Dune

Great story, awful writing.

sacrilegious I know, but I felt the second half of the book was weak. The beginning started off so strong setting up an epic struggle which then dissolved into a walk in the park resolution. Even the ‘significant' loss suffered didn't feel significant as no time was spent on it. It felt like it was thrown in to show Paul suffering in his victory but he didn't.

I really enjoyed this book. It was really interesting on how Herbert played the reader as part of the future giving us glimpses of the future at the beginning of each chapter. I am interested to see where this series goes from here!

Man, where to even start with Dune?

Science fiction can be hit or miss, even the ones that everyone tend to love. I went into Dune with a knowledge of the plot, characters and everything else surrounding it expecting to kind of like it. I can't say enough good things about this book, though.

Paul Atreides is one of the most frustrating characters I can think of. You know what he's capable of, you know what he's walking into, you know what he wants to do, but you can feel things go off of the rails. The system is broken, there is no way for it to be fixed, yet Paul will start going on about his birthright and how he deserves to be the Duke.

You know that he's trying to work over the crowd, but something about it is eerie, like you are beginning to feel like he believes it. Even Gurney noted that Paul had seemingly lost his way and was lacking the compassion that his father was so well-known for. By the time I had finished the book I felt like I really didn't like Paul anymore and that he was headed down a dark path.

That was probably one of the most satisfied feelings that I've ever had with a book like this. The easy way would be for Paul to make all of the right choices, for Paul to cast aside the power and live his life with the Freman, leaving them in peace and harmony out of the reach of the Guild and the Imperium. Instead he chose to become a Messiah, for good or for bad.

You can feel bad for Paul, because he didn't choose that path, it was chosen for him. He was built for greatness and no one was able to contain him, but it was also what led him down this dark path. The best part is that Herbert doesn't outright say that it's a dark path. When I was reading this, I thought to myself, “is this supposed to be good? People actually want Paul to be this conquering hero?” It just made for Dune Messiah to be that much more interesting.

Sometimes I thought the writing could have been a little better and the voice of the characters more defined, but overall it is a great book and I loved the story and scifi vision.

Let me first say that I love sci-fi, I love fantasy and I respect the place “Dune” has in the history of these genres. That said, I found the settings confusing (is it a future of interstellar travel, lasers and shields or is it a medieval fantasy of castles, dukes and sword fighting?), the characters flat and archetypal (he basically tells you who is good and who is bad at the beginning) and the “intrigue” provided no tension whatsoever (when you know who the traitor is and what bad guys plan, what's the point in reading anymore?). I think this world has some interesting potential, but I can't help but think how this story world be told/structured if it were published today. I really wanted to like this book, but I kept hoping for something bad to happen to Paul or for him to fail at something just once to break up the monotony and his one-dimensional character. My dad loved this book when he read it 40 years ago; I truly wish I could feel the same way.

It's interesting seeing how the writing styles differ from father to son. But I liked this book a lot.

Had it not been for that concluding chapter, this book would've earned three stars. But that was quite a finale. The rest of the book was good, but it wasn't all I had hoped for. Yes, Frank Herbert was a good science fiction writer. Yes, he was excellent at building this world of Arrakis and the universe around it. And yes, this is by far better writing than the Dune prequels written by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson.

In spite of all that, Dune wasn't all I hoped it would be. The exposition drags too often, repeating the same tired phrases. Some of the characters are interesting in ways, but they also lack any semblance of real people with emotions or ability to change. Primarily, however, I was bothered by the lack of originality in the culture: the feudalism, the mysticism, the religion—all of these are a grab bag of earth history. I mean this is supposed to be like 22000 years in the future, right? Let's throw the comma in there, make it more clear: 22,000. Look back at the last 2,000 years of earth history, all that has changed. And in the next 20,000 years we're going to have dukes, and sword fights, and Catholicism, and the silencing of women spread across the galaxy? Maybe we should blow up this planet before it's too late.

Despite his lack of originality in areas, Herbert made up for it in other way. For the time, a period when sci-fi was dominated by green martians capturing earth's women with ray-guns, Dune was clearly something different. Modern science-fiction clearly emulates much from the world Herbert built in Dune. Herbert created a wonderfully complex world with the sandworms and the freman, the guild and so forth. And, he not only created a very intricate story here, but he was able to sustain it to the end.

