaliters of water - I CANNOT
- Paul realising: My mother is my enemy. She does not know it, but she is. She is bringing the jihad. She bore me; she trained me. She is my enemy. - But how does this come into play??? I feel like there wasn't that much tension between the two???
- Feyd-Rautha and the gladiator => cannot wait to see that fight (also love that Thufir Hawat is being held captive by the Baron)
- Lady Fenring seducing Feyd-Rautha ... having a child with him??? => bc she knows it's the only way to SAVE THAT BLOODLINE (so the Fenrings knew that the Baron, Beast Rabban and Feyd-Rautha would all be killed??? how??)
- The Water of Life: the liquid exhalation of a dying sandworm (poisonous)
- the whole ceremony for Jessica becoming the Reverend Mother of Stilgar's people ... this will be a wild trip in the movie!
- Alia being the weirdest. baby. ever. => love that for her!
- Chani seeing her future with Paul in the post-ceremony trance/orgy/whateverthefuck (seeing young Leto - their son) and then just being like YUP YOU'RE THE ONE FOR ME LET'S START FUCKING is such a mood
- Salusa Secundus: the Emperor's prison planet; mortality rate among new prisoners is more than 60%; this is where he gets his Sardaukar
- Paul seeing that he will enshrine the skull of his father in a Fremen rock mound overlooking Harg Pass => WHY THOOOO???? my man??
- Fremen ride the sandworms beginning at age 12
- Gurney (who became a smuggler after the attack on House Atreides) finally reuniting with Paul after YEARS - I was soft!!!!
- Paul, even after all the years with the Fremen saying: "I am House Atreides." Whew, chile
- Paul drowning the maker to see if he is the real Kwisatz Haderach => THIS MAN NEEDS TO CHILLL!!!!
- Paul having power over the Spacing Guild (and the Emperor) because he has the power of the spice => he threatens to kill all makers (sandworms) and therefore extinguish the spice
- Paul's son dying at Baron Harkonnen's hands (and Alia being captive) => I wasn't prepared for THAT
- ALIA HAS NO FUCKING CHILL AND I LOVE HER VERY MUCH
- Paul using Princess Irulan as his key to the throne - I HATE IT HERE (I hope she gets back at him in future books ... the way he treats her is APPALLING!!!)
- Count Fenring had never appeared in Paul's prescient visions => having read the beginning of DUNE MESSIAH I suppose that is because he is one of the SPACING GUILD????? what the fuck? bc it is revealed that they are exempt from all visions (maybe bc they are not really male or female??)
- Paul: "The power to destroy a thing is the absolute control over it."
- Paul getting back at Mother Gaius Helen Mohiam ("Try your tricks on me, old witch. Where's your gom jabbar? Try looking into that place where you dare not look! You'll find me there staring out at you." => WHAT THE FUCK??? THAT WAS SO EPIC???) ALSO: "I remember your gom jabbar. You remember mine. I can kill you with a word." AHHHHHHHHH
- The Jihad being inevitable
- Last sentence, Jessica consoling Chani: "While we, Chani, we who carry the name of concubine—history will call us wives." => I know this situation with Paul-Irulan-Chani is all kinds of fucked up BUT THAT WAS EPIC

I blame the movie.

I was an avid but novice fantasy and sci-fi reader in 1984 when David Lynch’s Dune rolled out as a big-budget adaptation of the 1965 classic book. It was an artistic and box-office failure with Roger Ebert calling it “a real mess, an incomprehensible, ugly, unstructured, pointless excursion.” Numerous references were made to its excessive length, particularly a tv edition that was over 3 hours long. I never did pick up the classic sci-fi book, assuming the commentary heard about the movie applied to the book. All that changed when I broke my finger and found myself with a lot of extra time on my hands (groan).

Besides, sandworms.



Dune has a lot of ingredients that don’t fit into my preferred stories, yet the gestalt was not only tolerable, but engrossing.

It begins with the Atreides family preparing to shift their holding from their current home to the planet of Arrakis. The Emperor has given the Atreides the territory and trade on the planet of Arrakis, formerly under control of their enemies, the Harkonnen. The planet Arrakis is hot, arid and generally hostile to life. There is, however, a small population of native, fierce Freman who have managed to build an existence in the desert.



