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A review by christinecc
Dune by Frank Herbert
adventurous
challenging
dark
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I guess I'll keep this short. Part 1 was 4 stars for me, and Part 2 took it down a peg. (Please, no vegetable projectiles.)
So "Dune" is a classic, critically acclaimed when it was published (following a serialization in, from what I understand, an auto-repair magazine of some kind because everyone else passed). I didn't personally enjoy Dune as much as I have other books, but I do think passing on it was a mistake for those other publishers, not just because of its eventual success but because of the really great economic and political worldbuilding Herbert does here.
I'm not sure I necessarily agree that this kind of worldbuilding was never done before "Dune," but it certainly wasn't common. The book rightfully deserves its comparisons to world-heavy series like "Lord of the Rings." However, the story itself is a bit lackluster, as are the characters once Paul and Jessica survive the big wipe-out from the first half of the book.
In Part 1, we have Duke Leto Atreides, a man given the leadership of plannet Arrakis as a setup for his downfall. The worst part is that Leto knows this to be the case, but he strives to meet the challenge. He doesn't run, and like his Greek tragedy ancestors and/or namesakes, it really doesn't end well. (He dies.) His son Paul and partner/concubine Jessica escape the political assassination of their family and join the desert people known as the Fremen. From hereon out, we lose a lot of the head-hopping from the first half, which keeps us at a strange distance. We also skip years at a time, and when we return Paul is, what 17? 18? And he has a baby?? Ok, sure. Anyway Jessica's not thrilled but at least her religious cult's Chosen One program worked out. Not according to plan, but it worked.
Overall, I'm glad I read this because Herbert's vintage head-hopping narration and fascinating details about how spice works, who needs it, what constitutes power a natural resource, and how this all works in a galaxy of planets who all want the same thing. Does it have some white savior tropes and chosen one platitudes? Oh, yeah. But you can read some much better analyses of those aspect in other reviews.
Recommended as a classic piece of scifi literature, and also for anyone who's looking to sink their teeth into a substantive fantasy world.
So "Dune" is a classic, critically acclaimed when it was published (following a serialization in, from what I understand, an auto-repair magazine of some kind because everyone else passed). I didn't personally enjoy Dune as much as I have other books, but I do think passing on it was a mistake for those other publishers, not just because of its eventual success but because of the really great economic and political worldbuilding Herbert does here.
I'm not sure I necessarily agree that this kind of worldbuilding was never done before "Dune," but it certainly wasn't common. The book rightfully deserves its comparisons to world-heavy series like "Lord of the Rings." However, the story itself is a bit lackluster, as are the characters once Paul and Jessica survive the big wipe-out from the first half of the book.
Overall, I'm glad I read this because Herbert's vintage head-hopping narration and fascinating details about how spice works, who needs it, what constitutes power a natural resource, and how this all works in a galaxy of planets who all want the same thing. Does it have some white savior tropes and chosen one platitudes? Oh, yeah. But you can read some much better analyses of those aspect in other reviews.
Recommended as a classic piece of scifi literature, and also for anyone who's looking to sink their teeth into a substantive fantasy world.