So, overall, I felt Dune was a very middle of the road kind of novel. Not great. Not horrible. But all that story Herbert built up really does conclude in a dramatic fashion, and it is for this reason alone I have to give the novel a little more credit. It leaves me wondering what Herbert did in the following novels in the series, but I'll find that out once I get there. I do plan on reading on in the series if only out of curiosity.

Unfortunately, Herbert used the word “presently” on every other page, a pet peeve of mine. That alone may deter me from reading the whole series, but we'll see how much I can take. And if someone can please explain to me the use of the word presently, I would appreciate it. (For other authors who overuse the word “presently” see Shute, Nevil.)

I was honestly surprised at how much I enjoyed this book. It's been on that shelf of classics that I knew I should have read by now but feared it would be too dry (you bet your stillsuit pun intended). Also I was once scarred by the image of Sting in a metal bikini. Reading it, however, I was surprised at how quickly I became invested in the characters. I could see how other sci-fi/fantasy authors had been inspired by this series and the way it merges politics and adventure.

Obviously, the setting is the most impressive part of the piece. I must have gone through a couple gallons of water reading the book. They attention paid to every detail of desert life is a credit to Herbert and he's on par with Simmons as far as making me feel the world he has created.

My only real struggle is the treatment of women on Dune. We get this all powerful force of female mysticism in the Bene Gesserit, but their entire goal is to create a single man whom they can control. Jessica is a well-rounded, intriguing character but the other women all fall into typical SF tropes. I may continue the series just to learn a bit more about the Bene Gesserit and how the world moves on now that Paul has assumed control.

Executive Summary: I enjoyed this book. It's not one of my new favorites or anything, but it was good. I'd recommend people read it, but won't start advocating it as a must read.Audiobook: I did the unabridged audio book from Audible. This version had multiple readers. There was the main narrator, and a secondary narrator for all the various excerpts written by Princess Irulan.They also had readers for most of the main characters. Some of the conversations were more like a radio program than a book with the readers conversing with each other as the characters would. The confusing thing to me was sometimes the dialogue used the multiple readers, and sometimes it didn't and was simply read by the main narrator. At first I thought it was maybe for internal dialogue, but that wasn't always the case. I never could figure out the pattern as to why they didn't simply use the multiple readers for every conversation.Full ReviewThis is a book that seems to always finish top 5 in many best of type lists. It's one of my friend's favorites. I got a free audiobook from Audible thanks to the Sword and Laser podcast and I needed a book for my Christmas road trip, so this seemed like a good fit.I really enjoyed all the plotting and politics involved in this book. There was also an interesting array of characters with different backgrounds and desires that often lead to confrontation. This reminds me a lot of Star Trek DS9 or Babylon 5 which I wouldn't be surprised to find were inspired by Dune. Often times the science fiction takes a back seat to the conflict. It's more of a sci-fi setting than a sci-fi story. It shows that even on another planet with strange creatures and technology that greed, honor, war, revenge and many other Human behaviors are really just the same no matter what the setting.If I had any one gripe about the book it was lack of detail in the ending. Everything that has building comes to a head and seems to be over in short order. The ending itself wasn't a disappointment, but I felt like the execution was lacking. This might be what made this book a 4 instead of a 5. It's hard to really say.I may read the second book [b:Dune Messiah 106 Dune Messiah (Dune Chronicles, #2) Frank Herbert http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1347771287s/106.jpg 3634570] since my friend who loves this series said it is really the second half to this book.I've also got the movie coming from Netflix this weekend so I can re-watch it after reading the book. I hope that I'll enjoy it a lot more than I did back in college, now that I have a clue what I'm watching. :)

Dune. What can I even say about this book except that it's one of the best books I've ever read.

This is a book layered heavily with politics, economics, geology, philosophy, religion and mythology. The term ‘science fiction' alone doesn't do justice to it.

Frank Herbert's writing is splendid as well. I especially enjoyed the internal dialogue technique that he employs to often. It makes me feel like I'm in the head of the characters, hearing their thoughts and experiencing the situation firsthand.

This book is full of great sequences and scenes and characters. How can you not love characters like Thufir Hawat, Jessica, Gurney Halleck, The Duke Leto Atriedes, Stilgar, and even the Baron Harkonnen?

The story is dotted with references and allusions to religion, embedded with philosophical queries and an excellent study in politics and ecology.

I love Dune.

