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4.13 AVERAGE
4.13 AVERAGE
My husband made a deal with me: I read his favorite book if he reads mine. Well, I read his Dune book and I wasn't expecting to enjoy it as much as I did!
There's a lot I didn't understand just because I wasn't really familiar with the world outside of the movie franchise, but my husband knows all in the Dune-iverse so he helped pick up the pieces I didn't know. I will say, there's quite a bit of this book that was similar if not the same to the movies, but I was surprised at the depth of the book compared to the movie. I saw way more in the book than the movies showed, mostly having to do with the mental aspect of the Mother. I don't quite understand the religion aspect either. Still really good!
There's a lot I didn't understand just because I wasn't really familiar with the world outside of the movie franchise, but my husband knows all in the Dune-iverse so he helped pick up the pieces I didn't know. I will say, there's quite a bit of this book that was similar if not the same to the movies, but I was surprised at the depth of the book compared to the movie. I saw way more in the book than the movies showed, mostly having to do with the mental aspect of the Mother. I don't quite understand the religion aspect either. Still really good!
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
challenging
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
challenging
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Not my genre at all. But I made myself finish it because I enjoyed the newest movie so much. This had nothing to do with the movie. Lol. Sets up the characters pretty good. There were parts that weren't really needed and could had been left out. But for a fan of this genre, you would enjoy.
challenging
dark
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Really depressing and overall bad.
adventurous
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Dune is considered a cornerstone for all science fiction and fantasy books since its release and it is easy to see why. The worldbuilding alone earns this book a 5/5 star rating, however when looked at as a whole, the characters and pacing of the book falls far short of that is expected in a modern novel.
I will get the complaints out of the way first. While slow pacing and one note characters may have been acceptable for the time it was written in the 1960's, it is too slow to justify, and the characters exist only as set-pieces to see the world through. The story essentially boils down to a political war between two noble houses, and Paul's rise to power among the Fremen. The story itself is strong enough, the politics feel real due to how deep the worldbuilding is among nobility and especially the planet Arrakis itself, but the characters do not feel real. There are many extremely slow points in the story where lore is dumped on the reader, making the dialog feel forced and artificial. The characters always spell out exactly what they and others are feeling--they are never wrong about what others feel--and there is really no real character development for anyone other than rises to power. Even Paul remains largely the same character at the beginning as he is at the end, he just has more political power and the ability to see the future through spice.
That said, none of this got in the way of enjoying the absolute masterpiece this book is in worldbuilding. Arrakis feels like a real planet, the noble houses feel like real political groups that have existed and grown for centuries, and the Fremen feel like a real society who is forced to live in the desert where water is nonexistent. There is so much interest and intrigue built up around the world as a whole--it feels like studying a long lost civilization. So much thought was given to how every facet of society would operate to such a deep level given the environment, the power of spice, and the existence of worms. I was constantly left wanting to know more and having all my questions answered satisfactorily.
The world, societies, and politics are something you can get lost in. I wish I could give this book a higher score, but ultimately when looking at it as a whole, I cannot justify a near perfect score based on the writing of characters. Truly, the characters and story only exist as a vehicle to see the world Frank Herbert imagined through; they were not meant to be enjoyed as a story although they are passible. This book truly shines in worldbuilding and letting the reader get lost in an alternate reality that genuinely feels as though it could exist. I would whole-heartedly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys worldbuilding, but not those who are seeking a story. Although, as one of the greats, everyone should read this book at least once.
I will get the complaints out of the way first. While slow pacing and one note characters may have been acceptable for the time it was written in the 1960's, it is too slow to justify, and the characters exist only as set-pieces to see the world through. The story essentially boils down to a political war between two noble houses, and Paul's rise to power among the Fremen. The story itself is strong enough, the politics feel real due to how deep the worldbuilding is among nobility and especially the planet Arrakis itself, but the characters do not feel real. There are many extremely slow points in the story where lore is dumped on the reader, making the dialog feel forced and artificial. The characters always spell out exactly what they and others are feeling--they are never wrong about what others feel--and there is really no real character development for anyone other than rises to power. Even Paul remains largely the same character at the beginning as he is at the end, he just has more political power and the ability to see the future through spice.
That said, none of this got in the way of enjoying the absolute masterpiece this book is in worldbuilding. Arrakis feels like a real planet, the noble houses feel like real political groups that have existed and grown for centuries, and the Fremen feel like a real society who is forced to live in the desert where water is nonexistent. There is so much interest and intrigue built up around the world as a whole--it feels like studying a long lost civilization. So much thought was given to how every facet of society would operate to such a deep level given the environment, the power of spice, and the existence of worms. I was constantly left wanting to know more and having all my questions answered satisfactorily.
The world, societies, and politics are something you can get lost in. I wish I could give this book a higher score, but ultimately when looking at it as a whole, I cannot justify a near perfect score based on the writing of characters. Truly, the characters and story only exist as a vehicle to see the world Frank Herbert imagined through; they were not meant to be enjoyed as a story although they are passible. This book truly shines in worldbuilding and letting the reader get lost in an alternate reality that genuinely feels as though it could exist. I would whole-heartedly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys worldbuilding, but not those who are seeking a story. Although, as one of the greats, everyone should read this book at least once.
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes