Frank Herbert

Dune

Dune by Frank Herbert, is a classic scifi novel which has spawned a considerable number of sequels and quite a few imitators. The story is centred around Paul Atreides, son of Leto, Duke of the planet Caladan. The Atreides have a long emnity with the evil Harkonnen family, and at the start of the story the galactic emperor has decreed that the two families should exchange homeworlds, so that the Atreides get Arrakis, source of the spice vital to the workings of the empire, and so of immense wealth. A just reward for moral behaviour? - no, Leto sees clearly that it is a trap, which may mean the end of the Atreides family.

Indeed Paul and his mother Jessica have to escape to the inhospitable desert of Arrakis, which is occupied only by the secretive and dangerous Fremen population. Until now the Fremen people have been considered to be of little importance in galactic affairs, but that is about to change.

Although Dune is clearly in the science fiction category, it is nothing like the space opera that this suggests. Technology plays a minor role in the story, and much of what happens is more akin to magic. The book can be confusing, with the constant intrugues between different factions, and it's the sort of book which may need to be read several times to make sense of it - but it's such a classic work that this is worth the effort.

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Paperback 544 pages
ISBN: 0441172717
Salesrank: 12046
Weight:0.55 lbs

Published: 1990 Ace

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Amazon.co.uk info

Paperback 608 pages
ISBN: 0450011844
Salesrank: 2719
Weight:0.66 lbs

Published: 1982 Hodder Paperbacks

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Amazon.ca info

Paperback 544 pages
ISBN: 0441172717
Salesrank: 4450
Weight:0.55 lbs

Published: 1990 Ace (MM)

Amazon price CDN$ 8.99

Marketplace:New from CDN$ 1.19:Used from CDN$ 0.01

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Product Description

Paul Atreides moves with his family to the planet Dune and is forced into exile when his father's government is overthrown. The first book in the series.

Epic Science Fiction ****

I have read very little sci-fi, but have been curious to explore the genre. My husband and brother-in-law, both sci-fi geeks, recommended DUNE as a must-read that has in many ways become the gold standard for science fiction. Although the hype may have created overly high expectations for me, I did get engrossed in this epic otherworldly adventure.

On an unforgiving desert planet called Arrakis (aka Dune), the young Paul Atreides inherits both his betrayed father's planetary fiefdom and a bitter feud with the rival Harkonnen family. But there's another dimension to the story: Paul is rumored to be the Muad'Dib, the messiah figure Dune's inhabitants have been waiting for.

What makes DUNE remarkable is Herbert's intricate creation of an alien world. The reader becomes immersed in the imaginative details of Dune's ecology, mysticism, politics, and culture. The planet itself is a hellish world nearly devoid of water and home to massive, fearsome sandworms. Yet it is also of great value for the interplanetary empire it belongs to, since it is the only source of "mélange spice," a mind-expanding and life-extending drug. Economically, the empire is dominated by the CHOAM corporation, which plays an important hand in the power struggles between noble houses.

I truly enjoyed delving into this imaginary empire. Although set many thousands of years in the future, the civilization Herbert conjures is a surprisingly anachronistic one, resembling a medieval feudal society. Despite the importance of the female Bene Gesserit religious sect (often feared as witches), women play a subservient role to men. Even combat is a futuristic version of fencing. Dune's indigenous inhabitants--the Bedouin-like Fremen (Herbert mixes in a lot of Middle Eastern linguistic and cultural influences)--have a fascinating culture shaped by their arid environment. In this culture, water is so precious that moisture is harvested from the dead, and to shed a tear over someone is a profound honor. The Fremen treat their planet almost as a complex living organism and survive by living in harmony with it rather than trying to bend it to their will. Perhaps Herbert's representation of this intricate desert ecology contributed to the budding environmental awareness of the mid-60s.

As immersive as DUNE is, the fiction I usually like best is character-based, and it was here that I found the novel lacking. There is some interesting character development in Paul, who matures and is affected by his status as the rumored Muad'Dib. But the reader never really gets in the characters' heads, and there is a dryness to Herbert's narration.

After reading DUNE, I certainly plan to pick up some more sci-fi in the future.

Would love to buy this again, but.... *****

A great book, that I would love to re-read after all these years, but I can't bring myself to pay 2x as much for a DIGITAL version of a book over a paperback. Penguin books seems to have an issue with digital, because all their digital books are grossly overpriced. It's too bad, if they made it the same price as the paperback, they'd sell a lot more copies. Join us in the digital age Penguin.