Right after reading this, I would only have given it three, maybe even two-and-a-half stars. But if you let it sit a bit, the book actually grows better in your memory. Amazing story with fantastic ideas and compelling characters. I just didn't like the style much.
More detailed review here: SFF Book Review

Really interesting, but kind of excessive in parts. I think I would've liked it better if I read it when I was younger.

When I decided to start “really reading books” for the first time a few months ago, I started with the best ones I could find. Ender was the first one I read, and already became my number one book.

Dune took away that title. Easily. Mostly because of the more fantastic like setting, with super powers involved. Where Ender was a nearly impossible intelligent 6 year old boy in a future Earth-Like world, Paul of Atreides was a supernaturally intelligent and logical young man in an impossible arid planet.

There was a perfect blend of royal-blooded learned skills and centuries old genetic breded ones. They focused on self control, the use of reason/logic to overcome pain and emotions, the prediction of the future, battle tactics and give leader traits.

All of them were very richly described, as was the setting. The rarity of water created some very unique situations.

Dune is a true epic piece of fiction. This book has influenced so many others. In re-reading it I appreciated anew just how much Herbert builds Paul Atreides up as a classic tragic hero. The tragedy, though, is saved for the next in the series.

Audio presentation

It is hard to figure out what kind of book Dune is. First, let's classify what Dune is not. Dune is not easy; it is not the kind of sci-fi book that tells you about something, or how to feel about the story. Dune shows you what the Sands of Arrakis look like, and it shows you how they feel under your feet, and you can hear the sandworms crashing through the red hot sand if you listen close enough. That is the magic of Herbert's writing. It isn't flashy, and you might feel like it is a little bit dated — you blasphemer. But, the world building is so good that Dune helped define what epic science fiction is. We are here today in storytelling because of stories like Dune that came before us.

The plot is complicated, but summed up Dune is the story of the rise of Paul as a religious leader and savior of the Planet Arrakis causing the fall of the human emperor of the galaxy 10,000 years into the future. Humans have raced towards all corners of the universe, colonizing habitable planets. Arrakis is a colonized small desert planet plentiful with a valuable drug resource called Melange. Melange is the drug of choice for the rich and elite of the galaxy. The powers that be want the drug and control of the planet. Paul, the son of a powerful family house, seeks refuge with the desert people of the planet. There he discovers his innate powers and matures into the religious leader and figurehead of the Sand people. Plus ecology, how religion affects the masses, and familial drama.

The compelling thing about Dune is not the world-building, which is impressive, or the storyline, which is detailed, it is the social commentary. Maybe some people do not want a dash of social commentary with their sci-fi, but I do. Books that have the extra layer of writing and thought always stay with me as a reader and linger for years. Dune talks about feminism, ecology, power struggles, and family... so much. If you haven't read it, do it. First, watch the hilarious 1980's movie, get that out of your system, then go read the book. I highly recommend it. I mean, it's Dune, what else can I say?

Winner of the first Nebula award in 1965 and co-winner of the Hugo award, Dune is regarded with an almost reverent awe by some. As one of the first science fiction novels to emphasize characters, Dune is the precursor to many of the modern books in the genre that we read today. In spite of its reputation as a must-read novel in the genre, I put off reading it for years, thinking it was probably dry and dated with flat, boring characters and lots of technobabble. Fortunately, I found these preconceived notions of mine to be wrong. Although it is not a perfect novel, Dune contains interesting characters, political intrigue, religious themes, a very detailed world, and philosophy that made for an enjoyable and profound reading experience....

http://fantasycafe.blogspot.com/2008/06/review-of-dune.html

I still own a copy of this book marked “Reprinted August 1972”, so I suppose I first read it soon after that. I never became a fan, but I remember buying the sequel, which I liked even less.

I last read this one in 2004, and commented then in my diary that “It's not as bad a book as I expected; the scenario is well thought out; only the characters and story-telling seem a bit crude, dated in style by now.”

This is like the Lord of the Rings of science fiction. The galaxy where Dune exists is a masterpiece rich in history and lore, with political intrigue and manipulations are typical of human civilisation. Couple that with hints of religion, military lifestyles, and the concepts of honor, and the story is deeply entrenched in the reader's minds.

Great scifi classic, published the same year I was born (1965).

When I first read this book in the early 70s, I was stunned by power and drama of the story. On reading it again some 40 years later it is still an excellent book, but regrettably it lacked the impact it had on my younger self. Never go back.