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mrgriffit's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
This audiobook was really hit or miss for me. The ensemble cast was very good, but it was not clear to me when or why an actor would voice a character or when the main narrator would. As a result, certain characters came off as oafish in some scenes while chilling and calculating in others.
On the whole, the book is a classic sci-fi story for a reason. The world is full and interesting and grand in scope. The actual story that our characters go through is strange at times, where people act contrary to how the say they want to act.
And the most off-putting choice of the whole book is the two year time skip in the third act. It really didn’t add anything to the story other than having Alia be properly present and giving Paul a child that we don’t ever meet before he is killed off screen.
It was worth the read, but I’m not interested in returning to Arrakis any time soon.
On the whole, the book is a classic sci-fi story for a reason. The world is full and interesting and grand in scope. The actual story that our characters go through is strange at times, where people act contrary to how the say they want to act.
It was worth the read, but I’m not interested in returning to Arrakis any time soon.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Slavery, Violence, War, and Murder
Moderate: Torture
Minor: Child death
mabelsyrup's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
slow-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? Yes
4.25
This being the first scifi NOVEL I've ever read is giving the same vibe as when the second Stephen King book i read was It, I'm all or nothing
Dune is so fucking exquisite fr, the worldbuilding is so detailed and extensive; it feels like every single term has a backstory and a significance, some people have said that the story relies too much on dumping all the explanations into the glossary but to me that was a huge bonus cuz imagine explaining ALL those things in the main story, the book would be 1000 pages lmao and cutting some of those things is actually not an option, you could just get by with the context clues sometimes or you could go in and read on what this random Butlerian Jihad means and then you go down a rabbit hole because that is so fucking cool but it isn't the point of the book so you gotta move on.. yea.
Going into this story for the characters and the relationships and the relationship between Chani and Paul teehee ISNT GONNA WORK yall, Dune isn't about the good side of humanity and finding brotherhood and community it's about literal assasinations, opportunism, the exploitation of religion and resources, and how fucked up people are even thousands of years into the future, these characters are not ones you feel fondly about (except Duncan my one and only.. and Alia? maybe) because they suck from the beginning or they start going to hell as the story goes along. This ties into the theory i have that one MUST watch the Villenueve movies before reading this (at least the first one) as it gives a more explicit view that this isn't the type of story that you think it will be.
I do think the book suffers from the typical white male author in the 20th century syndrome; it is said many times that the Fremen women are just as savage and efficient in battle as the men and the children are also trained and capable of fighting and blah blah..okay? show it to me then? show me a section where the women are actually killing some people don't just tell me and expect me to believe you cuz... i'm not buying it lmao, the women in Dune are either spiritual, a witch or just hanging out, obvs there's nothing wrong w being a witch (i actually wanted MORE from the Bene Gesserit and their scheming little plots) but it annoyed me that they kept saying that Chani was such a slay fighting baddie but all she did was follow Paul like an assistant, not even a bodyguard just his assistant, although I was expecting much much worse from her, she seems to be more of the analytical type in the book.
Another thing is that yeah, the story sometimes is a lot. There's many threads connecting and unraveling and sometimes i felt like i couldn't follow everything seamlesly, and i felt some actual plot lines could've been explained better but for some reason it also made me like it a bit more? like i was amused every time i went "tf is going on rn?"
IF Only you could see my copy of this book i went crazy, i almost ran out of ink and post its, I'm taking a break for like a month and then I'm jumping right into book two rrraahhhhh
Dune is so fucking exquisite fr, the worldbuilding is so detailed and extensive; it feels like every single term has a backstory and a significance, some people have said that the story relies too much on dumping all the explanations into the glossary but to me that was a huge bonus cuz imagine explaining ALL those things in the main story, the book would be 1000 pages lmao and cutting some of those things is actually not an option, you could just get by with the context clues sometimes or you could go in and read on what this random Butlerian Jihad means and then you go down a rabbit hole because that is so fucking cool but it isn't the point of the book so you gotta move on.. yea.
Going into this story for the characters and the relationships and the relationship between Chani and Paul teehee ISNT GONNA WORK yall, Dune isn't about the good side of humanity and finding brotherhood and community it's about literal assasinations, opportunism, the exploitation of religion and resources, and how fucked up people are even thousands of years into the future, these characters are not ones you feel fondly about (except Duncan my one and only.. and Alia? maybe) because they suck from the beginning or they start going to hell as the story goes along. This ties into the theory i have that one MUST watch the Villenueve movies before reading this (at least the first one) as it gives a more explicit view that this isn't the type of story that you think it will be.