Paul Atreides is the young heir of the family, and mystical testing reveals he might be the one prophesied.



Paul undergroes a rapid growth curve, facilitated by his teacher Dr. Yeuh and his father’s advisors.



But it is in the desert that Paul will discover his strength as well as his new people.



Seriously, now.

Honestly, I have to wonder how much of this like is generational. If Sanderson or Rothfuss wrote this book, two chapters in Dune would have made a whole book, and while detail may have been added, it likely would have made for a book as slow as the movie. I liked the scope of Dune, and that there is a resolution to the initial conflict. It is also interesting that despite the volume of concepts packed in here, with political maneuvers, terraforming, technology, cultural assimilation, and mysticism all playing roles that I didn’t find it overwhelming, perhaps because so much is genre-familiar.

On the downside, it could have perhaps used a bit more transitions, particularly near the end when months at a time are skipped. Writing was solid; nothing really stood out, but it told the story well. There’s some vague mysticism that might irritate those who like explanations. It was a bit of an eye-roller to have the chief villain be a fat, gay, sadistic pedophile, but Herbert really isn’t thinking outside the trope character box much (it’s not enough that he sentences people to death but he has to be physically abhorrent? And gay?). World-building is fun, but standard desert.

Overall, I’m glad that I finally took the time to read it and put those old assumptions to rest. I love a good hero.

Nope. Sorry I don't get it.

I was able to finish it by listening to the audiobook but I was bored throughout the whole 21h.

So many descriptions... anyone else found the way Paul's mom describing him kinda weird?

And let's not even mention how many times I laughed at the main female character being called Jessica.

I'm sure I'll get plenty of comments telling me it's a classic and it brought so much to the genre... At the end of the day, my rating is always based on my enjoyment.

Genialne.

Nie potrafię wskazać w tej książce elementu, który by mi się nie podobał. Wszystko wydaję się być zaplanowane i przemyślane w skali najmniejszych szczegółów. Mam wrażenie jakby każde ziarnko piasku z pustyni wiedziało co ma robić.

Sci-fi, polityka, religia i ekologia. Kreacja tego świata naprawdę wykracza poza moje wszelkie wyobrażenia.

I’m speechless right now i nie umiem pozbierać myśli….

Nie mogę się doczekać czytania kolejnych części…

Ocena: 5,0. Będzie czytana ponownie

Buddy re-read with Athena!

“To begin your study of the life of Muad'Dib, then, take care that you first place him in his time: born in the 57th year of the Padishah Emperor, Shaddam IV. And take the most special care that you locate Muad'Dib in his place: the planet Arrakis. Do not be deceived by the fact that he was born on Caladan and lived his first fifteen years there. Arrakis, the planet known as Dune, is forever his place.”

Thus begins one of the greatest novels ever written.

About ten years ago, when I was ten or eleven years old, I took my first cautious steps away from children’s and young adult books and into the wonderful world of adult literature. I remember that there were especially two grand works of fiction that shaped this period of my life, and eventually managed to change it forever. The first was a huge brick of a fantasy novel whose name was The Lord of the Rings. The second was a rather small, blue book with a particularly interesting cover, which I discovered in one of my father’s bookshelves. Its name was Dune.

And that was how I first came along on the adventures of Paul-Muad’Dib on the endless sands of Arrakis. I met people like the warmaster Gurney Halleck and the swordmaster Duncan Idaho, the aging assassin Thufir Hawat, the wise and powerful Lady Jessica of the Bene Gesserit, the disgustingly evil Baron Vladimir Harkonnen, and the stunningly beautiful Princess Irulan. I encountered the greatest of the sandworms in the deep desert, and I witnessed Muad’Dib as he lived amongst the mysterious blue-eyed Fremen and as he struggled and fought against those who betrayed his family.

Now, ten years later, I have read the book once more. And to my great satisfaction I discovered that it had lost none of the magic that worked so well on me the first time. The political machinations of the Great Houses and the Imperium were still as interesting and exciting as the first time. The sandworms were still as awe-inspiring as when I last read about them. And even though the book could not possibly have the same effect on me today as it had on that little boy ten years ago, it was still an amazingly enjoyable book from the first page until the very end. There was more than a fair bit of nostalgia involved when it came to settling on a final rating, and I find it likely that the rating would have been lower if I were reading this for the first time. Still, I would argue that Dune is not only one of my personal favourites, but one of the absolute best examples of fictional literature ever. It has become a pillar on which dozens of later works now stand, from Star Wars to the Wheel of Time.

