Reviews with content warning for Misogyny - Dune

Reviews tagging 'Misogyny'

Dune by Frank Herbert

40 reviews

r0binflower's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious slow-paced

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

3.5

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iwi's review against another edition

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slow-paced

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

3.0

There is little I enjoyed about this story. Unfortunately the views of the author are so blatant that I can't just detach it from real life. There is so much discrimination, I honestly I had to stop and reread like is that really what was said? And yes, every time. I would love to see what other people see that end up loving these stories. I do like the sandworms. But I couldn't even find the characters enjoyable. Paul is revolting in every way to me. The use of religion makes my skin crawl. I think he is a villain. I don't think we are supposed to like him.

I think part of the intention here was to show how harmful humans and power is. That I can agree with. But I still wish that I liked more about this story.

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mariacandet's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

2.75

Dune cannot be separated from its context—the time and place it was written and by whom it was written—nor can it be separated from its monumental influence on the genre. The ecological themes it explores remain fascinating, and perhaps more relevant than ever; it's eco-conscious in a very astute, trailblazing way and reflects not only on significant environmental issues, but also on the systems and people who impact these issues and control resources, and consequently life itself. This aspect is thought-provoking and should be considered its lasting legacy. Yet, it's also an extremely dated novel in a lot of ways. It puts forward a very gender essentialist view of the world, and having two or three interesting female characters doesn’t change the fact that it holds regressive ideals. And although it has an interesting critique of imperialism—that spans the series, so I’ve heard—it’s extremely easy to misinterpret (asking people how they view Paul is a pretty great way of telling how they read the series; the answers vary <i>a lot</i>), and it often veers into orientalism. There’s also the main villain of this first book, who is the only fat character and only homosexual character, both of these being used to denote his depravity and evilness (not one “good” character who sees the Baron fails to mention how “fat” and “gross” he is, and he’s also a pedophile, Herbert making it clear that being a pedophile and a homosexual go hand in hand.) The writing itself is dull, often stilted, and not particularly engaging, although the world-building and political machinations (and Lady Jessica) keep the book going. I read this mainly (only) because my mother is a huge fan and has been trying to get me to read it since I was a kid. I went in with an open mind and an open heart, and although it’s far from my literary interests, I love to hear the way she talks about it and understand her perspective a little better through it.

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internalnonsense's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

It's a classic for a reason. Sure, there's a lot I did not enjoy about it, but for every wall I hit there were sections I absolutely flew through. If all you're looking for is epic sci fi with archetypical but still compelling characters, it'll work for you. For me, the most interesting aspect was seeing it's influence in sci Fi and fantasy--the politicking space opera, the making of the chosen one, the codex entries, self aware predetermination, tropes I've read dozens of times (done better and worse) but were really codified here.

Fair warning: it's still a book written in the 1960s. It as absolutely earns a "fair for it's day" tag but still has pervasive misogyny, homophobia, racism. Nothing blatantly offensive but enough to be uncomfortable at times.

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tmooremont's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious slow-paced

I love a good sci fi book and Dune is one of those classics. I’m also a sucker for world building so Dune was perfect for that itch.

But as many others might have an issue with theres some misogyny (it was written by a dude in the 60s) and he loves making words up which is why there’s a glossary in the back.

Also he spends too much time on describing things that are so unimportant . Be prepared for lengthy pages about the sun and the weather.

Lady Jessica was my favorite character, in my head I saw her as a powerful and strong women against all these male characters. She had these great powers that were feared by many. I especially loved when she was able to change the water of life! But there were so many pages that felt so out of character where she suddenly seemed so weak and that Paul was the only one who could help her. Like cmon really.

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poetskings's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

“Humans live best when each has his own place, when each knows where he belongs in the scheme of things. Destroy the place and destroy the person”

Dune is, undoubtedly, a classic. Yes it’s long and dense and at times almost unbearable, but there’s so much here to love. From the rich world-building to interesting characters (although the women are a bit one-dimensional), Herbert has created a world it’s incredibly easy to fall into.

I was initially apprehensive of it - it’s a monster of a book and I was worried that I would get lost in a world I’ve never explored before, but I was pleasantly surprised - the themes are there to pick up on and, while it becomes slightly tedious towards the end as Paul becomes increasingly godlike, this is, at its core, a well-written and well-developed book that touches on themes of classism, religious fanaticism, colonialism and the burden of prophecy.

While there’s a lot to criticise Herbert for in this book, ultimately this is a shockingly easy book to fall in love with.

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