I do think the book suffers from the typical white male author in the 20th century syndrome; it is said many times that the Fremen women are just as savage and efficient in battle as the men and the children are also trained and capable of fighting and blah blah..okay? show it to me then? show me a section where the women are actually killing some people don't just tell me and expect me to believe you cuz... i'm not buying it lmao, the women in Dune are either spiritual, a witch or just hanging out, obvs there's nothing wrong w being a witch (i actually wanted MORE from the Bene Gesserit and their scheming little plots) but it annoyed me that they kept saying that Chani was such a slay fighting baddie but all she did was follow Paul like an assistant, not even a bodyguard just his assistant, although I was expecting much much worse from her, she seems to be more of the analytical type in the book.
Another thing is that yeah, the story sometimes is a lot. There's many threads connecting and unraveling and sometimes i felt like i couldn't follow everything seamlesly, and i felt some actual plot lines could've been explained better but for some reason it also made me like it a bit more? like i was amused every time i went "tf is going on rn?"
IF Only you could see my copy of this book i went crazy, i almost ran out of ink and post its, I'm taking a break for like a month and then I'm jumping right into book two rrraahhhhh
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence
Minor: Pedophilia and Torture
spooky_snoopy's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
reflective
tense
medium-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
4.75
A great reflection on the the endurance of the human spirit. There isn't a "good" hero, it feels like you're reading Paul losing himself and resign himself to his fate. I really liked how the chapters were laid out and how the storylines played off each other.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood, War, and Death
Minor: Kidnapping, Suicide, Torture, and Misogyny
bookhoe1's review against another edition
adventurous
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? Yes
4.0
I understand why this book became a classic. The world-building is very intricate and detailed, a lot of aspects are merely mentioned in passing which makes discovering the world natural and enjoyable. I also think it's a rather interesting concept of chosen one Herbert used.
I do think it is very fast paced at time where I would've enjoyed more detail. The big finale is like 20 pages long. But overall a solid book, while of course being a product of it's time.
I do think it is very fast paced at time where I would've enjoyed more detail. The big finale is like 20 pages long. But overall a solid book, while of course being a product of it's time.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Xenophobia, Violence, Child death, Colonisation, and War
Moderate: Pregnancy and Racism
Minor: Suicide and Torture
voldycat's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: War, Violence, Death of parent, and Death
Moderate: Religious bigotry, Grief, and Xenophobia
Minor: Fatphobia, Child death, Suicide, and Torture
mari_cx's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
hopeful
informative
inspiring
mysterious
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? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Murder, Death of parent, War, and Violence
Minor: Torture and Drug use
oozeloot's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
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? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, War, Blood, Murder, Slavery, Torture, and Genocide
dani_mac13's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence, Torture, Death, Murder, War, and Addiction
dramagnu's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Blood, Murder, Addiction, Classism, Alcohol, Child death, Colonisation, Slavery, Death, Death of parent, Genocide, Gore, War, Violence, and Torture
pkm48's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
I can see why this book gets the praise it does, because it has a well constructed plot with great world-building and elegant writing. However, this book wasn't exactly my cup of tea, and perhaps I also missed the bigger picture of the novel as it extends to the real world which I felt the author was trying to convey.
In general, my biggest struggle was that it was difficult to find a character I could relate to and root for (even Paul). Everyone is pretty much painted as cold and calculating, with fairly little emotional depth to make them more human. The only exceptions to this seemed to be the characters of Lady Jessica and Gurney Halleck (and thus they ended up being my favorite characters). The overall story was gritty, dark, and violent which also added to the struggle of getting through the book. I'm grateful for the glossary at the end of the book because while the writing was easy to follow, the terminology as it relates to the fictional world of Dune was complex and often without any context.
In general, my biggest struggle was that it was difficult to find a character I could relate to and root for (even Paul). Everyone is pretty much painted as cold and calculating, with fairly little emotional depth to make them more human. The only exceptions to this seemed to be the characters of Lady Jessica and Gurney Halleck (and thus they ended up being my favorite characters). The overall story was gritty, dark, and violent which also added to the struggle of getting through the book. I'm grateful for the glossary at the end of the book because while the writing was easy to follow, the terminology as it relates to the fictional world of Dune was complex and often without any context.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence, War, Death, Addiction, Torture, and Murder
Minor: Rape