lqne's review against another edition
adventurous
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Murder, Pregnancy, War, Colonisation, and Death of parent
Moderate: Ableism, Genocide, Religious bigotry, Body shaming, Grief, Misogyny, Violence, and Terminal illness
Minor: Sexual violence, Fire/Fire injury, Infertility, Kidnapping, and Child death
quillreads's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Review:
From the way people talk about Frank Herbert’s Dune, I thought that it was going to be super dry, confusing, and hyper-intellectual. I was surprised to find that it is pretty easy to get into and understand on the narrative level. If you’re not used to reading science fiction and fantasy, then it will probably seem intimidating and confusing at first, but otherwise, it’s not hard to get into. The intricate, thoughtful worldbuilding and political intrigue drew me into the story. I read through the first two parts of the book, watched the first part of Denis Villeneuve’s movie adaptation, and then finished the rest of the novel. In hindsight, that was a mistake. The movie so beautifully adapts the story, with its breathtaking and haunting visuals, minor changes to the plot and characters for improved storytelling and daring action. For instance, the movie transforms the book’s Baron character from a cheesy and cartoonish villain into an absolutely terrifying, creepy, and loathsome figure. After watching the movie, the book felt like a letdown.
Although on the whole I enjoyed Dune, both in terms of its plot and themes, there were aspects to the story that detracted from the experience. The supposedly deeply intelligent characters could be infuriatingly obtuse at times, to the point where I didn’t feel bad when they faced the inevitable negative consequences of their actions. This was part of my issue with Paul as a character, whose character arc is fascinating but underdeveloped. It’s not that I don’t understand how someone in his position could end up where he does at the end of the book, it’s that Herbert doesn’t spend enough time with Paul’s perspective to show that character development. I hate that Frank Herbert fails to explore the workings of Paul’s mind, leaving the audience to guess at the driving forces behind Paul’s actions.
Spoiler
I don’t know about you, but if I were in Paul’s position, and I saw a strong potential future where I end up the figurehead of a violent genocide, I would do anything I possibly could to prevent it. Paul ends up doing the worst thing possible, which is to actively cultivate a position of a religious messiah with the Fremen, to the point where he cannot stop the jihad no matter what he does. Now, there could be any number of reasons he chooses this route. Perhaps he’s so driven by revenge for his father and his house that he puts concerns about the jihad on the back burner. Perhaps he ends up believing the messiah narrative himself, taking up the mantle of his position and believing in the cause of the jihad. Perhaps he cannot resist the lure of incredible power he gains by leading the Fremen. Or, perhaps, he’s just profoundly stupid, because I can think of a hundred different actions he could have taken to avoid the whole “jihad in my name” thing if that’s truly what he wanted to do.The Run-Down:
You might like Dune if . . .
· You enjoy epic science fiction with strong worldbuilding
· You want a story that has a little bit of everything (political intrigue, survival story, philosophical exploration, ecological commentary, religion, action, love, etc.)
·
You might not like Dune if . . .
· You prefer stories with a clear hero and villain
· You dislike slow-paced stories
· You like villains with complex motivations and backstories
A Similar Book:
The Godfather by Mario Puzo (totally different genre, but still!). Similarities include . . .
· Complex political intrigue and maneuvering by powerful competing families
· A young man thrust into a position of dangerous power as he fights to avenge his family’s honor and status
· Interesting and complex side characters
· Anti-hero origin story
· Thematic exploration of morality, individual agency, and power
Content Warnings
Graphic: War, Classism, Drug abuse, Drug use, Death, Pregnancy, Violence, Colonisation, Death of parent, Child abuse, Child death, and Body shaming
Moderate: Xenophobia, Grief, Slavery, and Genocide
Minor: Kidnapping, Pedophilia, Sexism, and Sexual violence
joppiereading's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
medium-paced
- 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? Yes
3.0
The danger with reading a book that inspired many other, newer stories, is that the original just doesn’t seem as revolutionary anymore. I am not the biggest sci-fi fan so my thoughts might be biased by a whole “I’m not super into space” attitude, to be fair.