What is it that makes this book so great? My answer would be neither the story nor the characters, even though both of those are great. No, the most extraordinary aspect about this book is most certainly its setting. In contrast to a great majority of science fiction, this novel takes place almost exclusively on one single planet. Arrakis. Dune. Desert planet. This is the world that inspired Tatooine. This is the world on which House Atreides fights for its survival in the heart of a treacherous universe. And, last but not least, this is the world where the sandworms roam. The world of the shai-hulud.

n  ”History is written on the sands of Arrakis."n

While the cultural impact of this book is indisputable, I couldn't help feeling incredibly underwhelmed when reading it. Even the plot couldn't save Dune, since it's spoiled at every juncture by 'Princess Irulan' and her epigraphs before each chapter. Did no-one tell her about spoiler alerts?

From the very first pages, this book plunges you in at the deep-end with an absurd amount of overly complex world-building, which just makes the book laborious to work through. It wasn't for me, and the post-Dune reading slump is real.

Jeżeli w jednym miejscu zobaczycie tyle piasku i robali, to będzie to oznaczało jedną z dwóch rzeczy. Albo czytacie właśnie najlepszą powieść sci-fi w historii, albo spędzacie wakacje w Łebie.

Filmik o całej serii poniżej:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I0sPw...

Holy Shai-hulud! It was definitely time for me to finally read this truly great classic of science fiction!

I must say that I've watched the two mini-series, Dune and Children of Dune, in my teenage years. Thus, I already had a grasp of the story, what it was about.
However, nothing could have prepared me for the great writing style, the dense philosophy, ecology, and mythology of this story. It takes the term "world-building" to a whole new level.

So what is this about?
Well, that is not easily answered, but put very simply it is a book about a galactic empire and intrigue among the aristocratic houses within it. At the heart of the tale are the Emperor, the House Atreidis, and the House Harkonnen.
An assassination sets into motion a very old prophecy and the uprising of a people that has been suppressed for generations.
It's also about a planet that is merely a "factory" for melange (spice) and about the delicate balance of nature even in the most desolate of places.

Now, considering where I live and current events here, I must admit that reading all the Muslim names and terms, but especially reading about Jihad, made me EXTREMELY uncomfortable. The Fremen, the natives of the planet Arrakis (the afore-mentioned "factory" for spice), are fanatically religious and (almost happily) willing to commit genocide. This should have really turned me off. However, the story has enough "westerness" on one hand (the way the aristocracy as well as certain story elements are portrayed) and Paul on the other to make up for it (Paul, despite being the prophesied saviour, does everything he can to prevent genocide and actually tries to reign in the people worshipping him). I liked the burden Paul carries and that he realizes it really is a burden (death) and was therefore torn between using his powers and knowing their limits, being chivalrous and ruthless at the same time.

One of the greatest joys while reading this book (apart from the art of my edition which I shared with all of you through my status updates) was the ecology of the story. It was made clear in the introduction already, but even without that comment it would have been more than clear that Frank Herbert had the utmost respect for scientists and their work. One of the most impressive characters (Kynes) was a planetologist after all. It helps tremendously to bring this planet to life and make the reader trod from dune to cavern to city to any other place in this story. One feels the heat, the sand, the dryness of the place, and marvels just as much as any person within the story whenever there is a tiny bit of green presented or when a worm attacks.

But I also enjoy the Bene Gesserit. Their plans are certainly ... ambiguous at best. Genetic perfection. But also the plan to combine all houses and therefore create a certain equilibrium (and exert control). It's cold logic and I'm strongly opposed to forced matches or "breeding" of humans in general, but one cannot help but wonder if events hadn't been more peaceful if everyone had played his/her part as planned.

