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.

I did it for timmy

Dune is often considered a masterpiece of 20th-century American science fiction. In part, the book owes its reputation to the film adaptation David Lynch directed in the early 1980s (although this movie was, and still is, not considered one of his best). Frank Herbert wrote a novel of epic proportions, in other words, a space opera, with its intergalactic feudal society, its decadent (if not evil) empire and its band of rebels: the book was published some ten years before the first instalment of the Star Wars series. Indeed, along with Asimov’s (overrated) Foundation stories, it was George Lucas’ primary source of inspiration.

One of the most exciting aspects of Herbert’s creation is the multi-cultural world he depicts. Each house (Atreides, Harkonnen, etc.), each planet (Arrakis, Giedi Prime, Caladan...), each group (the Fremen, the Bene Gesserit, the Guild, the Emperor’s suite and the Sardaukars) has its specific flavour, its own culture, its language — the comprehensive index at the end of the book is utterly fascinating. For each of these cultures, Herbert borrowed traits from traditions (ancient or contemporary) he knew well in reality, especially from the Middle East. In particular, Paul Atreides / Muad’Dib’s story among the Fremen is redolent of the historical events around T.E. Lawrence and the Arab revolt against the Ottoman Empire. And Paul’s crusade on Arrakis is told, as though it were ancient history, in the chronicles by the Princess Irulan at the start of each chapter.

Herbert describes his fictional world and characters in great detail, which contributes to the richness of his narrative, but I found these descriptions somewhat boring and, especially, the middle of the book is a bit dragging for that reason. In my view, the most impressive parts of this novel are the dialogues, where Herbert simultaneously reveals what the characters are saying and thinking. This technique lends a sense of duplicity and scheming to almost every interaction. Everyone is plotting one way or another so that the whole thing ends up being like a great Shakespearean play, with dialogues and asides, tyrants and pretenders. What confirms this impression is not only the theme of the exiled Duke (see As You Like It, King Lear, or The Tempest), but also the repeated scenes of fencing duels throughout, with feints and poisoned tips: a clear allusion to the endings of Hamlet and Macbeth, for instance.

Edit: A word about Denis Villeneuve’s new film adaptation of Herbert’s novel (part 1, 2021). Comparisons are odious and obviously wouldn’t be to David Lynch’s advantage. This is a Dune version for a new generation of fans and an epic movie on par with Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy, in the early 2000s. The settings (filmed in Scandinavia and the Middle East) are breathtaking, and the actors have so much going for them. But what strikes me the most in this new version is the sense that everything is overwhelming and sublime: the massive architecture, the crushing machines, the extreme weather conditions, the earth-shattering landscapes, the thunderous music, the tragic events, the repulsive foes. From the relenting waves of Caladan to the searing and unending skies of Arrakis, everything assumes an oceanic and staggering dimension.

Przebyłam pustynię i jeździłam na czerwiu, by śmiało zakrzyknąć JAK SIĘ CIESZĘ, ŻE W KOŃCU TO PRZECZYTAŁAM!

I liked Dune. After taking a day to digest wtf I just read.

Now I can truly find meaning in my favorite Anakin Skywalker quote: “I don't like sand. It's coarse and rough and irritating — and it gets everywhere.”

‘Deep in the human unconscious is a pervasive need for a logical universe that makes sense. But the real universe is always one step beyond logic.’

The sheer scope and magnitude of this 1965 sci-fi drama is staggering, populated with an extensive cast of characters and a rich universe full of well-rounded lore, intricate politics where every actions is revealed as ‘plans within plans within plans,’ and dynamic cultures all set on a collision course of plot that rightfully earned it a wide readership and canonization as a “Classic” work. I found it lived up to the hype and opened itself up more upon a reread, validating the fond memories I had of it from reading it first as a young teenager smitten with anything sci-fi. This book has zero chill and everything is to extreme and epic levels, including the size of worms. But come for the Bene Gesserits, best part. While there isn’t much to say that likely hasn’t already been said better, I still want to pause and reflect on some key elements in Dune. This is such a well-crafted book that addresses themes of power, religion, historical records as mythmaking and environmental concerns in a narrative about proxy wars and power struggles that speak just as loudly today as it did about 1960s foreign policy. If you are looking for a book of epic proportions, you can’t go wrong with Dune.

