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4.13 AVERAGE
4.13 AVERAGE
Still processing this one; I wasn't as immersed in this world as I expected, but that may be a side effect of the audiobook (& trying to listen quickly before it was due back at the library). Might bump up the stars as I continue to think on it.
adventurous
challenging
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Took SO LONG to finish but so worth it. There’s a lot of history and planning that went into this book. The themes are very complex which I enjoyed. The first half is very world building which is annoying but important to set up the entire rest of the series.
3.5
After over a year (and more than 3 attempts) I have achieved my “terrible purpose” and finished Dune. Yet in my short time on this planet, I feel as if I’ve read Dune in seemingly everything. Its sands have drifted into the cultural zeitgeist and shaped the current landscape of science fiction and fantasy in an incalculable way. I mean, Paul Atreides ran so that Eren Jaeger could also run (and so Anakin Skywalker could casually stroll in a field far, far away from sand). All of which to say that it is practically impossible for me to separate Dune from its legacy and regard the book for the experience it offers.
Deep within its pores, Dune is most interested in exploring the “ecological relationship between an environment and its peoples.” The story of its main character takes a backseat to the story of its world and how colonialism has affected it. Herbert’s characters all have to contend with a universe that emphasizes profit over humanity rather than the triumph of good over evil (revolutionary for the time).
Herbert excels at incorporating heady themes and subverting the traditional archetypes for story and character. His story and plotting all approach perfection. Yet, there is a reason it took me nearly 3 years to finish this book. The amount of exposition dumps that occur in the first half of the novel force the narrative to move at the pace of a rock slowly eroding. A universe this expansive does require a lot of information to be expressed to the reader, but Herbert chooses to do this by having characters FREQUENTLY give themselves an internal/external monologue (I imagine while twirling a mustache) about exactly what their plans are and all the history that led to that plan and why it’s occurring. The information is useful and provides texture to the world but could be expressed better.
All in all, I appreciate this story a little more than I enjoyed it.
“Without change, something sleeps inside us, and seldom awakens. The sleeper must awaken.”
“Deep in the human unconscious is a pervasive need for a logical universe that makes sense. But the real universe is always one step beyond logic.”
“What do you despise? By this are you truly known.”
After over a year (and more than 3 attempts) I have achieved my “terrible purpose” and finished Dune. Yet in my short time on this planet, I feel as if I’ve read Dune in seemingly everything. Its sands have drifted into the cultural zeitgeist and shaped the current landscape of science fiction and fantasy in an incalculable way. I mean, Paul Atreides ran so that Eren Jaeger could also run (and so Anakin Skywalker could casually stroll in a field far, far away from sand). All of which to say that it is practically impossible for me to separate Dune from its legacy and regard the book for the experience it offers.
Deep within its pores, Dune is most interested in exploring the “ecological relationship between an environment and its peoples.” The story of its main character takes a backseat to the story of its world and how colonialism has affected it. Herbert’s characters all have to contend with a universe that emphasizes profit over humanity rather than the triumph of good over evil (revolutionary for the time).
Herbert excels at incorporating heady themes and subverting the traditional archetypes for story and character. His story and plotting all approach perfection. Yet, there is a reason it took me nearly 3 years to finish this book. The amount of exposition dumps that occur in the first half of the novel force the narrative to move at the pace of a rock slowly eroding. A universe this expansive does require a lot of information to be expressed to the reader, but Herbert chooses to do this by having characters FREQUENTLY give themselves an internal/external monologue (I imagine while twirling a mustache) about exactly what their plans are and all the history that led to that plan and why it’s occurring. The information is useful and provides texture to the world but could be expressed better.
All in all, I appreciate this story a little more than I enjoyed it.
“Without change, something sleeps inside us, and seldom awakens. The sleeper must awaken.”
“Deep in the human unconscious is a pervasive need for a logical universe that makes sense. But the real universe is always one step beyond logic.”
“What do you despise? By this are you truly known.”