There is also a lot of heartbreak - both on the small and large scale.
For example, I cannot stop thinking about the slave trade and how some people are treated by basically everyone here.
Or like Irulan. In the book, Irulan has such a little active role, appearing just briefly at the very end of the tale but shining in that moment through her brave selflessnesss. Other than that, we only have quotes from various writings of hers about Muad'Dib and yet I felt so much pity for her. Sure, she lives the life of a princess with all its comforts (as opposed to the slaves or poor people of Arrakis) but although Paul is never cruel, he also doesn't love her (Irulan is just his key to the throne) and a loveless life is cruel enough in and of itself.
Then again, there is Chani, having Paul's love but never going to have the chance to call herself his wife (another form of sacrifice, to say nothing of their first-born son they've lost).

Every detail in this epic story has its place and though the novel is more about a wide sweep of events instead of deep characterization, every person is unique and delightful in their own way (be it vile Baron Harkonnen - no, I don't have a problem with the main villain being gay - , weird little badass Alia, powerful but also kind of lost Paul, underestimated Fenring and his wife, or any one of the "background characters") and there is development (mostly for Paul of course).

I cannot rave enough about this book, will watch the David Lynch movie tomorrow (since I haven't seen it yet), re-watch the mini-series for comparison and old times' sake, and (at some point in time) definitely re-read the book.

Seems as if they might be duned to be addicted to spice, all good old barbarians on magic mushrooms style.

Quite dusty, especially regarding how to put the different parts of this behemoth series in the big picture of sci-fi because each part (of the 3 I´ve read so far and very probably won´t restart trying to read the 4th and 5th part) presents something different. Essentially, only this, the first one, is a real science fantasy epos, while the others are mostly circulating around the characters' special skills and family problems without much meta, plot, or different settings.

Just this first milestone is big in the epic worldbuilding department and some other things I´ll try to point my primate fingers at. As unrealistic as water scarcity in such a highly developed galactic civilization seems, it´s a perfect explanation for creating the blue eyed mind mutants and the misandrist female breeding gang, that don´t ever need to kick male butts, because they preemptively avoid that situation to become real.

Real life implications and innuendos.
I don´t know if Herbert had any kind of real civilizations, cultures, or traditions in mind when he constructed the tribes, today it would probably fall under any kind of politically correct bigoted do gooder codex, but there could lie a ton of creative writing gold in exploring this question of how to implement any past or present movement, society, tradition, faith into different sci-fi subgenres. Because how the traditions, monsters, and badass special moves of the inhabitants influence the planetary and intergalactic trade and travel balance is slowly presented to the reader, while the impact of the wonderful spice expands its glow towards total domination.

Don´t take drugs except they make you superhuman
As so often, a prescription free pharmaceutical wonder cure can solve all of your problems until corporate interests come and ruin everything by using anything in their armory to get control over the precious resource of psychohistoric psi precognition power. The idea of one substance changing the whole balance of power of the galaxy is big in many sci-fi series and especially terrifying for each arrogant, high tech civilization, because an animal creating impervious shields, an immortality tonic, a mind altering super drug, etc., could enable far weaker, steampunky tribes to destroy them. Classic barbarian hordes on magic mushrooms looting Rome style.

Bene Gesserit
Who says that centuries long, epigenetic, elitist breeding programs have to be completely evil all the time? Except for the poor lovers aroused by the wrong, not arranged partner, stupid Romeo and Juliet syndrome complexes, you have to see the bigger picture and control your hormones and feelings and sacrifice some biochemical illusions to create the ÜberPsi mentat mentalist mind penetrator. However, it works with less evil too. Together with the spice, this elite mental mind control academy with the aim to finally create the ultimate space JC messiah figure to defecate rainbows, freaking galactic peace, pink unicorns, and gold, is the backbone of the whole trilogy, because impacts of both and the excessive use of it as MacGuffins and Chekhovs plot devices lead to the question:

