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brogancha's review against another edition
- 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
3.5
Moderate: Pedophilia, Violence, and Death of parent
alexiconic's review against another edition
- 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? Yes
3.0
Dune had things that were absolutely great. It’s clearly a well thought-through world, the environment and the history are very well constructed and it works well. We enter a world where it’s clear the author knows what is what. The mystical elements of the Bene Gesserit, the planet’s ecology, the political factions and their motivations: these are solids.
I’m a bit in the middle on the writing. Having switching POVs and a kind of omniscient narrative is not that popular anymore, and it took some getting used to. But I ended up appreciating it. I didn’t really enjoy the time jump midway in the book: it removed too much buildup and context, and Dune was already going to be a long, long book, which would have been better if we had a little more insight in the “between” period.
What really let the book down for me were the characters. Most weren’t very fleshed out, and while that was the point to a certain extent, it also lessened the impact. I truly didn’t understand why Paul was this great charismatic leader, for example. There were also some tensions in the characters goals:
Graphic: Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, War, Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Colonisation, Drug use, Fatphobia, Murder, Pedophilia, Pregnancy, Racism, Religious bigotry, Sexism, and Slavery
mythian's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Death of parent, Child death, War, Violence, and Death
Moderate: Slavery
Minor: Fatphobia and Pedophilia
catgirlsithlord's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Rape, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, and War
Moderate: Child death and Colonisation
Minor: Alcohol
kristine_kb's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
0.5
Moderate: Addiction, War, Pregnancy, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Pedophilia, and Child death
kt_jams's review against another edition
- 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? Yes
4.5
Moderate: Violence
Minor: Pedophilia
phantomgecko's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
The novel before the two year time jump lives up to expectations, but the last section just seems rushed compared to the careful world building previous. (More specifics under the cut)
The Emperor only gets to be the bigger badder guy for like half a chapter anyway. Ostensibly he gets to return as the antagonist in later books.
I understand that Paul is a literal CHOSEN ONE and all that, but he's pretty OP. Being able to molecularly change a poison administered to him seems like cheating.
Also not a big fan of Paul's son dying. I feel like that was needlessly depressing. Character development or whatever bs.
idk, I guess the takeaway is that this is not a strong standalone novel. It's impotent without the rest of the series.
Moderate: Colonisation, Sexual harassment, Slavery, Genocide, Pedophilia, Violence, War, Death, Drug use, Death of parent, and Drug abuse
bo0kf4n2's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Graphic: Drug use
Moderate: Death of parent, Colonisation, Genocide, and Pedophilia
goldenluck's review against another edition
- 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
4.25
Honestly, if you have any curiosity about this book at all, I recommend you pick it up. If you're a fan of fantasy political novels, I also recommend picking this up, as I would call it more science fantasy with a dash of hard science. It is, in a word, fantastic.
Moderate: Violence and Incest
Minor: Pedophilia
parenthesis_enjoyer's review against another edition
- 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? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Violence, Death of parent, Grief, Death, and Murder
Moderate: Religious bigotry, Xenophobia, Toxic relationship, Classism, Fatphobia, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Gun violence, Gaslighting, Drug use, Racism, Colonisation, Addiction, Sexism, War, Mental illness, and Violence
Minor: Alcohol, Homophobia, Excrement, Sexual assault, Child death, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Genocide, Sexual violence, and Torture
the Baron is a depraved gay stereotype in the extreme