leeyongjin's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Murder and Violence
Moderate: Classism, Gaslighting, Gun violence, Xenophobia, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Emotional abuse, War, Colonisation, Death, Grief, and Hate crime
Minor: Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Genocide, and Drug use
naomi_k's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Violence, Murder, Blood, Forced institutionalization, Colonisation, Death of parent, Death, and Classism
Moderate: Addiction, Body horror, Xenophobia, War, and Torture
Minor: Slavery, Sexual violence, Sexual content, Homophobia, Religious bigotry, Racism, Adult/minor relationship, and Fatphobia
theliteratewalrus2's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Drug use and Violence
Moderate: Sexual content
Minor: Addiction and Sexual assault
brookesinfinitebooks's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Minor: Sexual content, Death, and Child death
brnineworms's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Spoiler
He takes on various names and titles over the course of the story (Duke Paul Atreides, the Kwisatz Haderach, the Lisan al Gaib, Muad’Dib, Usul) and these personas seem to supersede any true sense of self he may have once had. His identity fractures and frays at the climax; not only does he flit back and forth between multiple selves, he also refers to them in the third person and assigns them different motives and personalities (“You have the word of a Duke [...] but Muad’Dib is another matter.”) I don’t know if I’d insist that Paul is plural, but his selfhood is certainly compromised and complicated by all these assumed identities.Spoiler
Paul has a drug-induced epiphany late in the novel wherein he claims women are givers and men are takers, and that he himself is “the fulcrum” who cannot give without taking nor take without giving.Spoiler
He starts off as a vague force of evil that influences the actions of others, only becoming a fully fledged character after the betrayal of Duke Leto.Does Dune deserve four and a half stars? Probably not. Am I going to give it four and a half stars anyway? You bet. It’s not beyond criticism (far from it) but I thoroughly enjoyed it nonetheless. I’m curious to see where the story goes from here and I’ve already ordered Dune Messiah, but I won’t be reading it just yet because I have quite a backlog of unread books to work through first.
Graphic: Blood, Emotional abuse, Sexism, Torture, Violence, Death, Death of parent, Drug use, Fatphobia, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Murder, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Suicide, War, Addiction, Gore, Ableism, Body horror, Child abuse, Colonisation, Genocide, Incest, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Pregnancy, Racism, Rape, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Slavery
Minor: Homophobia, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal death, Cannibalism, Child death, Excrement, Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, Islamophobia, and Self harm
melancholymegs's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Graphic: Violence, Murder, Death of parent, Colonisation, War, Death, and Racism
Moderate: Pregnancy, Slavery, Drug use, Genocide, Torture, and Child death
Minor: Rape, Sexual content, Suicide, and Pedophilia
woolgathering_jane's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
“The mystery of life isn't a problem to solve, but a reality to experience.”
I'm still not sure if the story was worth it, but hey, I can say I read the Dune. And this is one of those rare occasions when the movie (released in 2021) is better than the book.
I will be reading the second book, but just because I've heard that it makes the Dune worth it and it's only like 200 pages, why not (just in case you wanted to know lol)
Now I feel a little bad for thrashing a classic, so here are two of the many quotes I liked from the book.
“There is no escape—we pay for the violence of our ancestors.”
“Try looking into that place where you dare not look! You'll find me there, staring out at you!”
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Pregnancy, Drug use, Death of parent, War, Violence, and Slavery
Minor: Sexual content
iwi's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
I think part of the intention here was to show how harmful humans and power is. That I can agree with. But I still wish that I liked more about this story.
Graphic: Blood, Cannibalism, Colonisation, Death, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Drug use, Fatphobia, Islamophobia, Misogyny, Murder, Religious bigotry, and Sexism
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Body shaming, Fatphobia, Genocide, Homophobia, and Slavery
Minor: Addiction, Child abuse, Incest, Infertility, Pedophilia, Pregnancy, and Sexual content
angoisse's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
Graphic: Colonisation
Moderate: Death, Genocide, Murder, and Sexual content
Minor: Pedophilia, Rape, and Slavery
natalib's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Moderate: War
Minor: Fatphobia and Sexual content