Reviews with content warning for Torture - Dune

I can objectively see why this book is held in such high acclaim. But subjectively my feelings toward this book are pretty neutral. Will continue the series, but not in the immediate future.

Content Warnings

norwegianforestreader's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

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queer_bookwyrm's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

3.5 ⭐ CW: slavery, religious oppression, violence, torture, murder, suicide, rape, murder if a child, selective breeding, incest mention

Dune by Frank Herbert is a classic that I've been meaning to read for a long time, but avoided it because this big boy is intimidating. Although this was a long and slow paced read, it was enjoyable.

We follow Paul Atreides who is being tested by a Reverend Mother to see if he is really human and able to withstand pain. Paul is special, when his Bene Gesserit mother was told to birth a girl, she chose a boy instead and raised him in the weirding ways. Paul can also detect truth and see into the future. The Reverend Mother thinks he may be the Kwisatz Haderach they have been breeding for generations. If that sounds like a lot, just know this is only the tip of the iceberg.

This book is very involved. Herbert has created an entire history and culture for the world and includes a glossary and several other appendices at the back that gives I'm depth detail about the religion and politics of this society. Basically, we have a chosen one trope with political intrigue and commentary on the weaponization of religion as a means to colonization and oppression.

Herbert has used a blend of Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Bhuddism, etc. as the basis for the Bene Gesserit religion. Herbert reveals that the Bene Gesserit don't actually believe in their religion, but use it as a means to push an agenda and infect lesser nations with their prophecies. This backfires.

There is just so much to cover with this book. There were so many details that at times it dragged the story along. This is not a fast paced action type of story. Paul's growth throughout the book was very interesting. I liked seeing him embody the dual aspects of Duke and Muad'dib.

I think if you are patient, this is worth a read and I now look forward to the movie coming out in October.

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tarnishedcopper's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

3.75

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kkmk's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging reflective tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

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tinnuben's review against another edition

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adventurous inspiring reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

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claudiamacpherson's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Embarking on the odyssey that is this book, my only expectation was that I would be confused, having been warned (correctly) by Booktok that Herbert’s worldbuilding is of the variety that throws you in the deep end and expects you to figure it out. With Zendaya and Timothee Chalamet as my motivation, however, I flew through the first hundred pages or so (which, in my opinion, were the most confusing), and was quickly sucked into the world of Arrakis. The first 100-or-so pages of confusion aside, the worldbuilding was incredible—not only did the scientific explanations in this science fiction novel make sense (as a former biochemist, poorly researched or explained science is one of the biggest reasons I rarely read this genre), but I also found myself becoming extremely conscious of my own water use. In the (likely not-too-distant) future, water will be a much rarer and more valuable resource. This made me wonder whether Herbert suspected as much when Dune came out, or if this all came from his imagination.

I’ve heard about a lot of controversy surrounding the content of the novel, and I’m still not sure where I fall in the debate. My initial impression was that this is a classic white savior story (it definitely gave me blue-people-Avatar vibes), and Herbert definitely uses some orientalizing imagery—yikes. On the other hand, Paul doesn’t seem to be the glorified hero that so many stories have; in fact, as the story progresses, he becomes more and more clearly flawed. If this was Herbert’s intention (and I confess, I don’t know enough about Herbert or the historical context of the novel to determine whether or not it was), then the novel could be a critique of the white savior narrative. But then again, if it’s not obvious enough, then this message is lost of many readers and will be used to justify that which it critiques. To me, the much more obvious problems were the rigid gender roles (this man really wrote a novel set far in the future and thought men would still be in charge of everything?). Of course, the Bene Gesserit have power, and I did find that whole concept fascinating (not the eugenics, but the idea that they planted folktales and prophecies in various communities that could be used as protection for their own whenever they might need it). But despite their power, they have all taken a backseat role, and besides their order, we meet only a few other named female characters. I also don’t like the concept of multiple wives/concubines (again, this feels problematically orientalizing).

The added information at the beginning of each chapter (usually from Princess Irulan) was interesting (though sometimes confusing). I have never minded spoilers in the way that some people do, so I kind of liked that Dune essentially spoils itself with this framing.

I was surprised, however, when we learn (somewhere around halfway through the novel) that Princess Irulan is actually alive concurrently with Paul—I had been imagining her as a scholar farther in the future, recording this history a generation or two later.

As a side note, I found it very funny that Herbert named whole planets and invented multiple new civilizations, but named his main characters Paul and Jessica (rather along the lines of Tolkein coming up with several entire languages, but calling the location of the story’s climax “Mount Doom”).

Happy ending meter (no specific spoilers, just the general vibe of the ending):

I don’t know that this could really be called a happy ending, though it’s honestly better than I was expecting (I wouldn’t have put it past Herbert to kill Paul in the end). It’s not exactly a cliffhanger, but definitely feels unfinished, and I’ve already put the sequel on hold at my library!

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