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A review by johnathanwet
Dune by Frank Herbert
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Wow, another true classic under the belt, and I couldn’t be happier to have finally read Dune. This was almost a 5 star read for me here. The vast majority of this book is just conversations between people who are all constantly trying to hide the truth from each other, but never quite succeeding - until it suddenly becomes an action move in the 3rd act.
I found the pacing quite surprising with that 3rd act; this is a famously ‘slow-paced’ book, and I would say that is almost true. The first act is certainly slow, and the 2nd act is closer to medium, but it still waltz through the story it is telling. The 3rd act feels like the author ran out time or was told to drastically reduce the word count. I feel like we could have spent much more time with these characters in between the time skip. I feel like the some of the Barons story gets cut, especially considering he is a major POV character with all of these plans.
I would be remiss not to mention the way Herbert uses POV in Dune. It is fascinating. In each chapter there is a character that we follow, and we mostly see the situation through their eyes - but we see the situation through glimpses into everyone else’s experience of the situation too, little thoughts that they have to themselves, reactions that they try to hide from others. The POV structure puts you into Paul’s shoes, who sees everything that could happen or is happening; how other characters cannot hide from him in any meaningful way.
I found the pacing quite surprising with that 3rd act; this is a famously ‘slow-paced’ book, and I would say that is almost true. The first act is certainly slow, and the 2nd act is closer to medium, but it still waltz through the story it is telling. The 3rd act feels like the author ran out time or was told to drastically reduce the word count. I feel like we could have spent much more time with these characters in between the time skip. I feel like the some of the Barons story gets cut, especially considering he is a major POV character with all of these plans.
I would be remiss not to mention the way Herbert uses POV in Dune. It is fascinating. In each chapter there is a character that we follow, and we mostly see the situation through their eyes - but we see the situation through glimpses into everyone else’s experience of the situation too, little thoughts that they have to themselves, reactions that they try to hide from others. The POV structure puts you into Paul’s shoes, who sees everything that could happen or is happening; how other characters cannot hide from him in any meaningful way.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder and Violence
Moderate: Pedophilia and Rape