The best part about this book, to me, is the way it is constantly expanding. There is great world-building and a rich lore that recalls my glee first exploring The Lord of the Rings, but what really excites me is the way Herbert reveals it all. The book starts so small—a visit to a cottage from an old woman that seems like such a small scale fairy tale on page one—and swiftly becomes gargantuan and never stops growing. It leaves you constantly feeling yourself shrink beside a universe always revealing itself as more complex than you had realized. I enjoy the way Herbert only gives you the minimum of what you need to understand and lets it all slowly unfold when necessary.

‘They've a legend here, a prophecy, that a leader will come to them, child of a Bene Gesserit, to lead them to true freedom. It follows the familiar messiah pattern.’

For newcomers, the basis of the book is that Paul has been quite literally bred to be a messiah and is engulfed in a difficult power struggle over a planet that essentially upholds the interplanetary economy through mining an addictive substance called “spice”. You might quickly find yourself thinking of spice as oil and the planet Arrakis as Middle East and Northern Africa (Tor put out a really great essay on the way Herbert engages with Muslim culture and traditions), you know, since there was a whole Cold War going on at the time and giving the villain Baron Harkonnen a first name like Vladimir might make you wonder if this is all an elaborate metaphor. The Baron saying ‘in politics, the tripod is the most unstable of all structures,’ might make you think of the three branches of US government. You get the idea. There are also WWII holdovers present, such as the Sardaukar as an elite fighting force trained on Salusa Secundus to make sure you catch the S.S. reference. That’s all very much there, but this book is so much more than a simple sci fi rendition of the Cold War and Herbert definitely wants you to apply these themes to our larger political and religious global interactions.

‘Fear is the mind-killer.’

Another aspect I find fascinating in Dune is the depiction of Paul Atreides in the ‘chosen one’ trope. Paul has reservations, though not due to thinking he doesn’t deserve it (dude is royalty anyways, essentially) but because he fears what it will bring. Paul’s powers are enhanced through spice and he is able to perceive the future, and in almost every possible scenario he sees nothing but mass war in his name:

’They were all caught up in the need of their race to renew its scattered inheritance, to cross and mingle and infuse their bloodlines in a great new pooling of genes. And the race knew only one sure way for this—the ancient way, the tried and certain way that rolled over everything in its path: jihad.’

The notion of precognition brings free will into question, particularly when a certain individual appears in visions of the future but dies before it happens. It becomes a universe where individual free wills are all acting upon one another in an attempt to control the narrative of time.

’And what [Paul] saw was a time nexus within this cave, a boiling of possibilities focused here, wherein the most minute action—a wink of an eye, a careless word, a misplaced grain of sand—moved a gigantic lever across the known universe. He saw violence with the outcome subject to so many variables that his slightest movement created vast shiftings in the pattern.’

History is written by the winners, or so the saying goes, and much of this novel focuses on the way the narrative of time is constructed through the mythologizing of people and events. ‘History will call us wives,’ Jessica says to Chani, assuring her that her role as the lover to Paul will not be usurped by the princess he marries for the throne. Much of the book shows the dynamics between Paul as the Man and Paul as the myth, with characters like Stilgar recognizing that by being in service to the myth they too will be immortalized in the stories. Narratives become a form or power, and, as I’ll discuss soon, can be a form of control.

Perhaps it is because power and control are so central to this novel that it feels so very timeless and just as applicable to 2021 as it did to 1965. In regards to power, leadership also becomes another key theme. ‘Power and fear,’ House Atreides Duke Leto says, ‘The tools of statecraft, ’ a sentiment later echoed with all the same key terms by Baron Harkonnen. The two leaders are set up at the start as foils to each other, each trying to have their grip on Arrakis (there are some strong colonialism themes in this book and it delves into how troubling it is and how even those we might view as the savior turn out to be just another oppressor and colonizer) but their leaderships are defined by Leto’s rule through caring for his people while Harkonnen sees everyone as a useful pawn.

’A leader, you see, is one of the things that distinguishes a mob from a people. He maintains the level of individuals. Too few individuals, and a people reverts to a mob.’

