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A review by fallona
Dune by Frank Herbert
5.0
This is the second time I've read this book, and though I might only rate it a 4 now, I'm leaving my initial 5. This was one of the books that formed my high school perception of the world when I read it in 10th grade. Roughly seven years later, I'm shocked by how many details I'd forgotten in the intervening time. I'm also surprised by just how much it did affect what I read (and wrote, as I enjoyed writing fiction for fun and still do sometimes) from then on out. This doesn't always manifest in a taste for science fiction--a genre I enjoy but would not claim any sort of obsession with--but in the complexity and political nature of the plot, etc.
As other reviewers have said, there are aspects of Dune that are, admittedly, dated. But it's a classic in its genre, and it is tremendously worth reading for anyone with a modicum of interest in it--or who finds the other elements of its story interesting. Personally, I like trying to identify some of the cultural elements of the various groups in the novel and what real-world groups some of those elements come from. On the second read, there are some things that make much less sense to me--including why, exactly, the Atreides had to leave their home planet for Arrakis, rather than ruling it remotely.
Other reviewers complain about the use of the third person omniscient, but personally, I find that Herbert does it well. Characters are distinct from one another, and each perspective tells important parts of the story that others might not know. I do get the sense that third person omniscient is simply out of fashion today, however, and so it may well be strange to people used to reading science fiction told from a much more limited point of view.
There are things I dislike about it, but all in all, it's still a novel I recommend quite freely.
As other reviewers have said, there are aspects of Dune that are, admittedly, dated. But it's a classic in its genre, and it is tremendously worth reading for anyone with a modicum of interest in it--or who finds the other elements of its story interesting. Personally, I like trying to identify some of the cultural elements of the various groups in the novel and what real-world groups some of those elements come from. On the second read, there are some things that make much less sense to me--including why, exactly, the Atreides had to leave their home planet for Arrakis, rather than ruling it remotely.
Other reviewers complain about the use of the third person omniscient, but personally, I find that Herbert does it well. Characters are distinct from one another, and each perspective tells important parts of the story that others might not know. I do get the sense that third person omniscient is simply out of fashion today, however, and so it may well be strange to people used to reading science fiction told from a much more limited point of view.
There are things I dislike about it, but all in all, it's still a novel I recommend quite freely.