Rip off SOBs *

I will rot in hell before I pay $14 for a Kindle edition of this book. Kindle is a bunch of sorry a** crooks for charging what I can pay for a paperback edition. Dune was and is my favorite science fiction book ever, but I'll be G**D*** if if I ever pay that much for for a computer version of it. Kindle can rot in hell for all I care. The 1 star is for Kindle, not the book. The book is magnificent. Buy it in paperback or hardback, but by all means not from those swindling b*****ds from Kindle.

Mike

Underneath the veneer (or should I say stillsuit?) ... ***

The story is supposed to take place in the distant future, on a dessert planet called Arrakis. People travel in inter-galactic transports, they ride some bird-like aircraft ("ornithopters"), use "lasguns" and some sort of energy shields to protect themselves ..

But, underneath this thin veneer of machinery and gadgetry, the story is a very old one -- emperors, dukes and barons, witches and assassins, conflicts among imperial and aristocratic houses, palatial intrigues, quotations from the "O.C. Bible", even sword fights in a Colosseum-like arena ... and of course there is the Messiah, the one to save the world. This is supposed to be a sci-fi masterpiece, but I find the imagination lacking: besides what I listed above, there are very few imagined technological advances or scientific curiosities; most of the battles are fought with knifes and swords, and the most prized substance is a cinnamon-scented narcotic which turns your eyes blue and is essential for space travel (hard to imagine in the distant future people cannot manufacture a synthetic substitute for this). The political and social institutions, if anything, evolved even more backwards -- the societies are most feudal or slavery, and there is a band of nomads whose culture is very primitive with some funny (and manipulated) religion.

The book is praised for the construction of a world with vivid details. But I find even that not very satisfactory. The plants are what exactly you find on earth, even their names: saguaro, creosote, sage bushes. Indeed, if you strip off the sci-fi veneer, this could very well take place in Arizona. Or in the Sahara -- actually, that would be more like it. The Freman people talk about "Jihad" and "Ramadhan" (although their religion is clearly not what you recognize as one of any real-world religions and these terms have somewhat different meanings than their orthodox definitions), you could easily imagine them being a band of Moorish people in the Sahara. And with all the witchcraft, telepathy, bloodline determining everything, feuds among baronial and ducal houses, you can easily place the setting in Medieval Europe and North Africa.

Some of the elements in the book are not very believable (in a scientific context), such as passing one's own memory and experience through a drug-induced telepathic communication, and that one can see the future, etc. This is supposed to be science fiction; as such it should be based (at least mostly) on science. These things should be found in mythology or fantasy.

Maybe we shouldn't be so strict about the boundary of genres. Now let me turn to the writing style. This is not an easy book to read. The writing is very baroque and quite repetitive (the characters constantly "swallow their dry throat"). Almost all the characters are with such a sense of destiny that they become very mechanical and have very little compassion (with perhaps the exception of Chani). Then at the end, there is an epic battle, but, alas, there is not much description of it at all and we skip right to the surrender. That is a bit of a letdown.

I know there are many books in this series, and I really wanted to like it, but I think this will be the first and last book I will read in the series.

Typos in the Kindle preview before purchase left me disappointed **

After seeing typo complaints about the Kindle edition, I decided to look at the free initial chapters before plunking down that much $$. It didn't take me long: '...he was bom on Caladan..." in the 5th sentence of Book One! Come on Penguin (and Amazon), either significantly reduce the price or get it right (and do the 40th Anniversary proud). Why not give the first reporter of each typo $1 credit and then fix them. I was hoping to reread the entire Dune saga (this time on the Kindle 3 when it becomes available). Now I think I'll just dig out my original hard-covers instead. Very disappointed!

Awesome book, great series! *****

Dune is without a doubt one of the best works of fiction ever written. In terms of scifi it must be at the top of the list. The characters are details, the locations vivid and the story is packed with plot upon plot. Though the many sequels and prequels are average to good in quality this first book is epic in eveyr sense of the word.

Read it now!

Dune S.F. Masterworks *****

There is no doubt, Dune must rank as one of the finest, if not the finest science fiction novel of the twentieth century. It is one of the best 'coming of age' stories ever told. three parts - youth, development and maturity. all against a backdrop of brilliant descriptive writing; creating a real world like no another.

Excelent book, Bad edition binding ***

I'm not going to review the work itself since that has been done already by the various reviewers at Amazon. However it should be noted that this particular SF Masterworks edition has terrible binding problems. I understand that this is a cheap, affordable hard-cover edition but a bit more care on the binding quality would be appreciated for future releases. I bought this edition because I wanted a more durable HC edition and instead I got a book from which pages started to fall out as soon as I hold it for more than 5 minutes. If this is representative of the binding quality of all SF Masterworks HC editions than this will be my first and last book I buy from this publisher.

outstanding science fiction *****

Dune stands out as one of the finest SF novels. It is a superbly-realised work that added a new dimension (if you'll excuse the pun) to the genre: it added a new awareness of ecology that has become even more relevant since 1965. It is the pace of narrative and the empathy of the characters that make the novel really stand out. A rich and mature work of science fiction. As the series progressed to three and then more novels I became increasingly less enamoured but Dune remains as superb testament to 1960's SF at its distinctive best.