Dune had things that were absolutely great. It’s clearly a well thought-through world, the environment and the history are very well constructed and it works well. We enter a world where it’s clear the author knows what is what. The mystical elements of the Bene Gesserit, the planet’s ecology, the political factions and their motivations: these are solids.
I’m a bit in the middle on the writing. Having switching POVs and a kind of omniscient narrative is not that popular anymore, and it took some getting used to. But I ended up appreciating it. I didn’t really enjoy the time jump midway in the book: it removed too much buildup and context, and Dune was already going to be a long, long book, which would have been better if we had a little more insight in the “between” period.
What really let the book down for me were the characters. Most weren’t very fleshed out, and while that was the point to a certain extent, it also lessened the impact. I truly didn’t understand why Paul was this great charismatic leader, for example. There were also some tensions in the characters goals: And then there are the let downs on the few characters that bring some diversity to the book, especially Jessica and Chani.
Dune had things that were absolutely great. It’s clearly a well thought-through world, the environment and the history are very well constructed and it works well. We enter a world where it’s clear the author knows what is what. The mystical elements of the Bene Gesserit, the planet’s ecology, the political factions and their motivations: these are solids.
I’m a bit in the middle on the writing. Having switching POVs and a kind of omniscient narrative is not that popular anymore, and it took some getting used to. But I ended up appreciating it. I didn’t really enjoy the time jump midway in the book: it removed too much buildup and context, and Dune was already going to be a long, long book, which would have been better if we had a little more insight in the “between” period.
What really let the book down for me were the characters. Most weren’t very fleshed out, and while that was the point to a certain extent, it also lessened the impact. I truly didn’t understand why Paul was this great charismatic leader, for example. There were also some tensions in the characters goals:
Spoiler
if Paul wants to stop the jihad, why would this pretty smart dude not consult his mother, who we know is also quite smart? Why would he still surround himself with the exact conditions that make a jihad likely?Spoiler
They are women, and the book treats them as though they would therefore be perfectly happy taking a side-kick role while the others (the men) are glorious - and really, is being reduced to “mother” and “concubine who maybe if she’s lucky gets to be a wife” even side-kick level? It’s a shame because we see glimpses of these women being incredible, knowledgeable, strong, and well-respected, and the roles they have are in strong tension to these glimpses of power and competence. And then there’s the Harkonnens, who should be evil and fearsome. The Barons portrayal as a gluttonous ruler with a preference for young boys is… less than great. The insistence on this factor and his posture to make the reader disgusted with him doesn’t work out great. His homosexuality is completely irrelevant, and making your villain the only gay (and coincidentally also a pedophilic) character reeks of rather uncomfortable homophobia. His posture is almost a joke. And the worst thing is that it’s discrediting to the great work Herbert does on establishing the Baron as a nefarious, well-planning political actor. The nephew also suffers from the time jump, which makes him transform from a petulant child to a fearsome fighter with some wits in two pages; a shame, because he’s a rather intriguing character.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, War, Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Colonisation, Drug use, Fatphobia, Murder, Pedophilia, Pregnancy, Racism, Religious bigotry, Sexism, and Slavery
b0ygenius's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
mild spoilers ahead ??? kinda ???? i tried to be as vague as humanly possible
after spending a literal month reading this book i am finally done. oh my god.
book 1? show stopping jaw dropping i was gagged the whole time omfg. THE END?????? no like i was screaming. it was so intense from start to finish. and tbh that is all bc of my man duke leto atreides omfg. i was rooting for him from the start simply because he is played by THE oscar isaac in the 2021 movie and tbh i think he was my favorite character. like he came he saw he SERVED!!!!!!! this part was sooo good based on this i thought dune would become one of my all time favorites but unfortunately. this was most definitely the peak of this book and tbh i was thinking of giving this like a 3.5/5 but i loved book 1 so much that i can’t give it anything lower than a 4
book 2 tho…. omfg. soooooo sloooowwww i literally spent like a week reading book 1 and a week reading book 3 and then book 2 took me two weeks bc it was just so BORING omfg the first like 150 pages were just [redacted] and [redacted] wandering around the desert and it was boring. and one of my main problems with this book is that some things weren’t explored as thoroughly as they should’ve been like some side characters were given such a large role in the beginning of the book and then had 0 appearance for literally 400 pages only to appear at the end of the book briefly again. and some characters had such unsatisfying deaths especially the ones at the end like it just felt like we never got a satisfying ending to the arcs of a lot of the characters who died.
