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A review by tometrinket
Dune by Frank Herbert
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
tense
fast-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? Yes
5.0
I hear so many stories about people who read 'Dune' in their late teens and loved it. I'm glad that I didn't discover this before my late 30s cos I probably wouldn't have been that into it. First of all, Dune was very complex and not that reader-friendly with its own vocab. Especially when English is my third language. I read the first 50 pages slowly, and until the end, I still have to flip to the little dictionary provided at the end of the book for those special words. But once I crossed that threshold, I was violently thrust into the midst of a colorful universe, one that I don't really want to leave for a long while.
I loved it that the book was not written in the first person but it managed to have the same level of intimacy with all of its characters with their inner thoughts written out. But it was in a while that felt natural to me. There was no confusion at all. Those little quotes and tidbits of information about the world at the beginning of each chapter worked surprisingly well as a world-building tool. They were written with so much care that they made me want to read those books they were supposedly quoting from.
Paul Atreides was an unlikely hero, as in he doesn't really act like one even though his role, his destiny, is larger than life. On one hand, I got to know him very well, but on the other, I have no idea whether he was the hero or the villain by the end of the story. This uncertainty was increased because Paul must be one of the most unpredictable protagonists I've encountered in a while. And the same goes for his mother Jessica. I don't entirely trust either and for some reason, I love their stories even more because of that.
The cultures and the politics in 'Dune' are so unbelievably complex and all that drama made me downright giddy. Like what the Bene Gesserit did for hundreds of years? That blew my mind and my mind stayed blown for the entire story. Initially, I didn't plan to read any prequels by Frank Herbert's son but I just might because all of that history just screams to be explored further. This is only the beginning of an epic reading journey.
I loved it that the book was not written in the first person but it managed to have the same level of intimacy with all of its characters with their inner thoughts written out. But it was in a while that felt natural to me. There was no confusion at all. Those little quotes and tidbits of information about the world at the beginning of each chapter worked surprisingly well as a world-building tool. They were written with so much care that they made me want to read those books they were supposedly quoting from.
Paul Atreides was an unlikely hero, as in he doesn't really act like one even though his role, his destiny, is larger than life. On one hand, I got to know him very well, but on the other, I have no idea whether he was the hero or the villain by the end of the story. This uncertainty was increased because Paul must be one of the most unpredictable protagonists I've encountered in a while. And the same goes for his mother Jessica. I don't entirely trust either and for some reason, I love their stories even more because of that.
The cultures and the politics in 'Dune' are so unbelievably complex and all that drama made me downright giddy. Like what the Bene Gesserit did for hundreds of years? That blew my mind and my mind stayed blown for the entire story. Initially, I didn't plan to read any prequels by Frank Herbert's son but I just might because all of that history just screams to be explored further. This is only the beginning of an epic reading journey.