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Incredible science fiction far ahead of its time. Lost a star because in my view it dragged between the 60% and 80% points.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
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
dark
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
tense
slow-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
Update 2: After having read the first 5 books I'm going to up book 1-3 to a four star rating since we do not have half stars considering book 4 and 5 aren't that good compared to the first 3 in my personal opinion. Book 4 and 5 still fall around a 2,5-3 star rating for me personally, meaning I'll have to up the other books' ratings.
edit/update: Adding half a star, so 3.5 stars, however I still stand by my original review. And because of that I won't be generous and round this rating up to 4 stars. Had half-stars been a thing I would have boosted up my rating to an actual 3.5.
I'm gutted. It took me ages to finish, and I had no clue at first why. This book had about almost everything I do enjoy about fantasy and sci-fi as topics and yet it just bothered me all the way through the latter half of the book. But then it dawned upon me. It’s not the creepy fat uncle, not the politics, not the jumpy all over the place plotline people call hard to follow at times nor all the backstabbing 2-faced characters and whatnot. Those are fine and great. It was the religious aspect of the book. It just rubbed me the wrong way and at first, I didn’t really pay attention to that fact myself until I was about half-way through pondering why the heck I only/barely liked this book which have amazing, intricate and detailed worldbuilding/ecology, complex plot and crappy/morally complex characters which I usually enjoy! While I do really genuinely enjoy a good utilization of religion, myth and philosophy in books, I can’t stand it if I’m left with a preachy feeling or feeling it’s stuffed forcefully down my throat, intentional or not. Dune unfortunately leaves me with that feeling, as did Narnia to give another example which irked me the wrong way. I’m sorry, I understand it was written 50-60 years ago, the time was another, it was revolutionary for its time, some people genuinely enjoy books with a lot of religious content, etc., but it’s not the masterpiece and personal favourite I hoped it would be to me. And I’m gutted because the planet, the worms, the general universe of Dune is right up my alley, but I just can’t...
I might decide to be fair and give the second book a chance in the future, because reading reviews had me somewhat interested in the further plotline and it also sounds like a story of downfall/corruption from what I gathered from comments. Again, something I like… Not to mention it’s a lot less pages and I’m willing to sacrifice myself for 300 pages in a desperate hope I might be surprised in a good way!
If the religious aspect hadn’t bothered me, this would have been an easy 4-4.5 star read. But I personally just can’t get past my pet-peeve and the icky feeling I had while reading. This book left me heartbroken. I’m truly sorry to everyone who loves this book.
edit/update: Adding half a star, so 3.5 stars, however I still stand by my original review. And because of that I won't be generous and round this rating up to 4 stars. Had half-stars been a thing I would have boosted up my rating to an actual 3.5.
I'm gutted. It took me ages to finish, and I had no clue at first why. This book had about almost everything I do enjoy about fantasy and sci-fi as topics and yet it just bothered me all the way through the latter half of the book. But then it dawned upon me. It’s not the creepy fat uncle, not the politics, not the jumpy all over the place plotline people call hard to follow at times nor all the backstabbing 2-faced characters and whatnot. Those are fine and great. It was the religious aspect of the book. It just rubbed me the wrong way and at first, I didn’t really pay attention to that fact myself until I was about half-way through pondering why the heck I only/barely liked this book which have amazing, intricate and detailed worldbuilding/ecology, complex plot and crappy/morally complex characters which I usually enjoy! While I do really genuinely enjoy a good utilization of religion, myth and philosophy in books, I can’t stand it if I’m left with a preachy feeling or feeling it’s stuffed forcefully down my throat, intentional or not. Dune unfortunately leaves me with that feeling, as did Narnia to give another example which irked me the wrong way. I’m sorry, I understand it was written 50-60 years ago, the time was another, it was revolutionary for its time, some people genuinely enjoy books with a lot of religious content, etc., but it’s not the masterpiece and personal favourite I hoped it would be to me. And I’m gutted because the planet, the worms, the general universe of Dune is right up my alley, but I just can’t...
I might decide to be fair and give the second book a chance in the future, because reading reviews had me somewhat interested in the further plotline and it also sounds like a story of downfall/corruption from what I gathered from comments. Again, something I like… Not to mention it’s a lot less pages and I’m willing to sacrifice myself for 300 pages in a desperate hope I might be surprised in a good way!
If the religious aspect hadn’t bothered me, this would have been an easy 4-4.5 star read. But I personally just can’t get past my pet-peeve and the icky feeling I had while reading. This book left me heartbroken. I’m truly sorry to everyone who loves this book.