book 3 was also kinda boring the end was alright but again i thought it was so unsatisfactory. like we spent, not even an exaggeration, like 350 pages building up to this so you would think it would be some grand dramatic end but it rlly wasn’t. go girl give us nothing. paul at the end was cool tho he was rlly badass and kinda hot tbh 😦 i was so conflicted abt him for a lot of the book i kept flipping back and forth between liking him and not liking him but in the end i think he had a really great arc and his development was done pretty well but his like prescient awareness or whatever stuff was kinda hard to follow. and it was hard to follow his the development of his abilities.. like it was hard to tell just how powerful he was he would do things or have some vision or whatever and i would be like “damn since when can he do that???????” maybe that was on purpose but either way i did not like it. paul was kinda giving me whiplash but whatever
i can definitely see why this book is considered one of the greatest sci fi books of all time and i could see how this influenced later sci fi stuff like star wars and i definitely do not regret reading this but this definitely isn’t for everyone bc it is very very long and it can be hard to follow at times and there is a Looot of world building (but tbh i didn’t mind the amount of world building as much as i thought i would, i rlly liked how intricate and immersive and thought out the world is). i personally did not find it that hard to read and i think that’s because i learned some of the basic background info abt the characters/the world/the politics/etc before i started reading. like the house system, the main characters, the spacing guild, bene gesserits, the butlerian jihad, etc etc and i think that really helped me so if you want to read dune i would recommend looking at some beginner’s guides there are plenty online
after spending a literal month reading this book i am finally done. oh my god.
book 1? show stopping jaw dropping i was gagged the whole time omfg. THE END?????? no like i was screaming. it was so intense from start to finish. and tbh that is all bc of my man duke leto atreides omfg. i was rooting for him from the start simply because he is played by THE oscar isaac in the 2021 movie and tbh i think he was my favorite character. like he came he saw he SERVED!!!!!!! this part was sooo good based on this i thought dune would become one of my all time favorites but unfortunately. this was most definitely the peak of this book and tbh i was thinking of giving this like a 3.5/5 but i loved book 1 so much that i can’t give it anything lower than a 4
book 2 tho…. omfg. soooooo sloooowwww i literally spent like a week reading book 1 and a week reading book 3 and then book 2 took me two weeks bc it was just so BORING omfg the first like 150 pages were just [redacted] and [redacted] wandering around the desert and it was boring. and one of my main problems with this book is that some things weren’t explored as thoroughly as they should’ve been like some side characters were given such a large role in the beginning of the book and then had 0 appearance for literally 400 pages only to appear at the end of the book briefly again. and some characters had such unsatisfying deaths especially the ones at the end like it just felt like we never got a satisfying ending to the arcs of a lot of the characters who died.
