Reviews tagging 'Pedophilia'

Dune by Frank Herbert

134 reviews

garbagebarge69's review against another edition

dark tense slow-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Slavery, Misogyny, and Violence

Moderate: Colonisation, Drug use, Grief, Death, Abandonment, and Death of parent

Minor: Pedophilia, Addiction, Blood, Rape, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, and Child death

banned_book's review against another edition

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

2.0

The ideas presented here must have been mind-blowing during the time it was published for the impact it made on modern culture. I can recognize that. But the prose was insultingly basic, and gave no room for the characters to grow beyond cookie cutter tropes. The dialogue was a painful slog to get through, and almost exclusively constructed of as-you-know-Bobs. I heard for years that the worldbuilding was dense and difficult to follow. No. Herbert drives information into your skull repetitively as if you could not grasp it the first time. This book has not aged well.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Violence, Slavery, Misogyny, Fatphobia, Sexual violence, Homophobia, Pedophilia, Drug use, Colonisation, War, and Cultural appropriation

dpekus's review against another edition

adventurous challenging 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? It's complicated

5.0

Politika, filosofija, religija, ekologija, ekonomika ir dar visko ko tik įmanoma įsivaizduoti. Per tokio ilgio knygą aprašomas pasaulis vis labiau atsiveria su kiekvienu puslapiu - pradžioje nelabai aišku nei kas vyksta, nei kas čia per personažai aprašomi, bet nelabai supranta ir pagrindinis personažas, bet su laiku viskas ateina.

Daug siužeto vingių, šokinėjimų tarp personažų, tai skaitosi ganėtinai lėtai, bet tuo visiškai neįmanoma nesimėgauti. Turbūt geriausias dalykas ką apskritai esu skaitęs, bent jau kūrybiškiausias tai tikrai. Lekiu iškart skaityti kitos dalies.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Death of parent, and Violence

Moderate: Pedophilia and Child death

Minor: Rape and Slavery

ssolov's review against another edition

adventurous challenging mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Loveable characters? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fatphobia

Moderate: Pedophilia

leannanecdote's review against another edition

challenging emotional mysterious tense slow-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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Sexual violence, Sexism, Misogyny, Slavery, Death, Injury/Injury detail, War, Colonisation, Death of parent, Violence, Pregnancy, Pedophilia, Grief, Child death, and Alcohol

infinite_harness9030's review against another edition

challenging slow-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Colonisation, Grief, Murder, Pedophilia, Slavery, Death, Drug abuse, War, Violence, Death of parent, and Racism

Minor: Classism and Adult/minor relationship

royalwaves's review against another edition

adventurous relaxing tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

There’s definitely some things in this that haven’t aged well and I do have problems with the Baron. But, excluding those things it’s been a long time since I enjoyed something so much that I wanted to go out of my way to write an essay about it. I want to buy another copy of this book, annotate it and analyse everything. There’s a reason this is such a classic sci-fi and I’m honestly annoyed with myself for taking so long to read it. 

P.s. If you have trouble getting into this in the beginning Dune part one might help you understand better. I haven’t watched the original adaptation in a decade so I can’t speak for that one.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Death of parent, and Child death

Minor: Pedophilia, Fatphobia, and Rape

question47's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fatphobia, Pedophilia, Homophobia, Violence, Death, and War

Moderate: Child death, Slavery, Sexism, and Addiction

Minor: Suicide and Pregnancy

jacob_dion's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious tense medium-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Violence, and Death of parent

Minor: Homophobia and Pedophilia

thecriticalreader's review against another edition

adventurous tense medium-paced

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

3.75

Review:

From the way people talk about Frank Herbert’s Dune, I thought that it was going to be super dry, confusing, and hyper-intellectual. I was surprised to find that it is pretty easy to get into and understand on the narrative level. If you’re not used to reading science fiction and fantasy, then it will probably seem intimidating and confusing at first, but otherwise, it’s not hard to get into. The intricate, thoughtful worldbuilding and political intrigue drew me into the story. I read through the first two parts of the book, watched the first part of Denis Villeneuve’s movie adaptation, and then finished the rest of the novel. In hindsight, that was a mistake. The movie so beautifully adapts the story, with its breathtaking and haunting visuals, minor changes to the plot and characters for improved storytelling and daring action. For instance, the movie transforms the book’s Baron character from a cheesy and cartoonish villain into an absolutely terrifying, creepy, and loathsome figure. After watching the movie, the book felt like a letdown. 

 

Although on the whole I enjoyed Dune, both in terms of its plot and themes, there were aspects to the story that detracted from the experience. The supposedly deeply intelligent characters could be infuriatingly obtuse at times, to the point where I didn’t feel bad when they faced the inevitable negative consequences of their actions. This was part of my issue with Paul as a character, whose character arc is fascinating but underdeveloped. It’s not that I don’t understand how someone in his position could end up where he does at the end of the book, it’s that Herbert doesn’t spend enough time with Paul’s perspective to show that character development.

I don’t know about you, but if I were in Paul’s position, and I saw a strong potential future where I end up the figurehead of a violent genocide, I would do anything I possibly could to prevent it. Paul ends up doing the worst thing possible, which is to actively cultivate a position of a religious messiah with the Fremen, to the point where he cannot stop the jihad no matter what he does. Now, there could be any number of reasons he chooses this route. Perhaps he’s so driven by revenge for his father and his house that he puts concerns about the jihad on the back burner. Perhaps he ends up believing the messiah narrative himself, taking up the mantle of his position and believing in the cause of the jihad. Perhaps he cannot resist the lure of incredible power he gains by leading the Fremen.  Or, perhaps, he’s just profoundly stupid, because I can think of a hundred different actions he could have taken to avoid the whole “jihad in my name” thing if that’s truly what he wanted to do.

I hate that Frank Herbert fails to explore the workings of Paul’s mind, leaving the audience to guess at the driving forces behind Paul’s actions. 

 

The Run-Down: 

You might like Dune if . . .

·      You enjoy epic science fiction with strong worldbuilding

·      You want a story that has a little bit of everything (political intrigue, survival story, philosophical exploration, ecological commentary, religion, action, love, etc.)

·       

 

You might not like Dune if . . .

·      You prefer stories with a clear hero and villain

·      You dislike slow-paced stories

·      You like villains with complex motivations and backstories

 

A Similar Book: 

The Godfather by Mario Puzo (totally different genre, but still!). Similarities include . . . 

·      Complex political intrigue and maneuvering by powerful competing families 

·      A young man thrust into a position of dangerous power as he fights to avenge his family’s honor and status

·      Interesting and complex side characters

·      Anti-hero origin story

·      Thematic exploration of morality, individual agency, and power

 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Classism, Drug abuse, Drug use, Death, Pregnancy, Violence, Colonisation, Death of parent, Child abuse, Child death, and Body shaming

Moderate: Xenophobia, Grief, Slavery, and Genocide

Minor: Kidnapping, Pedophilia, Sexism, and Sexual violence