Having recently finished The Dispossessed, I could have preferred some more voices in this book looking for better forms of ruling that don’t involve exploitation, but that’s not what this book is about so I’ll move on. What this book really focuses on is the ways power can be maintained, which crops up most in this novel through use of religion. ‘But it's well known that repression makes a religion flourish,’ we read, and the harsh life on Arrakis makes it the perfect setting where indoctrination of religion for the purpose of power can shape a community and unite them. Religion is a form of storytelling, having the people all believe in one shared story with all its myths and promises. ‘You deliberately cultivated this air, this bravura,’ Jessica instructs Paul, ‘you never cease indoctrinating.’ The stronger the shared faith, the more easily a leader can make them do what they need. It also helps that everyone is high as shit all the time. ‘Religion and law among our masses must be one and the same,’ Kynes's father says:

‘An act of disobedience must be a sin and require religious penalties. This will have the dual benefit of bringing both greater obedience and greater bravery. We must depend not so much on the bravery of individuals, you see, as upon the bravery of a whole population.’

Religion is being used constantly to shape the people for the purpose of their leaders, even in what seems an admirable purpose of turning desert Arrakis into a green paradise (and without a religious idea of paradise, how can a people who only know dry dirt and hardship even imagine a paradise?).

‘The real wealth of a planet is in its landscape, how we take part in that basic source of civilization—agriculture.’

This latter bit is also extremely key to Dune. The planet itself is practically a character in the novel, much in the ways the landscape is like a character in Westerns. The landscape of Arrakis truly shapes the people there, and we see a contrast between Arrakis and Caladan and how water as a precious resource on Arrakis changes many customs. Such as how spitting at a person is a sign of respect on Arrakis. Changing the environment on Arrakis is an interesting concept because, in order to make it thrive, what would the cost be? Would it disrupt spice, thereby collapsing the galaxy’s economy? Can these people ever be free, because doing so would require the complete dismantling of the governmental systems currently ruling? Can I try this spice? I would like to try the spice.

There is also something to be said about the harshness of an environment being an ideal place for strenght in unity around a cause to crop up. Le Guin explores this in The Dispossessed as well, with the anarchist planet having a similar dry desert vibe as Arrakis and scarcity being a major player in what keeps the people bonded and working together. The Fremen are tough because of their environment, similiarly the Sardaukar are trained in extremely harsh environments as well. Dune plays a lot with ideas on how fascism and strongmen can quickly rise to power in times of economic instability—or the threat of it—and here the difficult planets tend to produce the most deadly fighters. Mix religion in and you have an instant army if you can convince everyone you are the chosen one.

There is so much more to discuss in this book, particularly the Bene Gesserits and the Guild who are pulling a lot of strings, or just how friggen awesome the worms are. This is a big book with a lot of big ideas, and also a lot of ambiguity to them that I really appreciate. It is certainly a precursor for a lot of popular epics to follow. George Lucas certainly took notes and I imagine George R.R. Martin read this and said “wait, you can just kill beloved characters that easily!?” before rewriting Duke Leto as Ned Stark. While I can concede to those who find it boring and dry, I rather enjoyed all the history and lore and found this to be incredibly fun.

4.5/5

People often forget that this series is what innovated our modern concept of science fiction (up until Neuromancer and The Martix, at least). Dune took the Space Opera and asked if it might be more than spandex, dildo-shaped rockets, and scantily-clad green women. Herbert created a vast and complex system of ancient spatial politics and peoples, then set them at one another's throats over land, money, and drugs.

Dune is often said to relate to Sci Fi in the same way that Tolkien relates to Fantasy. I'd say that, as far as paradigm shift, this is widely true. Both entered genres generally filled with the odd, childish, and ridiculous and injected a literary sensibility which affected all subsequent authors.

Few will challenge the importance of Star Wars' effect on film and storytelling in general, but without Dune, there would be no Star Wars. Princess Alia, the desert planet, the Spice, the Bene Gesserit, and Leto II all have direct descendants in the movies. It is unfortunate that Lucas seems to have forgotten in these later years that his best genius was pilfered from Herbert, Campbell, and Kurosawa.

Though I have heard that the later books do not capture the same eclectic energy as the first, Dune itself is simply one of the most original and unusual pieces of Sci Fi ever written. Read it, Starship Troopers, Ringworld, Neuromancer, and Snowcrash and you'll know everything you need to about Sci Fi: that you want more.

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.

