A review by gabriel_sakoda
Dune by Frank Herbert

adventurous dark reflective 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

4.0

Dune is the first book I have truly read for fun and fun alone and I am so so so happy I chose it. Dune follows the principle of "high sci-fi, low prose" to ensure that the reader is fully immersed in the operatics of Paul's rise to power and not struggling to piece together a base literal understanding. However, allusions to moisture and humidity pervade the descriptions of the political atmosphere, providing a palpable contrast to the barren deserts of Arrakis. Furthermore, the reliance on the interiority of the characters allows for Herbert to blend characterization and world-building into one by literally spelling out the characters' thoughts. This omniscience forces the reader to familiarize themself with the philosophical shortcomings of each character: Jessica's empathy, Thufir's rationality, Feyd's hubris, the Baron's greed, Paul's immaturity. These interconnected fatal flaws enable boundless betrayals, regimes in collapse, proselytization and an a myriad of the other consequences. These archetypes and cycles, pulled from the collected history of real wars and history, ground Dune's fiction in the startling reality that we are not far detached from an addictive overreliance on natural resources balanced by leaders too concerned with public bravura than real safety.