book 3 was also kinda boring the end was alright but again i thought it was so unsatisfactory. like we spent, not even an exaggeration, like 350 pages building up to this so you would think it would be some grand dramatic end but it rlly wasn’t. go girl give us nothing. paul at the end was cool tho he was rlly badass and kinda hot tbh 😦 i was so conflicted abt him for a lot of the book i kept flipping back and forth between liking him and not liking him but in the end i think he had a really great arc and his development was done pretty well but his like prescient awareness or whatever stuff was kinda hard to follow. and it was hard to follow his the development of his abilities.. like it was hard to tell just how powerful he was he would do things or have some vision or whatever and i would be like “damn since when can he do that???????” maybe that was on purpose but either way i did not like it. paul was kinda giving me whiplash but whatever
i can definitely see why this book is considered one of the greatest sci fi books of all time and i could see how this influenced later sci fi stuff like star wars and i definitely do not regret reading this but this definitely isn’t for everyone bc it is very very long and it can be hard to follow at times and there is a Looot of world building (but tbh i didn’t mind the amount of world building as much as i thought i would, i rlly liked how intricate and immersive and thought out the world is). i personally did not find it that hard to read and i think that’s because i learned some of the basic background info abt the characters/the world/the politics/etc before i started reading. like the house system, the main characters, the spacing guild, bene gesserits, the butlerian jihad, etc etc and i think that really helped me so if you want to read dune i would recommend looking at some beginner’s guides there are plenty online
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Addiction, Blood, Child death, Colonisation, Death, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Drug use, and War
Moderate: Body shaming and Fatphobia
claudiamacpherson's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Embarking on the odyssey that is this book, my only expectation was that I would be confused, having been warned (correctly) by Booktok that Herbert’s worldbuilding is of the variety that throws you in the deep end and expects you to figure it out. With Zendaya and Timothee Chalamet as my motivation, however, I flew through the first hundred pages or so (which, in my opinion, were the most confusing), and was quickly sucked into the world of Arrakis. The first 100-or-so pages of confusion aside, the worldbuilding was incredible—not only did the scientific explanations in this science fiction novel make sense (as a former biochemist, poorly researched or explained science is one of the biggest reasons I rarely read this genre), but I also found myself becoming extremely conscious of my own water use. In the (likely not-too-distant) future, water will be a much rarer and more valuable resource. This made me wonder whether Herbert suspected as much when Dune came out, or if this all came from his imagination.
I’ve heard about a lot of controversy surrounding the content of the novel, and I’m still not sure where I fall in the debate. My initial impression was that this is a classic white savior story (it definitely gave me blue-people-Avatar vibes), and Herbert definitely uses some orientalizing imagery—yikes. On the other hand, Paul doesn’t seem to be the glorified hero that so many stories have; in fact, as the story progresses, he becomes more and more clearly flawed. If this was Herbert’s intention (and I confess, I don’t know enough about Herbert or the historical context of the novel to determine whether or not it was), then the novel could be a critique of the white savior narrative. But then again, if it’s not obvious enough, then this message is lost of many readers and will be used to justify that which it critiques. To me, the much more obvious problems were the rigid gender roles (this man really wrote a novel set far in the future and thought men would still be in charge of everything?). Of course, the Bene Gesserit have power, and I did find that whole concept fascinating (not the eugenics, but the idea that they planted folktales and prophecies in various communities that could be used as protection for their own whenever they might need it). But despite their power, they have all taken a backseat role, and besides their order, we meet only a few other named female characters. I also don’t like the concept of multiple wives/concubines (again, this feels problematically orientalizing).
The added information at the beginning of each chapter (usually from Princess Irulan) was interesting (though sometimes confusing). I have never minded spoilers in the way that some people do, so I kind of liked that Dune essentially spoils itself with this framing.
Spoiler
I was surprised, however, when we learn (somewhere around halfway through the novel) that Princess Irulan is actually alive concurrently with Paul—I had been imagining her as a scholar farther in the future, recording this history a generation or two later.As a side note, I found it very funny that Herbert named whole planets and invented multiple new civilizations, but named his main characters Paul and Jessica (rather along the lines of Tolkein coming up with several entire languages, but calling the location of the story’s climax “Mount Doom”).
Happy ending meter (no specific spoilers, just the general vibe of the ending):
Spoiler
I don’t know that this could really be called a happy ending, though it’s honestly better than I was expecting (I wouldn’t have put it past Herbert to kill Paul in the end). It’s not exactly a cliffhanger, but definitely feels unfinished, and I’ve already put the sequel on hold at my library!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Colonisation, Murder, Violence, War, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Body horror, Death, Death of parent, Drug use, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, and Slavery
Minor: Addiction, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Fire/Fire injury, Homophobia, Kidnapping, Pregnancy, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Torture
mala_and_the_spirits's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
2.5
Please let me explain before you roast me, thanks a lot.
