NOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE directed by Denis Villeneuve, starring Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, Jason Momoa, Rebecca Ferguson, Oscar Isaac, Josh Brolin, Stellan Skarsgård, Dave Bautista, Stephen McKinley Henderson, Chang Chen, Charlotte Rampling, and Javier Bardem.Frank Herbert’s classic masterpiece—a triumph of the imagination and one of the bestselling science fiction novels of all time.Set on … the bestselling science fiction novels of all time.
Set on the desert planet Arrakis, Dune is the story of the boy Paul Atreides, heir to a noble family tasked with ruling an inhospitable world where the only thing of value is the “spice” melange, a drug capable of extending life and enhancing consciousness. Coveted across the known universe, melange is a prize worth killing for….
When House Atreides is betrayed, the destruction of Paul’s family will set the boy on a journey toward a destiny greater than he could ever have imagined. And as he evolves into the mysterious man known as Muad’Dib, he will bring to fruition humankind’s most ancient and unattainable dream.
A stunning blend of adventure and mysticism, environmentalism and politics, Dune won the first Nebula Award, shared the Hugo Award, and formed the basis of what is undoubtedly the grandest epic in science fiction.
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Just the best Sifi book ever written and I’ve read my share.
For those of you who’ve seen the awful movie, the book is far better. It is full of action, because both the planet Herbert creates and the political environment present constant threats. It is about much more than just the adventure, however. The real thrill of the story is how a naive young man evolves into not just a hero, but the creator of a functional society in the face of the problems presented by human ambition, evil, and a truly hostile planet.
I read the book many many years ago, so I can’t explain why I didn’t like it, I just remember that I didn’t.
Dune by Frank Herbert is not only an SFF must read, but a story I hear far too little about in my circles of geekdom.
This was a re-read for me. I’d read this book back in high school and remembered tragically little of it. I remember being attracted to it because I’d seen a T.V. mini-series on it. I also saw a movie based on it. Both of which fails to work for me, but it was enough to get me to go back to the source material.
This begs the request: I’d love to see a Netflix or Amazon series tackle this one. We need a good film adaptation.
Told from a third-person omniscient perspective, you’re presented with a narrative approach that you see less and less in modern novels. Third person limited gives the reader a more intimate experience and puts mystery and suspense in the driver’s seat. Third-person omniscient tends to give a story a more mythic tone (like much of Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings). It also—in the case of Herbert’s masterpiece—puts dramatic irony in the driver’s seat. When reading it, you may find that Herbert tells you something that other characters in the room are unaware of, driving the tension higher.
The worldbuilding in the story is unshakably immersive. The planet Arrakis might remind some of Tatooine or Jakku from Star Wars. The melange, or “the spice,” functions as the universe’s single most valuable substance. It’s a powerfully addictive drug that lengthens life, the senses, and cognitive function. Additionally, it’s the key ingredient for space travel.
Herbert doesn’t shy away from the political implications of his worldbuilding. Dune manages to pace political intrigue with action in a way that Lucas must have aspired to with Star Wars 1-3, but because Herbert gives us that expectation from the very beginning, he doesn’t disappoint his audience.
The characters are complex, but the main protagonist is a bit off-putting. He’s not a poorly drawn character; he’s very realistic, but that realism isn’t very likable to my tastes. The other characters are excellent, and more than make up for what the main protagonist doesn’t do for me.
If you haven’t read this story yet, and you’re a sci-fi fan, I definitely recommend giving it a try.
— from jimwilbourne.com
This is one of my all time favorites.
Possibly the best science fiction novel ever written.
This book was one of the most original SF novels. The story was engrossing and the vocabulary used to describe unique attributes of his world was totally engrossing. He used words garnered from Arabic, other antiquated languages etc. which totally mesmerized me. I have read most of Frank Herbert’s novels, Skipping maybe two which I found was more war like, as subject that doesn’t interest me. In fact I even enjoyed his son’s novels which were developed from notes and character development before the author’s death. Not to be missed.
There is something sort of clumsy about Hebert’s prose but that’s easy to look past when you have a story and a world as evocative as Dune. Much of the setting reads as fantasy but the way technology and ecology effect the lives of our cast makes Dune one of the more successful applications of hard science fiction I’ve ever read. The last quarter of this novel successfully utilizes all of it’s accumulated momentum to create an operatic conclusion worthy of it’s epic scope. What’s even better is that the sequels actually enrich this book. Dune Messiah in particular is essential. When Dune and Dune Messiah are read together you get a stunning argument against the Campbellian monomyth.
Classic sci-fi reading. Be prepared to want to read the entire series! As usual, the book much better than the movie. Don’t even bother with the pathetic TV series. Excellent read if you are into all things ‘spacey’ and ‘not Earth’.
No movie has ever done this book justice. It’s got politics, action, intrigue, religious concepts, very, very interesting characters all packed into an original theme. Probably the best book I’ve ever read and actually one that anchored my interest in reading novels. It is absolutely the only book I ever brought to my college classes and would read while supposedly listening to a lecture.
Read it years ago. I remember I liked it.
Top of the list SciFi classic literature.
Great book with an incredible galaxy of characters and institutions.
Best book of the series
classic
Frank Herbert defined space opera literature. Drawing from anthropological experience Herbert crafts a new pantheon, orchestrating a master page turner containing flawed hero’s and heroines, well-meaning villains all within a living ecosystem. Here Herbert would touch on climate and culture regulation, militarization, and suffering of knowing that the ‘correct’ path comes at a great price.
Follow Paul in his journey to find his purpose, and redefine that purpose. Find within a twisting labyrinth of wonderful characters and settings.
This book has been around a long time but it’s still great! This imaginary universe is well constructed and makes you feel like it’s real. Well developed characters to love and to hate. You can lose yourself in this story.
A classic for a very good reason. You’ll not want to put this down or end it. Dune is a world of it’s own and totally fleshed out with marvelous writing.
One of the best I’ve ever read
Read many years ago and have followed the series. So many layers to the stories!
Simply one of the finest sci-fi novels ever written