448 pages
English language
Published Feb. 17, 2007 by Gollancz Paperback.
Dune is a 1965 epic science fiction novel by American author Frank Herbert, originally published as two separate serials in Analog magazine. It tied with Roger Zelazny's This Immortal for the Hugo Award in 1966 and it won the inaugural Nebula Award for Best Novel. It is the first installment of the Dune saga. In 2003, it was described as the world's best-selling science fiction novel. Dune is set in the distant future amidst a feudal interstellar society in which various noble houses control planetary fiefs. It tells the story of young Paul Atreides, whose family accepts the stewardship of the planet Arrakis. While the planet is an inhospitable and sparsely populated desert wasteland, it is the only source of melange, or "spice", a drug that extends life and enhances mental abilities. Melange is also necessary for space navigation, which requires a kind of multidimensional awareness and foresight that only …
Dune is a 1965 epic science fiction novel by American author Frank Herbert, originally published as two separate serials in Analog magazine. It tied with Roger Zelazny's This Immortal for the Hugo Award in 1966 and it won the inaugural Nebula Award for Best Novel. It is the first installment of the Dune saga. In 2003, it was described as the world's best-selling science fiction novel. Dune is set in the distant future amidst a feudal interstellar society in which various noble houses control planetary fiefs. It tells the story of young Paul Atreides, whose family accepts the stewardship of the planet Arrakis. While the planet is an inhospitable and sparsely populated desert wasteland, it is the only source of melange, or "spice", a drug that extends life and enhances mental abilities. Melange is also necessary for space navigation, which requires a kind of multidimensional awareness and foresight that only the drug provides. As melange can only be produced on Arrakis, control of the planet is a coveted and dangerous undertaking. The story explores the multilayered interactions of politics, religion, ecology, technology, and human emotion, as the factions of the empire confront each other in a struggle for the control of Arrakis and its spice. Herbert wrote five sequels: Dune Messiah, Children of Dune, God Emperor of Dune, Heretics of Dune, and Chapterhouse: Dune. Following Herbert's death in 1986, his son Brian Herbert and author Kevin J. Anderson continued the series in over a dozen additional novels since 1999. Adaptations of the novel to cinema have been notoriously difficult and complicated. In the 1970s, cult filmmaker Alejandro Jodorowsky attempted to make a film based on the novel. After three years of development, the project was canceled due to a constantly growing budget. In 1984, a film adaptation directed by David Lynch was released to a mostly negative response from critics and failed at the box office. The book was also adapted into the 2000 Sci-Fi Channel miniseries Frank Herbert's Dune and its 2003 sequel Frank Herbert's Children of Dune (which combines the events of Dune Messiah and Children of Dune). A second film adaptation directed by Denis Villeneuve was released on October 21, 2021, to generally positive reviews from critics and grossed $401 million worldwide. It also went on to win six Academy Awards. Villeneuve's film was essentially the first half of the original novel, and a sequel, which will cover the remaining story, has begun production and is set for release in 2023. The series has been used as the basis for several board, role-playing, and video games. Since 2009, the names of planets from the Dune novels have been adopted for the real-life nomenclature of plains and other features on Saturn's moon Titan.
You are really brough into the world of Dune the book sucks you in with intrigue as it reveals how the world works and how the people of Arrakis live, the book can drag on in some parts but it is well written and gives you a real feel for the world.
I wish I could give half-stars, because I probably would have given Dune a personal rating of 3.5/5.
I liked the story. I was able to fully immerse myself in the lore and the immaculate worldbuilding. And that was really something I have rarely seen anywhere else. I was contemplating whether to give this 3 or 4, but had to round up for the creativity in this area alone. I truly loved it.
My issue is mainly with the level of detail and the language. Some scenes are so excellently written that I felt like I was part of them, observing everything around me, noticing all the small things happening myself. Others, especially those concerned with Paul's inner conflicts, were almost excruciatingly abstract. And even though the language was beautiful throughout, I often found myself losing track in those sections (and, occasionally, genuinely having trouble understanding things linguistically, even with …
I wish I could give half-stars, because I probably would have given Dune a personal rating of 3.5/5.
I liked the story. I was able to fully immerse myself in the lore and the immaculate worldbuilding. And that was really something I have rarely seen anywhere else. I was contemplating whether to give this 3 or 4, but had to round up for the creativity in this area alone. I truly loved it.
My issue is mainly with the level of detail and the language. Some scenes are so excellently written that I felt like I was part of them, observing everything around me, noticing all the small things happening myself. Others, especially those concerned with Paul's inner conflicts, were almost excruciatingly abstract. And even though the language was beautiful throughout, I often found myself losing track in those sections (and, occasionally, genuinely having trouble understanding things linguistically, even with context – I didn't expect that it would encounter difficulties like that at all). Since those sections focused on Paul's interior are so crucial to Paul's development, and his development is, like, the main point of the book, I felt a bit lost, not really being able to trace how we'd gotten from the beginning to the end. I really only had this problem with Paul, not with any of the other characters. FWIW, Dune 2 (the movie) ended up having the same problem (to an even bigger extent, since the inner workings of Paul were not as exposed in it and the passing of time wasn't as clear).
I still think it was good - I just had a hard time with the main protagonist and that's why it failed to truly captivate me. Again, a lot (most) of it was really amazing. But it feels like I failed to grasp the entire thing, which is a bit sad. I'll probably continue reading the series at some point, though not sure when.
The first roughly two chapters were quite difficult to get into. Many terms I didn't understand, and I naturally didn't have a grasp of the political landscape, which would've been quite important to understand at the start. However, this feeling soon went away, as the situation became clearer.
I didn't like the story arc at all. The buildup was huge and monumental, but the resolution was frustratingly lame. Maybe this is only because this book is the first of a series, but still not satisfying.
What I really liked, was the world building. Instead of focusing on a technology-dominated future, Herbert forbid all AI-related machinery in his novel and instead focused on enhanced capabilities of humans. A concept that I'd say really worked out. The ecosystem of Arrakis is quite interesting too, as is the way of living of its inhabitants. And glimpses the reader gets into the politics, economy, …
The first roughly two chapters were quite difficult to get into. Many terms I didn't understand, and I naturally didn't have a grasp of the political landscape, which would've been quite important to understand at the start. However, this feeling soon went away, as the situation became clearer.
I didn't like the story arc at all. The buildup was huge and monumental, but the resolution was frustratingly lame. Maybe this is only because this book is the first of a series, but still not satisfying.
What I really liked, was the world building. Instead of focusing on a technology-dominated future, Herbert forbid all AI-related machinery in his novel and instead focused on enhanced capabilities of humans. A concept that I'd say really worked out. The ecosystem of Arrakis is quite interesting too, as is the way of living of its inhabitants. And glimpses the reader gets into the politics, economy, and religion are also fascinating.
it took me ages to get through this. not because it's bad, probably mostly because i repaired my computer and had.. other things on my mind. but also partly because herbert's style reminds me of tolkien. like, a lot. at least in the sense that herbert really wants you to read his mediocre poetry too.
this isn't bad by any means, and i will surely read on in the future. probably around the time the second movie hits. the characters are fleshed-out and there's surprisingly little overt misogyny for a science fiction book that is, at this point, positively ancient. it's just the constant internal monologuing and then rushing through the actual happenings that gets exhausting after a while.