3.5/5 Stars

Dune oh Dune, seems like I need to raise my Shield Wall for this review.

Dune is one of the most important pieces of literature for the Sci-Fi genre. I’ve been raking my brain for hours on how to properly explain the importance of Dune in the sci-fi literature but you know what? I dune (hehehe) think it’s necessary for me to do so. If you truly wanna know why, you can search it on whatever search engine you use and you'll find hundreds of articles or reviews on why this book is that important; and they’ll do a much better job than me. I won’t even deny any of them because, in my opinion, this book was truly revolutionary. Dune didn’t become the number one highest selling Sci-fi novel of all time for no reason; like Brian Herbert said, it is to Sci-Fi, what the LOTR trilogy is to fantasy.

Theoretically, if I’m reviewing this by putting my head as someone from 1960’s or 1970’s, I know I would think of this book as my bible. 1965 was the year when Dune was published for the first time, 24 years before I was born. There are just too many groundbreaking ideas, world-building, that would become the inspirations for many Sci-fi in our time; I only realized this after reading this book. I mean, the gigantic Sandworm alone has inspired many video games to use it as a common monster or enemy.

Picture: Dune by Marc Simonetti



Desert planet, Stillsuits, space exploration, and Zen Buddhism, Dune was truly a groundbreaking novel, almost everything in this book somehow seems prophetic because it has predicted our current society, especially when it comes to faith, emotional control, empathy, and the importance of ecology and scarcity.

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“The mind commands the body and it obeys. The mind orders itself and meets resistance.”

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Part of what made this book was great for me was Herbert’s prose. I haven’t read enough classic to claim it was classical, but Herbert’s prose was definitely unique to me. It has a lot of freedom by writing it from a limited omniscient narrative; changing POV’s repeatedly in a single chapter without any warning. This is, honestly, one of my biggest pet peeves in my usual read, but Herbert made it work because all his characters were really well written, distinct in their personality, and the dialogues are really well dune (HEHEHE). Plus, there are so many motivational and extremely philosophical quotes that seem to make this book a combination of Sci-Fi & self-help book, such as:

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“It is so shocking to find out how many people do not believe that they can learn, and how many more believe learning to be difficult.”

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And of course, the most famous and one of the best quote I’ve ever read out of any book

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“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.”

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I can’t believe I have gone through life without knowing about this litany against fear. It’s applicable in any kind of hardship we faced in real life, and I know it will be one of my motto starting from now. If I’m judging this book solely from how significant this book was, I’ll give it maximum score in a heartbeat. However, I’m reviewing this based on one question and how I rated all the books I read: was it enjoyable?

The answer is yes and no, it was a mixed bag. The first part of this book was incredible, I couldn’t put down the book and everything was so interesting and compelling. Then comes the second part, where the pacing just became really draggy and somehow, boring. However, my hope was restored for a while during the third act, until the anti-climax happened. My expectation is obviously at fault here but hey, this book is the number one highest selling sci-fi book of all time and one of the most highly acclaimed book, I expected there to be a mind-blowing climax sequences to close the book in an epic way. But no, there wasn’t any. Not only it felt anti-climactic, Herbert’s prose in describing settings and actions didn’t age well or up to current standard. The main reason for this is that this is a book that relies heavily on character’s dialogues to do everything; world-building, plot, characterizations were done solely through dialogues. This leads to the great plot but weak action sequences and no vivid settings. Sure there was some explanation on the settings, but other than the planet—which is just a desert, just search Sahara or Planet Tatooine and voila—the interiors were given only brief description, which makes it hard to imagine; I had to look up some artworks to be able to immerse myself in the settings of the book.

Overall, Dune was truly a revolutionary book for its time that is filled with tons of imaginative and fantastic ideas. Although there were some parts that disappointed me, I still liked the book and I finally understand why there are so much discussion and praises around this book. I recommend this to every Sci-fi fans for its importance and also, it’s good to know where most fantastic Sci-Fi you’ve read or you’re reading now got its idea from. However, this is also where I’ll stop with the series.

You can find this and the rest of my Adult Epic/High Fantasy & Sci-Fi reviews at BookNest

Welcome to Unpopular Review Time! Where I go against what almost everyone else says about a book.

