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A review by mint_renegade
Dune by Frank Herbert
adventurous
hopeful
inspiring
fast-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Of all the terrains, desert terrain has to be my favourite terrain. Water terrain, not so much, I don’t know what’s down there, a big fish could be watching me.
I read this book with a niggling sense of foresight *you watched the trailer* of the whitewashing to come in the movie adaptation. Unfortunately, I couldn't dispense with the image of Paul as Jimony Champagne and so spent much of my time worrying about the havoc the desert UV would likely have on his chalet-sheltered skin.
Generally, I enjoy reading books wherein the terrain is an antagonist in and of itself but, being wholly desert, there wasn't much room for world-building in what is a sci-fi book. To counter this, I would have liked it if the so-called Makers played a more prominent role especially as they produce the product that was, essentially, informing the lives of everyone in the narrative. Alas, twas not to be. It came to pass that I only cared for each character's plight to the extent that I didn't want to dnf yet another book in the space of 3 weeks.
In any case, Dune was a 3.5-star read. I enjoyed the overt and at times subtle portrayal of the interplay between water and sand; the way one was likened to/weighed against the other. However, HOWEVER, the author relies too much on the sand-sea contrast. Yes, there is room for symmetry – metaphors, similes, onomatopoeia etc. But there comes a point where too much comparison becomes tiresome. That being said, and provided that Mr Herbert has not been cancelled, I will be having a collect of his words etched onto my skin - fear is the mind killer.
I read this book with a niggling sense of foresight *you watched the trailer* of the whitewashing to come in the movie adaptation. Unfortunately, I couldn't dispense with the image of Paul as Jimony Champagne and so spent much of my time worrying about the havoc the desert UV would likely have on his chalet-sheltered skin.
Generally, I enjoy reading books wherein the terrain is an antagonist in and of itself but, being wholly desert, there wasn't much room for world-building in what is a sci-fi book. To counter this, I would have liked it if the so-called Makers played a more prominent role especially as they produce the product that was, essentially, informing the lives of everyone in the narrative. Alas, twas not to be. It came to pass that I only cared for each character's plight to the extent that I didn't want to dnf yet another book in the space of 3 weeks.
In any case, Dune was a 3.5-star read. I enjoyed the overt and at times subtle portrayal of the interplay between water and sand; the way one was likened to/weighed against the other. However, HOWEVER, the author relies too much on the sand-sea contrast. Yes, there is room for symmetry – metaphors, similes, onomatopoeia etc. But there comes a point where too much comparison becomes tiresome. That being said, and provided that Mr Herbert has not been cancelled, I will be having a collect of his words etched onto my skin - fear is the mind killer.