Is this still really sci-fi or not more a high fantasy thing with some sci-fi elements?
Well, highly subjectively, yes, Dune is mostly psi fantasy dressed in futuristic clothes with some faith, tech, technobabble (rare), and trade in between, which makes it one of the most outstanding and unusual sci-fi works, I mean fantasy camouflaged as sci-fi. Tricky, one is so indoctrinated to call this thing sci-fi that it took me a reread and absorbing many reviews to realize what´s really going on. I´m really not sure about this whole thing, I´ve read a ton of sci-fi and my alien mind parasite, in a kind of perverted symbiosis with the xenovirus making me look fresher I deliberately bought for this purpose like a tapeworm therapy to lose weight (you don´t want to know what this costs on the alien bioweapons black market, the second half of my immortal soul exactly), tells me that there still would a lot of story without the sci-fi elements, while close to nothing would be there after removing fantasy, faith, drugs, and mind penetrating abilities, so, yea. I mean, even the planet itself doesn´t really has sci-fi fractions or something, the space around it is kind of empty without many sci-fi parties, cyborgs, aliens, everything substantial seen in close to any big sci-fi series. This leads me to

An unpopular and possibly controversial opinion
It could be that Herbert is, and I am just talking about the sci-fi aspect, a bit overrated or, let´s precisely define it, overhyped as a sci-fi author because he is more of a fantasy writer. This couldn´t happen in a fantasy world, because parts of the legions of readers of the genre don´t want aliens and Clarketech mixed in their magic, not to speak of the suspension of disbelief problem that often comes with sudden future tech elements in fantasy, that´s just disgusting. The other way round, as with Dune, is much easier, just put some sci-fi around fantasy and everything just rolls perfectly.

Is terraforming destroying cultural heritage or making inhabitable worlds paradises?
The ethical implications of this question are another sci-fi old school vehicle, especially if the terrible acid rain, high gravity, parasite infested, or dirty desert land is the only region where the special, red plotline device can grow and thrive. One could go so far as to ask if there are real life examples on earth, conservation vs corporate environmentalism, greenwashing and stuff (spoiler warning: conservation lost, earth is dying), and how this should be dealt with in decades, centuries, or millennia when we (I hope you are immortal too thanks to alien symbiont virus cooperation like me, if you aren´t, poor you, may I infect you? Just 20.000 of whatever your fringe financial system uses as fiat money that will be worthless as soon as natural apocalypse, mutually assured destruction, or alien invasion make it obsolete, and you get the parcel. Shipping not included.) start manipulating weather, geophysics and- chemistry, and climate of other worlds to make it sexy, tropical, tourist friendly paradises at the low cost of exterminating all alien life, but this would be a bit far fetched.

Herberts´place in the sci-fi or sci-fa hall of fame.
That´s tricky, especially because he just couldn´t keep delivering after the third part. I´ve played around with the fourth and fifth part, but had to abandon it because it escalated to too much unmotivated, philosophical drivel without a real plotline and a place in the big picture of the series, Herbert just didn´t manage to hold it all together. What made the first three parts, that they are kind of eccentric, ingenious standalones without the classic space opera series uniting plotline and style, great, kind of destroyed the rest of the series. Because he had no more vision for the meta, high sci fa elements, Herbert lost control over his own creation and just manufactured hearthless shells to sell more books.

But that doesn´t mean that the first three parts aren´t milestones of the interdisciplinary genre, exploring it in new ways no one imagined before while reaching Lem-, Clarke-, and Asimov levels of subtle, intelligent dialogues, innuendos, connotations, and character driven development. It´s something unique, special, and definitively not for anyone because of its high entry barriers that may annoy some readers, but don´t let yourself be easily deterred by that, it´s totally worth it once you´re in and high as heck and addicted forever to the wonderful, delicious spice melange.

Tropes show how literature is conceptualized and created and which mixture of elements makes works and genres unique:
https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.ph...

I tried, I didn't like it. It was hard for me to get into the plot. Quite frankly most of this book was boring. I can see how this is considered a classic work and is entitled to the credit it deserves. This story had some decent points and descriptive language that added character to the story. The overall story plot included hidden messages of political intrigue and the rise and fall of empires, environmentalism, and even religious undertones that all added to create this 'space opera' epic. Having said all that, it still didn't grab my attention.

The only one thing I thought was neat was the transliterated Arabic language inferences throughout the story. Some examples were (mahdi, kull wahad, hajj, jihad, kitab, lisan al-ghaib). I'm sure there were other languages used in adding dimension to this world but I was unable to identify them off hand.

I only read this book because it has been suggested to me for years now. Now that I've finally gotten around to it, at least now I know it wasn't for me. Thanks!