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l0v3ell's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
cephon's review against another edition
4.0
Probably the most begrudging 4 out of 5 I've ever given.
There's quite a bit I actually don't love about Dune, to be honest. While the amount of detail that goes into the world-building and lore is commendable, I found it rather monotonous and a chore to go through in how it's all presented. In fact, I've always personally found that extravagant lore building often exists at the expense of a compelling narrative or interesting characters, and in certain regards, I do believe the sentiment mostly stands in Dune as well. Very much of the book, scene by scene, consists of characters just standing and talking, and the characters themselves are honestly far from identifiable or personable. They don't speak in a way that distinguishes them from everyone else nor do they give anything away in terms of emotion, even in response to the few dramatic events that do transpire. They speak and think only of the immediate central conflict at hand and never anything else, leaving them feeling more like devices than people.
And yet, by the time I finished, I found myself almost scrambling to start up the next book already. Ultimately, it's a story I only started to appreciate once it was all over with, and I could look back at everything and see it all click into place. It's a story that takes its time and walks by its own beat, no matter how much I wanted it in the moment to go faster, with many layers to it. At once, it's a delicately crafted epic in the classical sense, but almost post-modern in execution, a story not of a hero against a villain, but of an evil and a lesser, unwilling evil. At another, it's a mythological tragedy -- one that even juxtaposes the "past" legends against the decayed present -- about the confines of fate and an inherited ambition. The characters' desires and ambitions belong to them as much as their bodies and minds do, and that is where one can find the implicit existential horror within all of the characters. The fate that they are destined to suffer from birth, and the fate they will suffer if they attempt to fight it.
In short, a book I respect more than I actually enjoyed, but hey, I guess it still counts for something.
There's quite a bit I actually don't love about Dune, to be honest. While the amount of detail that goes into the world-building and lore is commendable, I found it rather monotonous and a chore to go through in how it's all presented. In fact, I've always personally found that extravagant lore building often exists at the expense of a compelling narrative or interesting characters, and in certain regards, I do believe the sentiment mostly stands in Dune as well. Very much of the book, scene by scene, consists of characters just standing and talking, and the characters themselves are honestly far from identifiable or personable. They don't speak in a way that distinguishes them from everyone else nor do they give anything away in terms of emotion, even in response to the few dramatic events that do transpire. They speak and think only of the immediate central conflict at hand and never anything else, leaving them feeling more like devices than people.
And yet, by the time I finished, I found myself almost scrambling to start up the next book already. Ultimately, it's a story I only started to appreciate once it was all over with, and I could look back at everything and see it all click into place. It's a story that takes its time and walks by its own beat, no matter how much I wanted it in the moment to go faster, with many layers to it. At once, it's a delicately crafted epic in the classical sense, but almost post-modern in execution, a story not of a hero against a villain, but of an evil and a lesser, unwilling evil. At another, it's a mythological tragedy -- one that even juxtaposes the "past" legends against the decayed present -- about the confines of fate and an inherited ambition. The characters' desires and ambitions belong to them as much as their bodies and minds do, and that is where one can find the implicit existential horror within all of the characters. The fate that they are destined to suffer from birth, and the fate they will suffer if they attempt to fight it.
In short, a book I respect more than I actually enjoyed, but hey, I guess it still counts for something.
ashleyhoj's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
mathetria936's review against another edition
4.0
3.5/5
I liked it but not overwhelmingly. It ended rather abruptly.
I liked it but not overwhelmingly. It ended rather abruptly.
lucialeben's review against another edition
5.0
El que més m’ha entusiasmat és com no explica minuciosament els detalls del món on es desenvolupa i el significat de totes les paraules inventades. Així entres més de ple a la història, perquè fa més L’efecte de llibre de història que de ciència ficció
courtcat's review against another edition
4.0
I think I liked this a lot better when I was younger - now, even with the full cast read, it seems overdone. Still fun, though!
katestar_p's review
3.0
There’s not much I can say about this book that hasn’t already been said, except, perhaps, that it passes the Bechdel-Wallace test on page 17. Genuinely surprising for mid-century science fiction.