Dune

I read Dune for three main reasons:
1) It's seen as a pillar of sci-fi and one of the most influential
2) I like the director Denis Villeneuve (Arrival, Sicario, Blade Runner 2049) and am looking forward to his movie adaptation in December
3) I'd heard it had thoughtful things to say about ecology

I'm glad to say that each of these was fulfilled! I'm glad I read it, and it was thought-provoking. I think more than anything, Dune reminds me of watching the original Mission Impossible for the first time in high school and feeling like it was a little underwhelming and cliche. It was only later that I realized that Mission Impossible is the reason that those things became cliche; it's the origin. Dune is a bit similar. A dry, desert planet with a lonely boy who's the chosen one, fighting against an emperor? Dune did it before Star Wars. Beautiful landscapes of a desert that's as dangerous as the other people? Dune did it before Mad Max: Fury Road. Scheming house politics as members fight each other and try to get ahead and seize power? Dune did it before Game of Thrones. Dune didn't necessarily invent all of these ideas, and of course Dune has its own influences (Lawrence of Arabia comes to mind, and Islam in general). I wouldn't even say Dune is better at any of these things than the other works I mentioned. But lots of cultural works touching on any of these items owe Dune a great debt for putting these pieces together in a pretty compelling piece.

I'd also like to give great credit to Herbert for introducing thoughtful, deep engagement with both religion and ecology, not often found in sci-fi. There are plenty of interviews of him talking about environmental issues, and his language fits right in to today's world. He was an advocate for renewable energy back in the 1960s, and he spoke out about the ways that we extract resources from our environment, and how we can't keep that up indefinitely. The book dives into conversations about how people can and should interact with nature in a harsh environment. All of the considerations about the biology felt clever and thoughtful: how the Fremen adapted to preserve moisture, how their blood coagulates quickly, how tears/spitting are monumental occasions, the value of blood, etc. Similarly, the worms are pretty cool and make sense in the environment. It also takes the long view, a blessed thing in today's distracted culture. And although he mostly just pulled from Islamic ideas of a heroic, messianic “Mahdi” figure, Herbert was also really well-read and fairly thoughtful in his use of religious tropes. The world is set far in the future after humans have colonized space, so Earth's current religious systems have spread and morphed over time. He pulls from loads of current earth languages as well, so it doesn't feel too focused/targeted.


A few cons:

Dune is SUPER weird. Unlike most sci-fi, this future world is deliberately not very tech-heavy. It leaves room for a variety of human groups/cults/organizations that are enhanced/trained in ways that fill some of that missing space. Mentats are ration-worshipping human computers; the Bene Gesserit are witches/concubines who are kind of magical and have secretly been pulling the strings on a millennia-long breeding program; and a certain mineral called Spice gives people special reflexes. And that's not even the really weird parts, which I won't touch on for spoilers' sake. My friend Charlie called it “LSD sci-fi,” and that feels about right. Even the names are either basic Anglo names (Paul, Jessica, Duncan) or kind of out there (Thufir, Feyd-Rautha, Mohiam,

A few others: like lots of literature in the time period, women really get sidelined (ending scene?!?). There was plenty of raw material for him to work with (Jessica being Paul's main teacher and possibly teaching the Fremen after she wins her duel; Jessica v. her order; Chani's possible character arc after what happens to her father; the princess Irulan). I hope Villeneuve does a better job in the movie of developing the women, and I was glad to see Jessica's actress indicate she's optimistic. Herbert also goes waaaay overboard in coding fatness as evil. His descriptions of the Baron Harkonnen's weight are borderline comical. I understand the contrast with living on a harsh desert planet that sucks out your waterweight, but still.

I think this is tempered a bit by how much Paul buys into the Fremen way of life, and how they have a quite active role in their fate, but it still feels a bit white savior-ey.

On a more literary level, I was frustrated by his plotting a bit. The pacing was mostly okay (a little slow at the first third, then somewhat abrupt at the end), but throughout the book the audience doesn't have much information about what's going on. At best it makes you curious about what's happening (towards the beginning, when they're warned about going to Arrakis). But at worst it makes you lose all sense of the stakes of a situation (even with the glossary/appendices, I have no idea how the spice/worm/water overlap works). And the lack of a window into the proper politicking behind the scenes means that some major plot points feel a bit arbitrary (more late GoT than early GoT).

I'm glad I read it. I hope someone writes something about it in conversation with our climate crisis. And I think the movie's going to be great.