Synopsis (From Goodreads)
Set on the desert planet Arrakis, Dune is the story of the boy Paul Atreides, heir to a noble family tasked with ruling an inhospitable world where the only thing of value is the “spice” melange, a drug capable of extending life and enhancing consciousness. Coveted across the known universe, melange is a prize worth killing for…
When House Atreides is betrayed, the destruction of Paul’s family will set the boy on a journey toward a destiny greater than he could ever have imagined. And as he evolves into the mysterious man known as Muad’Dib, he will bring to fruition humankind’s most ancient and unattainable dream.
My Review
4 out of 5 stars
I went into Dune not knowing exactly what to expect. I knew it was a well respected classic scifi, and that it took place in a desert, but that was about it. I read classic works from time to time and there are ones I end up loving and ones I dislike, usually because I find them slow and/or cannot really get into it. The beginning of the book was felt slow, but I still kept my hopes up because I realized it was building this immense scifi-fantasy world that is so well loved by many. The book kept continuing to be slow though, and I couldn’t help but be a bit disappointed. It wasn’t really reaching any sort of climax, twist, or high action point that I thought it would.
In the midst of reading it though, I came across this YouTube video by TedEx on why you should read Dune.
It basically summarizes the world of Dune and gives a synopsis for the book. Upon finishing the video, I was like, yeah, it sounds like a really cool book! I could admit that I was introduced to all of those interesting world building aspects and can agree that all of it is there. It helped me gain a new appreciation for the book.
I think the writing style is the type of style that I would end up using if I ever wrote a high or epic fantasy (not that I could match the creativity of Mr. Herbert). It’s not at all action-based; it focuses on all of the little details of the world. You don’t just learn that water is a scare resource on the planet of Dune. You learn exactly how much water means to its people, how it is the wealth of a person, how meaningful it is to share it with others, and all of the technology and methods used to conserve it. This very technical, detail-focused narrative is what makes the world of Dune as rich and vast as it is. I can definitely see it’s influence on much of the speculative fiction published today.
I am somewhat tempted to continue on with the next book in the series. I can’t say that I loved this book, but I definitely appreciate it. I don’t think a lot of my favorites that I do have today would be what they are without it.
See this review on Goodreads and on Storygraph.
Mad Scibrarian 