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A review by semmler
Dune by Frank Herbert
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
This is a hard review to write.
The thing about this book that I appreciated was how immersive the ecology of this sci-fi classic is. How people live with the planet they were born to and not against it. It's sadly not the main focus of the book, but it certainly is an important plot device.
That said, the white savior complex, colonialist worldview and Orientalism is very hard to ignore. You could argue that this is due to the author writing in the 1960' but is that really an excuse?
I don't have a problem with sci-fi that takes 'real life' systems of oppression and twists them in a way that impresses by being original/radical about it, or gives me the feeling of commenting on it, but that was clearly not the case with Dune... It was at times painfully clear that the author tried so hard to give the desert people a worthy stage to exist on, only to turn it into a circus for white people to bargain with/exploit and I'm counting the Messiah Duke in with those. There is no point in those 600 pages where it is really about the Fremen.
As for the claim of it being a classic of sci-fi literature I would incline to say it is very obvious who had the power to declare so from the 60s on (until today). But coming to the present now... I don't know who thought it to be a good idea to revive this whole thing and make it into a movie again without commenting on the harmful worldviews and parallels it portrays.
To end this review with mild words on words; The style of writing may be a bit old fashioned and stiff but I kind of expected that and some lines make for rather beautiful quotes.
I'm sad because I couldn't fully indulge in the richness of this world, but at the same time, honestly, fuck this. Go read something that doesn't leave a bad taste in your mouth and rage in your stomach for of all the wrong reasons.
The thing about this book that I appreciated was how immersive the ecology of this sci-fi classic is. How people live with the planet they were born to and not against it. It's sadly not the main focus of the book, but it certainly is an important plot device.
That said, the white savior complex, colonialist worldview and Orientalism is very hard to ignore. You could argue that this is due to the author writing in the 1960' but is that really an excuse?
I don't have a problem with sci-fi that takes 'real life' systems of oppression and twists them in a way that impresses by being original/radical about it, or gives me the feeling of commenting on it, but that was clearly not the case with Dune... It was at times painfully clear that the author tried so hard to give the desert people a worthy stage to exist on, only to turn it into a circus for white people to bargain with/exploit and I'm counting the Messiah Duke in with those. There is no point in those 600 pages where it is really about the Fremen.
As for the claim of it being a classic of sci-fi literature I would incline to say it is very obvious who had the power to declare so from the 60s on (until today). But coming to the present now... I don't know who thought it to be a good idea to revive this whole thing and make it into a movie again without commenting on the harmful worldviews and parallels it portrays.
To end this review with mild words on words; The style of writing may be a bit old fashioned and stiff but I kind of expected that and some lines make for rather beautiful quotes.
I'm sad because I couldn't fully indulge in the richness of this world, but at the same time, honestly, fuck this. Go read something that doesn't leave a bad taste in your mouth and rage in your stomach for of all the wrong reasons.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug use and Murder