Before we start, please do not be fooled by the three star rating. Even if I didn't like really like the book, I have to acknowledge there are reasons why Dune is a cornerstone of the Sci Fi genre.

Now, let's talk about the important stuff.

This is a masterpiece of world building.

We get a new planet, and while it's obvious that Herbert based his desert planet on real sights and cultures, it's still awesome. The Fremen and their culture, the stillsuits, the worms, the plight for water... It's all explained in such a vivid detail without being boring or repetitive. And while reading you can see the references! Can we talk about how many movies and books have been influenced by this?



We also get a future Empire where machines are no longer used for computation purposes. Instead, humans have been trained to unlock their full brain potential and make such calculations. And we get two schools of these "enhanced" humans: the Bene Gesserit and the Mentats. And we get lots of details explaining this new society: the Empire, the Noble Houses, the Guild, how each group interacts with the others, the intrigue surrounding all dealings...

The plot is straightforward and follows a 'Chosen One' pattern.

Paul, is the 'Chosen One', the Lisan al-Gaib, the Kwisatz Haderach. He gets many names. After a betrayal, he finds refuge among the Fremen and seeks revenge from those who wronged his house.



Here comes my first problem with the book, you can divide it in a before and after around the betrayal point. (I'm not spoiling anything by telling you this, believe me, the book will tell you ALL about it)

Before this the plot drags along at a slow and unpleasant pace (at least for me.) The story is told in a third person omniscient point of view, and the author uses this liberally, giving us a peek into the different characters' thoughts. And he loves repeating ideas. So we get to know about the betrayal from the bad guy who planned it, from the traitor himself, from everyone inside House Atreides who knows that there's a traitor and suspects everyone,... and all this before anything actually happens! When the scene finally rolls in I was so tired of the plot I almost gave up on the book.

After this the plot actually picks up and there's lots of action. However I had some more problems with it, as I'll explain ahead.

While they were all artfully created and developed; there's no way to connect with any of these characters.

The way Herbert planned his 'Chosen One' and his society, most of the characters are deeply logical and, dare I say, stuffy? They think and re-think, and plan and plot, and think again, computing everything with a very small dose of humanity. (Ha! And they call themselves humans.)

Paul is wise beyond his years, not only by his training, but by his evolution during the story. It made me think of another chosen child: Harry Potter, but where we all wanted to be Harry, or at least one of his friends; I really had no thought of befriending this one. (I did pity him a lot.)

And then there's the bad guy! Oh Gods. I've never in my life seen such a TERRIBLE antagonist and I don't say this lightly.



He's a fat ugly guy, who cannot even move himself. He's a pedophile, a slave worker, treats everyone horribly including his own family. There is absolutely no redeeming quality to this guy. He's almost cartoonish in how bad he is.

And I never ever got his hate for the Atreides, I can understand greed, personal vendettas, house wars. But his hate seemed too personal and at the same time too huge to be understandable. Also, he was the typical movie villain that loved to rehash his plots over and over again, and brag about how cunning he was. Complete freaking waste of time.

Last, but not least. The ending is incredibly abrupt and I DID NOT like it. Call me romantic, call me naive, call me soft. I don't care. I thought that last paragraph was the wrong thing to say.

All in all this was a great book, but it wasn't my cup of tea. I suggest you read it. If only so you can see Star Wars in a pretty different light.

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Image Credits
'The Defeat of the Sarduakar' by John Schoenherr.
"Fremen of Dune" by Sammy Hall
"Vladimir Harkonnen" by a-hour

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گاه به دست می‌آوریم و گاه از دست می‌دهیم. گاه نگه می‌داریم و گاه رها می‌کنیم. زمانی به عشق و زمانی به کین. زمانی به جنگ و زمانی به صلح.

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داستانی از طبیعتِ قدرت و قدرتِ طبیعت. به به. بـــــه بــــــه.