<b> First, I want to make clear that my star rating shows how much I personally enjoyed the book/ vibed with the book. It todally does not mean I do not respect the fact this book is a classic and the influence that it had and how challenging it was to create it. I know Dune fans like to roast readers who did not like Dune but please let me state my opinion here. I know how it is to be a huge fan of something and how critical voices annoy you, so let's respect each other. </b>
Btw, I am about to start studies in literature, so I am kind of training to write reviews that is why this is going to be a long one.
<b> How I got into Dune: </b>
I listened to the German audiobook, which is avaliable here for free:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3k4RuHL7uT8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E7TTHdb2ExE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VvOZKc4f_N4
I know we should support authors by actually buying their work but in this case, since the author is dead and can not benefit from our purchases anymore, I personally do not mind.
I also kind of got into this because of the new movie and the fact that I am a former Star Wars fan and I kinda hoped to find something like Star Wars in the Dune universe. And even when Star Wars was partially inspired (or copied) by Dune, I now know this was a stupid belief but it appeard due to lack of knowledge.
<b> What I liked and appreciated: </b>
2. The plot and actions by the characters made sense. Even if it is fiction, it feels like it could theoretically happen like that (sadly this is not common).
3. There were lots of deep/ philosophical thoughts/ quotes throughout the whole book.
4. It showed me new ideas and perspectives, especially the power of religion.
Nevertheless, I have a few problems with the novel. I tend to overlook the fact: This is a fictional story. But every piece of art is a reflection of our society and our world and just because it is relevant and respected art it does not mean we can just ignore the issues that may occure. And yes, back then when this was written outdated values ruled the US but this makes it even more important to talk about the things that bordered me.
<b> What bordered me: </b>
2. All important women who appear in the novel are powerful, but are breeders at the same time. There is lots of sexism in general. This is probably caused by the society and belief system in the Dune universe but to me it is unsetteling to imagine a future humanity that is able to travel space, etc. but still has sexism in their believe system. It is fiction after all but as I already said, we should talk about these issues especially due to this fact.
3. The writing forces you almost brutally to hate the villan. Sure, because he is the villan, right? But there is not even a backstory given, why he is the way he is. He is just really bad and cruel and bad and cruel. He is soooooooooooo bad! Hate him reader, hate him!, says the writing. You are suppost to hate him! Go on and hate him! Hate him! Hate him! Hate him! And it is getting worse: What makes a person bad?:
-A Russian forename (the <b> only </b> Russian name I noticed in the book, remember Frank Herbert is US-American and yes it was cold war, but the protagonist has a western name, of course...)
-He is fat (the only fat character and his enormous body is described over and over)
-He is gay (the only queer character. He is also a pedophile and by the time the novel was written the homophobia was very very common in the US. One 'argument' against the LGBTQ+ community back then was: Gay people are (more often) pedophiles. And I do not say that there are no gay pedophiles but this lie was used suppress the queer movement. And this belief is still used by homophobic people up until today! The hungarian government used it recently when they enacted a new homophobic and transphobic law (https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-09-16/hungary-tells-eu-its-law-protects-children-doesn-t-target-lgbtq). Sadly, Dune was part of spreading this belief.)
4. Look how childlike Paul (15 yo) and Chani (14 yo) are, aren't they cute (in the German version they were even called Kind-Mann (kid man) and Kind-Frau (kid women))? The writing discribes them as childlike. Alright now let's make a baby! Oh no, the baby died. Well, we will just make more sons! If you feel like child marriage is necessary Herbert, alright it is your novel. But why discribe them as childlike, so detailed before then?
Just want to mention, I do not agree Dune is a white savior story, this explains well why: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EWQIvegIYEQ
<b> My conclusion: </b>
All in all, I am glad I read it, I really am, even if it does not seem like it. I just believe we have to pay attention to both pros and cons. If you search for something like Star Wars, Dune will disappoint you. It is worth the effort of getting through all 600 pages and it does deserve the hype, it just is not my personal peference. I would recomment it to others but not for enjoyment or relaxation, rather for the well built world and the other things I appreciated. It is a classic, that is undeniable. I could imagine to read more books of the series now that I know what to expect but not any time soon. I have not seen the new movie yet and I am intrested how they treated the things I see crtitically.