Dune! *****

This book is brilliant and so are the sequels. Dune is the planet of Arrakis where Spice grows. Spice is the only material that helps Space Craft bend space and therefore travel through the Galaxy quickly. Because of it's power, powerful Houses are fighting over the planet; House Attreides, Harkonnen and the indigenous population the Fremen.

Now made into a succesfull film(s), computer games and mini series and follow on books, it shows how popular it is and I'm sure it and it's future sequels will be equally as successfull. Frank Herbert produced a story that will endure for as long as we have books and inquisitive natures.

The worms of Dune that produce the spice can grow upto 200m long and 'swim' within the sands of the planets deserts. They are connected to the Fremen who can train the Worms to allow them to ride them to move around the planets surface. If however, the Worms do not 'recognise you' you had better have a quick Ornithopter pilot or your mince!

Being a desert Arrakis' water supply is vitally important and it is only later in the initial story that Paul Attriedes son of Duke Leto, leader of the House Attreides discovers that the Fremen have secret underwater siches.

Pauls arrival on the planet has been foretold by Fremen folklore and soon after arriving and because of the Spice in everything, (air, food, water etc) Pauls eyes turn bright blue like the Fremen and he begins to have visions and quickly develops his almost supernatural abilities, as does his twin sister.

If you haven't read Dune or the sequels and have an imagination and like Sci-Fi, believe me, you will thank me for recommending this masterpiece and its successors! Brilliant work of fiction and equal in terms of story telling to the magnificent Star Wars trilogy, but different.

It's an absolutely wonderful, engrossing book. *****

Dune is a wonderful book. It completely engrosses the reader, giving one an experience similar to the one which the human characters experience in the Avatar film when they are inside the world of their avatars on the planet. When you stop reading, it's like coming out of the avatar pod into the real world, you can't wait to enter the world of dune again. Dune is also a fascinating study of desert ecology, water conservation, and how desert dwellers (including humans) adapt to their environment. It is also a reprimand to humanity for becoming too dependant on technology, robotics (robots) and machinery, and forgetting how to take care of themselves. As well as a lesson that teaches us that city dwellers have become estranged from the environment (nature) and became maladapted to surviving, to say nothing of living outside their cities with all their environmental and plush residential fluff. (while reading this review, mind that the book was originally published in 1965, Herbert seems to have foreseen the ecological problems, and technological advances of today!) Dune

Passé! ***

This work is very much a product of the 1960's and, though set in the distant future, appears somewhat quaint in 2010.

Indeed, it is odd to see characters with the technology to travel through space but without cell phones or computers. Social and political organization is akin to early medieval times and totally remote of any democratic pretence. There are human servants about and no signs whatsoever of robots. For reasons that are beyond me, as if in the theatre, knives and poison constitute weapons of choice.

The audio book's production is far from outstanding: various actors are called upon to impersonate the many characters and all are not equally convincing. The problem may lie in the direction as the tone changes often considerably from one to the other. Possibly, the different parts were taped separately and edited together subsequently.

Contrary to my expectations, this work stands no comparison with the Lord of the Rings series in terms of imagination, depth or significance. Some may however find it entertaining.

Dune series *****

I was thrilled to find a hardcover copy of this novel. It was the only one in the series that I was missing.

Epic Masterpiece *****

Not much more can be said about this book than has already been said. I finally read it after countless recommendations and putting it off for years. I was skeptical that it would be as good as everyone said it is, but it is. Frank Herbert shows himself to be a keen observer of human nature, political intrigue and conspiracy, religion, and the depths and variations of human emotion. His characters are believable and range from psychopathic and ruthless, to morally weak and conformist, to courageous and authentic. Complex, expansive, moving, and exceedingly well written. I can't wait to finish the series.

Comparative to LOTR? *****

While it is quite true that comparing this series to that of LOTR is a bit absurd, I will not bow down to the opinions of those who believe Dune doesn't hold a candle to LOTR. In risk of being redundant, I disagree with the opinion that Dune does not delve deeply enough into the characters, or that they are comparably to cheap commercials. The largest issue people have with Dune, especially those who find it boring, is that they simply cannot grasp the various theories being played out through the novel. If you consider yourself a strong reader, a philosopher, and a person of many angles who isn't reliant on the straightforwardness of "good" versus "evil" as many of a lower intelligence are, this is the read for you. This book will keep your mind sharp throughout its read, and you might even learn something about the time chaos theory.