چی می‌تونم درباره تلماسه بگم که از قبل نشنیده باشید؟ بابا پرفروش‌ترین اثر علمی‌تخیلی تاریخ کم نیست. فارغ از هایپ وحشتناکی که دور و برشه هم باهاش حال کردم.
حتی اگر به ژانر علمی‌تخیلی علاقه نداشته باشید و در نتیجه ازش نشنیدید، اگر سینما رو دنبال می‌کنید لابد درباره اقتباس دنی ویلنوو از تلماسه شنیدید (که 22 اکتبر اکران می‌شه و فیلم زیبایی به نظر می‌رسه).
تلماسه از تروپ شخص برگزیده یا چوزن وان پیروی می‌کنه. انصافا فکر نمی‌کردم دیگه از این تروپ خوشم بیاد. آخه همیشه اون شخص همین‌جوری اتفاقی و فقط به‌خاطر یه پیشگویی برگزیده شده و هیچ چیز خاصی توی وجودش نیست. شخصیت برگزیده‌ی کتاب تلماسه حاصل قرن‌ها برنامه‌ریزی و اصلاح نژادی و آینده‌نگریه.

احتمالا همه توافق داشته باشن که نقطه قوت داستان تلماسه در دنیاسازیشه. جهان همین جهان ماست ولی در سیاره‌(ها)ی غریبه، در سال‌های سال آینده و پر از سناریوهای پیشگویانه. واقعا عالیه که چقدر با تلماسه نزدیک می‌شیم و می‌شناسیمش. اقلیم و زنجیره‌های غذایی و طبیعت تلماسه رو من الان حفظم. :)) یک وجه جالب دیگه هم شباهت‌های تلماسه و مردمش با دنیای عربستان پیشین بود. فرانک هربرت از دنیای عرب به وضوح خیلی الهام گرفته و ترجمه خوب اثر هم تا حد ممکن حال و هوای عربی رو حفظ کرده. یه سری شباهت واضح بین اسلام و فرهنگ حره‌مردان تلماسه اینان: منجی‌ای که پس از مدت‌ها قراره بیاد و به سمت پیروزی هدایتشون کنه. 72 نفر مبارز باقی‌مانده. کتاب‌العبری که یکی از آیه‌هاش اینه: «زن تو مزرعه‌ی توست، پس به مزرعه‌ات برو و در آن زراعت کن.» که مشابه یکی از آیه‌های قرآنه. کیش شخصیتی‌ای که دور رهبر مذهبی شکل می‌گیره. بسیاری از اسم و عبارت‌ها حال و هوای عربی و اسلامی دارند. همون‌طور که از مثال‌هام هم خوندید حتی جبهه‌ی حره‌مردان که مثلا باید طرفدارشون باشیم مذهب بی‌عیب‌ونقصی نداره و قرار نیست این‌جوری باشه.

در ابتدای کتاب شاید خوندنش براتون سخت باشه. با کلی کلمه و عبارت جدید آشنا می‌شید و باید از واژه‌نامه‌ی انتهای کتاب معنی‌هاشون رو بخونید. به مرور نیاز به مراجعه به واژه‌نامه کم‌تر و کم‌تر می‌شه و متن داستان هم روونه. واقعا این‌قدری که بعضی‌ها می‌گن سخت نیست. خیلی ساده‌ست. حفظ کردن اصطلاحات دنیای کتاب هم کاری ندارن.

یه رفتار بد نویسنده این بود که قبل از این‌که اتفاقی رخ بده اسپویلش می‌کرد. چقدر از این کار بدم میادا. اوایل کتاب ابتدای فصل‌ها نوشته بود فلانی خیانت می‌کنه، اما فلانی تا کلی صفحه بعد خیانت نمی‌کنه. یا مثلا اول یه فصل می‌نویسه که پُل فلان از آزمون با موفقیت رد شده، بعد محتوای فصل شرحِ آزمونِ پُله. :| بابا این چه کاریه. مسخره.

برای فیلمش خیلی هیجان‌زده‌م و فکر می‌کنم چیز خوبی درآورده باشن. ولی باز شک دارم. بخش اعظم جذابیت کتاب مربوط به تعلیمات بنه‌جسریت و افکار و ترفندهای ریزشون بود که هرجور فکر می‌کنم نشون دادنشون توی فیلم غیرممکنه. شخصیت‌ها طی تعلیمات بنه‌جسریتی یاد گرفتن تک‌تک عضله‌ها رو کنترل کنن، از صدای متحکم و وادارکننده استفاده کنن، در لحظه به احتمالات گوناگون فکر کنن و حرف درست رو بزنن، پیش‌بینی کنن و در افکارشون جزئیات رو تحلیل کنن. این‌ها خیلی برام جذابن. نشونه‌ی قدرت ذهنی و جسمی شخصیت‌هان. صحنه‌های مبارزه جزء جذاب‌ترین صحنه‌ها برای من بودن، چون شخصیت‌ها فقط ورجه ورجه نمی‌کردن بلکه حرکت‌های حریف رو تحلیل و پیش‌بینی می‌کردن، الگوی رفتاریش و افکارش. توی ذهن ترفندهای مبارزه رو مرور می‌کردن و انجام می‌دادن. نشون دادن چنین چیزی توی فیلم واقعا نمی‌شه.