Let's be friends, Dune lovers and Dune haters, to me you are both correct.
(And lol, it took me basically 1 1/2 hours to write this review. Anyway I was listening to this Dune ambience while writing, it is really good: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j9vHol20e0Q)
<b> First, I want to make clear that my star rating shows how much I personally enjoyed the book/ vibed with the book. It todally does not mean I do not respect the fact this book is a classic and the influence that it had and how challenging it was to create it. I know Dune fans like to roast readers who did not like Dune but please let me state my opinion here. I know how it is to be a huge fan of something and how critical voices annoy you, so let's respect each other. </b>
Btw, I am about to start studies in literature, so I am kind of training to write reviews that is why this is going to be a long one.
<b> How I got into Dune: </b>
I listened to the German audiobook, which is avaliable here for free:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3k4RuHL7uT8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E7TTHdb2ExE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VvOZKc4f_N4
I know we should support authors by actually buying their work but in this case, since the author is dead and can not benefit from our purchases anymore, I personally do not mind.
I also kind of got into this because of the new movie and the fact that I am a former Star Wars fan and I kinda hoped to find something like Star Wars in the Dune universe. And even when Star Wars was partially inspired (or copied) by Dune, I now know this was a stupid belief but it appeard due to lack of knowledge.
<b> What I liked and appreciated: </b>
Spoiler
1. The concept/ structure of the world is so complex, balanced and logic as I never experienced it before in a novel.2. The plot and actions by the characters made sense. Even if it is fiction, it feels like it could theoretically happen like that (sadly this is not common).
3. There were lots of deep/ philosophical thoughts/ quotes throughout the whole book.
4. It showed me new ideas and perspectives, especially the power of religion.
Nevertheless, I have a few problems with the novel. I tend to overlook the fact: This is a fictional story. But every piece of art is a reflection of our society and our world and just because it is relevant and respected art it does not mean we can just ignore the issues that may occure. And yes, back then when this was written outdated values ruled the US but this makes it even more important to talk about the things that bordered me.
<b> What bordered me: </b>
Spoiler
1. The writing style was not 'bad' and I know I am not supposed to identify with the characters but I personally did not enjoy the writing at all. I absolutely did not like or care for the characters too. It was intresting to listen but felt more like an non-fictional text or an essay to me.2. All important women who appear in the novel are powerful, but are breeders at the same time. There is lots of sexism in general. This is probably caused by the society and belief system in the Dune universe but to me it is unsetteling to imagine a future humanity that is able to travel space, etc. but still has sexism in their believe system. It is fiction after all but as I already said, we should talk about these issues especially due to this fact.
3. The writing forces you almost brutally to hate the villan. Sure, because he is the villan, right? But there is not even a backstory given, why he is the way he is. He is just really bad and cruel and bad and cruel. He is soooooooooooo bad! Hate him reader, hate him!, says the writing. You are suppost to hate him! Go on and hate him! Hate him! Hate him! Hate him! And it is getting worse: What makes a person bad?:
-A Russian forename (the <b> only </b> Russian name I noticed in the book, remember Frank Herbert is US-American and yes it was cold war, but the protagonist has a western name, of course...)
-He is fat (the only fat character and his enormous body is described over and over)
-He is gay (the only queer character. He is also a pedophile and by the time the novel was written the homophobia was very very common in the US. One 'argument' against the LGBTQ+ community back then was: Gay people are (more often) pedophiles. And I do not say that there are no gay pedophiles but this lie was used suppress the queer movement. And this belief is still used by homophobic people up until today! The hungarian government used it recently when they enacted a new homophobic and transphobic law (https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-09-16/hungary-tells-eu-its-law-protects-children-doesn-t-target-lgbtq). Sadly, Dune was part of spreading this belief.)
