A review by show_no_mercy
Dune by Frank Herbert

adventurous tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

I was a bit worried by the size of this book but, like the three musketeers, once I found a rhythm I was speeding through it 100 pages at a time. I enjoyed the excerpts from other later books that began each section of the text when it changed perspecrive. I found the world fascinating and it was nice to be able to see inside the characters heads which was not something the movie could offer. Duke Leto was far less flat in the book and he comes across as a more intelligent and tragic figure. I found Paul less irritating due to him only being 15 before the time jump and therefore his emotional outbursts were more understandable. I also liked the use of songs and the importance of music within the world which the films missed. In the film's favour I preferred the more nuanced look at the Fremen religious beliefs with there being more scepticism from Chani, and her character being a foil to Paul in a more overt way because lord know some people still failed to understand that Paul wasn't the hero of this. Although it was sad to lose the intimacy her and Jessica shared and the film didn't really capture Jessica's fear of Paul. His little sister was a bit goofy and I'm glad the film decided to find a way to circumvent that issue. I like a dense science-fantasy so I enjoyed the background information in the glossary and appendix, it's nice when an author actually puts some effort into thinking about how the world would work and the history of what came before. Minus points for the homophobia but on the plus side the author is dead so can't Rowling us. I think overall the book is better than the film and but film was pretty decent given what it was trying to achieve.