باغ‌ها، بستان‌ها،
حوریان عدنی، خوش بر و رو و رعنا،
جامی لبریز از می،
تمام این‌ها
بهر دل‌شادی من گشته مهیا اینجا
پس چرا از غم و از جنگ و جدل می‌خوانم
و از تل خاکی کز کوه بمانده بر جا؟
پس چرا چشمانم
شده از ماتم لبریز؟ چرا؟
آسمان بگشوده
در نعماتش را
بر زمین می‌ریزد گوهر و دُرهایش را
می‌شود دست را دراز کنم،
مشتم را باز کنم،
و خودم را از هرچه زر و مال
و ز وام همه اغیار بی‌نیاز کنم.
پس چرا فکرم مشغول شبیخون و ستیز
و پی فنجانی از سم لبریز و نیز
در پی عمر در حال گریز است، چرا؟
عشق بگشوده دستانش را،
رایگان می‌بخشد
وعده‌ی باغ عدن، لذت عریانش را.
پس چرا فکری‌ام از خاطره‌ی زخم و خراش
و گناهان قدیم؟
و چرا خوابم مملو شده از وحشت و ترس و پرخاش
راستی گوی چرا؟

n  “I have seen a friend become a worshiper, he thought.”n

I don’t think I actually *enjoyed* this book. But I certainly respected the hell out of it. For a bit I thought I had it all figured out, pegged it as your bog-standard Chosen One story, and then it went where I didn’t think it’d go and neatly subverted my expectations. It tackled stuff that is uncomfortable and therefore is generally handwaved over in the usual SF epics. And for that I seriously respected this dense complex tome.

We people tend to love the idea of a charismatic all-powerful leader who inspires faithful following and true fervor, that cult-like blind devotion. We give those leaders tremendous power to lead and decide and determine fates. So many stories rooted in the weight of our species collective history glorify this; so many countries still apparently yearn for powerful visionary leaders that others proclaim to be dictators. So many religions go to wars over the legacy left by a popular charismatic leader centuries ago, interpreting those legacies as the engine for the action, destruction, obedience.

Hero worship. Messianic worship. Prophecies and tyrannies. Desire for a Savior to rescue you from the evil. Good intentions paving the road to hell. It all leads to terrifying places which we may be powerless to stop.

n“A leader, you see, is one of the things that distinguishes a mob from a people. He maintains the level of individuals. Too few individuals, and a people reverts to a mob.”

This is a novel of a reluctant Messiah, the journey of a man becoming the Chosen One — but unlike the traditional story of a charismatic savior, this is a darker picture of the dangers of messianism and hero worship, of allowing blind devotion replace common sense. The book ends in an ambiguous place, and I presume the sequels may develop the theme or run away from it and make this a more traditional hero journey. But I certainly hope not. Because the dark implications of messianism say more about human nature than the happier stories based on the same idea, but with more idealism. We love our ideas of ideal benevolent rulers who can set things right, don’t we? Or the martyr figures inspiring “righteous” battles? Messiahs and figureheads seem to fulfill the deep-seated cultural longing for an inspirational leader, don’t they? Friends become followers and worshippers, and the metaphorical slope becomes quite slippery.

n   “The Fremen have a simple, practical religion," he said.
"Nothing about religion is simple," she warned.
But Paul, seeing the clouded future that still hung over them, found himself swayed by anger. He could only say: "Religion unifies our forces. It's our mystique."
"You deliberately cultivate this air, this bravura," she charged. "You never cease indoctrinating."
"Thus you yourself taught me," he said.”n

Yes, in Dune Frank Herbert hints at the dangers present in such ideas. What seems like your traditional hero’s journey turns out darker and more sinister. But it’s not the rise of an antihero either. It’s subtler than that, without actually being all that subtle.