4. Look how childlike Paul (15 yo) and Chani (14 yo) are, aren't they cute (in the German version they were even called Kind-Mann (kid man) and Kind-Frau (kid women))? The writing discribes them as childlike. Alright now let's make a baby! Oh no, the baby died. Well, we will just make more sons! If you feel like child marriage is necessary Herbert, alright it is your novel. But why discribe them as childlike, so detailed before then?
Just want to mention, I do not agree Dune is a white savior story, this explains well why: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EWQIvegIYEQ
<b> My conclusion: </b>
All in all, I am glad I read it, I really am, even if it does not seem like it. I just believe we have to pay attention to both pros and cons. If you search for something like Star Wars, Dune will disappoint you. It is worth the effort of getting through all 600 pages and it does deserve the hype, it just is not my personal peference. I would recomment it to others but not for enjoyment or relaxation, rather for the well built world and the other things I appreciated. It is a classic, that is undeniable. I could imagine to read more books of the series now that I know what to expect but not any time soon. I have not seen the new movie yet and I am intrested how they treated the things I see crtitically.
Let's be friends, Dune lovers and Dune haters, to me you are both correct.
(And lol, it took me basically 1 1/2 hours to write this review. Anyway I was listening to this Dune ambience while writing, it is really good: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j9vHol20e0Q)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Death of parent, Death, Drug use, Fatphobia, Grief, Sexual assault, Violence, War, and Blood
Moderate: Homophobia, Slavery, and Pregnancy
Minor: Pedophilia
scooby's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Body shaming, Child death, Colonisation, Death of parent, Death, Drug abuse, Fatphobia, Grief, Homophobia, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Pregnancy, Religious bigotry, and Sexism
gsher002's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fatphobia, Violence, Sexism, Pedophilia, Grief, Death of parent, and Body shaming
iwi's review against another edition
slow-paced
- 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
There is little I enjoyed about this story. Unfortunately the views of the author are so blatant that I can't just detach it from real life. There is so much discrimination, I honestly I had to stop and reread like is that really what was said? And yes, every time. I would love to see what other people see that end up loving these stories. I do like the sandworms. But I couldn't even find the characters enjoyable. Paul is revolting in every way to me. The use of religion makes my skin crawl. I think he is a villain. I don't think we are supposed to like him.
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.
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.
Content Warnings
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
mariacandet's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.75
Dune cannot be separated from its context—the time and place it was written and by whom it was written—nor can it be separated from its monumental influence on the genre. The ecological themes it explores remain fascinating, and perhaps more relevant than ever; it's eco-conscious in a very astute, trailblazing way and reflects not only on significant environmental issues, but also on the systems and people who impact these issues and control resources, and consequently life itself. This aspect is thought-provoking and should be considered its lasting legacy. Yet, it's also an extremely dated novel in a lot of ways. It puts forward a very gender essentialist view of the world, and having two or three interesting female characters doesn’t change the fact that it holds regressive ideals. And although it has an interesting critique of imperialism—that spans the series, so I’ve heard—it’s extremely easy to misinterpret (asking people how they view Paul is a pretty great way of telling how they read the series; the answers vary <i>a lot</i>), and it often veers into orientalism. There’s also the main villain of this first book, who is the only fat character and only homosexual character, both of these being used to denote his depravity and evilness (not one “good” character who sees the Baron fails to mention how “fat” and “gross” he is, and he’s also a pedophile, Herbert making it clear that being a pedophile and a homosexual go hand in hand.) The writing itself is dull, often stilted, and not particularly engaging, although the world-building and political machinations (and Lady Jessica) keep the book going. I read this mainly (only) because my mother is a huge fan and has been trying to get me to read it since I was a kid. I went in with an open mind and an open heart, and although it’s far from my literary interests, I love to hear the way she talks about it and understand her perspective a little better through it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: War, Violence, and Colonisation
Moderate: Fatphobia, Homophobia, Pedophilia, Body shaming, Misogyny, Child death, Racism, and Slavery