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banned_book'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
2.0
Moderate: Violence, Slavery, Misogyny, Fatphobia, Sexual violence, Homophobia, Pedophilia, Drug use, Colonisation, War, and Cultural appropriation
lizzyjean's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: War and Death
Moderate: Drug use
The drugs mentioned are completely fictional, but can be related to drugs that exist in our world. The main story is about prophets and politically-driven war.becksusername's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Graphic: Addiction, Classism, Drug abuse, War, Murder, Death of parent, Drug use, Kidnapping, Violence, Colonisation, Death, Fatphobia, and Pregnancy
jmorateck's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Death of parent and War
Moderate: Drug use and Death
Minor: Addiction
thecriticalreader's review against another edition
- 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
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
leeyongjin's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Murder and Violence
Moderate: Classism, Gaslighting, Gun violence, Xenophobia, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Emotional abuse, War, Colonisation, Death, Grief, and Hate crime
Minor: Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Genocide, and Drug use
alexiconic's review
- 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
mnrondi's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Violence and Fatphobia
Moderate: War and Death of parent
Minor: Drug use, Homophobia, and Child death
nils_0'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? No
5.0
Graphic: Addiction, Colonisation, Death, Death of parent, Drug use, Genocide, Grief, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Slavery, Violence, and War
Minor: Alcohol, Child death, Drug use, Fatphobia, Forced institutionalization, Hate crime, Slavery, Torture, Gore, Kidnapping, and Pregnancy
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