n  “No more terrible disaster could befall your people than for them to fall into the hands of a Hero," his father said.n

Paul Atreides, in his own words, is “something unexpected.” A son of a planetary Duke (because an interstellar post-technology future is actually feudal) and a highly trained Bene-Gesserit concubine of the Duke (basically a member of the order/Sisterhood of superpowered highly trained mind ninjas with strong political worlds-changing ambitions and generations-long breeding experiments aimed at creation of a controllable superhero), Paul fits very well the idea of a Messiah of the tribal resilient society of Fremen people of the harsh desert planet Arrakis, neatly fulfilling their religious prophecies (that may have been stealthily planted before by the above-mentioned supernatural ninja order) and possessing genetic superpowers himself, augmented by rigorous training and catalyzed by the ingestion of a magical wonder-drug known as spice.

n  “He found that he no longer could hate the Bene Gesserit or the Emperor or even the Harkonnens. They were all caught up in the need of their race to renew its scattered inheritance, to cross and mingle and infuse their bloodlines in a great new pooling of genes. And the race knew only one sure way for this—the ancient way, the tried and certain way that rolled over everything in its path: jihad.”n

But Paul through his prescient powers can see what his mythologized destiny leads to. A galactic scale slaughter led by fanatics in his name. And there is not a way to escape it, once your life fits the mysticism of their faith (even if the faith and prophecies were stealthily prereplanted for sort of a similar purpose). Religious fanatics are destined to wage a brutal war that the Messiah is unable to stop.

n  “When law and duty are one, united by religion, you never become fully conscious, fully aware of yourself. You are always a little less than an individual.”n

With great power comes great responsibility, and all that jazz. But is any of it actually worth it? Wouldn’t the world be better without the burden of Heroes? Are you destined to become exactly what you’re trying to avoid?

All this is gently hinted at, laid out in the framework of the appealing Hero’s journey. It seems that should you desire, you can still easily choose to read it as a typical hero’s/antihero’s story, just less idealistic than it could be. But that would be Star Wars and not Dune.

n“He was warrior and mystic, ogre and saint, the fox and the innocent, chivalrous, ruthless, less than a god, more than a man. There is no measuring Muad'Dib's motives by ordinary standards. In the moment of his triumph, he saw the death prepared for him, yet he accepted the treachery. Can you say he did this out of a sense of justice? Whose justice, then? Remember, we speak now of the Muad'Dib who ordered battle drums made from his enemies' skins, the Muad'Dib who denied the conventions of his ducal past with a wave of the hand, saying merely: "I am the Kwisatz Haderach. That is reason enough.”

And you also can’t help but be mesmerized by a harsh desiccated planet where life is focused on survival, where not even water but mere moisture is the most coveted and rarest thing, where hopes for a better, wetter, greener future quietly flourish, tied into messianic ideas but grounded in science. The place of nightmares, written vividly and skillfully, making me want to gulp down a gallon of drink just because I can, making me appreciate that my reality doesn’t hinge on surviving on my reclaimed bodily fluids.

The world is harsh, unforgiving, brutal, hostile. The characters - well, mostly Paul, but to an extent his mother Jessica as well - are cold, calculating, composed and often very unsympathetic. Paul’s father values lives over property. Paul’s actions, on the other hand, lead to eyebrow-raising among his father’s old lieutenants who note the difference in priorities:

n   “Nothing money won't repair, I presume," Paul said.
"Except for the lives, m'Lord," Gurney said, and there was a tone of reproach in his voice as though to say: "When did an Atreides worry first about things when people were at stake?”n

It’s dense and complex, full of politics, short on actual science fiction but full of ruminations on human nature — and it leaves me feeling that all of this is a beginning of another cycle of violence, just with a new figurehead at the mast. As Terry Pratchett said, “But here's some advice, boy. Don't put your trust in revolutions. They always come around again. That's why they're called revolutions.” A new Hero or a new Messiah comes, and begets another cycle or struggle and violence, to be reset anew by a new figurehead sometimes in the future. All while sandworms quietly slither under the sand.
—————

Oh yeah, there are sandworms, too.
—————

4 stars out of respect for Herbert’s subversive story that made me think. I’m content with the story ending here, with ambiguity and dread for what’s to come.