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gvstyris's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
When religion and politics travel in the same cart, the riders believe nothing can stand in their way. Their movements become headlong - faster and faster and faster. They put aside all thoughts of obstacles and forget the precipice does not show itself to the man in a blind rush until it's too late.
It goes without saying that Dune is a masterclass in science-fiction. Herbert's rich world-building truly makes this book, and encouraged me to persevere despite his often inconsistent pacing and flat characters. The conlangs, historical references and various excerpts 'provided' by Princess Irulan...I aspire to have a fraction of Herbert's imagination. I also very much looked forward to the Harkonnens' chapters and was fascinated by the complexities of Lady Jessica's character.
That being said, this book is far from accessible. My reading experience was very much enhanced by my pre-existing interest in the recent adaptations, and I would honestly argue that both films do a better job than the novel of explaining whatever the hell is going on. I'm glad to have finally read Dune in its original form and will likely try my hand at the sequel, but will definitely be primarily recommending Villeneuve's films going forward. I'm not much of a science-fiction reader, though, which definitely played a role in my disinterest.
I think it's also worth pointing out where Dune ages poorly. Namely, the primary antagonist being a fat, gay pedophile (:sob:) and the pervasive misogyny in Herbert's social structures. This is where the movie again finds more success, given how Chani is both influential and an outspoken critic of Paul.
This review has turned out to be more critical than I'd originally intended, but I am very proud to have conquered something so far out of my reading comfort zone. I suppose Lord of the Rings is next...
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, and Death of parent
Moderate: Genocide, Racism, and Slavery
Minor: Rape and Sexual assault
mylittlehappynook's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Murder, and War
draven_deathcrush's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I'm becoming a sci-fi guy! This book was great, even though it took me longer than usual to finish. I'm excited to watch the movies and read the other books in the series.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, and Death of parent
Moderate: Fatphobia, Slavery, and War
Minor: Pedophilia and Rape
pantaruja's review against another edition
- Loveable characters? No
2.5
Content Warnings
Minor: Pedophilia and Rape
intermeyer's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Dune is a wonderfull exploration of the economics and sociology of its universe, sadly for me Pauls character development takes precedent over the worldbuilding. Additionally the pace of the book speeds up uncomfortably fast towards the end, which is definitly intended to bring across the feeling of a snowball effect gliding out of control but it still feels a bit to rushed towards the end for me. Overall the setting, mood and Pauls development are a delight to read, even if some of the themes are a bit out of their time.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Islamophobia, and War
Moderate: Fatphobia, Pedophilia, Racism, Slavery, and Murder
Minor: Rape
johnathanwet's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Wow, another true classic under the belt, and I couldn’t be happier to have finally read Dune. This was almost a 5 star read for me here. The vast majority of this book is just conversations between people who are all constantly trying to hide the truth from each other, but never quite succeeding - until it suddenly becomes an action move in the 3rd act.
I found the pacing quite surprising with that 3rd act; this is a famously ‘slow-paced’ book, and I would say that is almost true. The first act is certainly slow, and the 2nd act is closer to medium, but it still waltz through the story it is telling. The 3rd act feels like the author ran out time or was told to drastically reduce the word count. I feel like we could have spent much more time with these characters in between the time skip. I feel like the some of the Barons story gets cut, especially considering he is a major POV character with all of these plans.
I would be remiss not to mention the way Herbert uses POV in Dune. It is fascinating. In each chapter there is a character that we follow, and we mostly see the situation through their eyes - but we see the situation through glimpses into everyone else’s experience of the situation too, little thoughts that they have to themselves, reactions that they try to hide from others. The POV structure puts you into Paul’s shoes, who sees everything that could happen or is happening; how other characters cannot hide from him in any meaningful way.
I found the pacing quite surprising with that 3rd act; this is a famously ‘slow-paced’ book, and I would say that is almost true. The first act is certainly slow, and the 2nd act is closer to medium, but it still waltz through the story it is telling. The 3rd act feels like the author ran out time or was told to drastically reduce the word count. I feel like we could have spent much more time with these characters in between the time skip. I feel like the some of the Barons story gets cut, especially considering he is a major POV character with all of these plans.
I would be remiss not to mention the way Herbert uses POV in Dune. It is fascinating. In each chapter there is a character that we follow, and we mostly see the situation through their eyes - but we see the situation through glimpses into everyone else’s experience of the situation too, little thoughts that they have to themselves, reactions that they try to hide from others. The POV structure puts you into Paul’s shoes, who sees everything that could happen or is happening; how other characters cannot hide from him in any meaningful way.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Murder
Moderate: Pedophilia and Rape
kirkencraven's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape and Violence
sunn_bleach's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- 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
3.5
I read Dune over 12 years ago in 2011. I strongly enjoyed it; and, this revisit has changed some of my perspective. Herbert doesn't know when to trust you to get things; so much of the subtlety of the book is undercut by the characters giving you one- or two-line summaries about whatever's going on. No! Stop that! The best part of this series is figuring out the intrigue yourself! Herbert feels terrified that a reader might be slightly confused, which is ironic given the obfuscation around the Bene Gesserit and Missionaria Protectiva.
I also found that the book does a lot of telling rather than showing. We're told Paul is ~special~ and ~precocious~ from the start, but he's just asks normal questions. We're told the Suk school has unbreakable conditioning, but the *only* example we have is someone who can't. We're told that Thufir Hawat is a dangerous mentat, but he really screws up everything but one (Feyd-Rautha's gladiator battle). I almost feel like this is one of the few long books that could have been longer; we're given so much from the very beginning that feels subverted without establishment.
I still enjoyed this reread, but more for the ideas than Herbert's prose. Not a horrible thing to have, though!
I also found that the book does a lot of telling rather than showing. We're told Paul is ~special~ and ~precocious~ from the start, but he's just asks normal questions. We're told the Suk school has unbreakable conditioning, but the *only* example we have is someone who can't. We're told that Thufir Hawat is a dangerous mentat, but he really screws up everything but one (Feyd-Rautha's gladiator battle). I almost feel like this is one of the few long books that could have been longer; we're given so much from the very beginning that feels subverted without establishment.
I still enjoyed this reread, but more for the ideas than Herbert's prose. Not a horrible thing to have, though!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, and War
Moderate: Pedophilia and Rape
Minor: Child death
garbagebarge69's review against another edition
dark
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Slavery, Violence, and Classism
Moderate: Death, Drug use, Grief, Death of parent, Abandonment, and Colonisation
Minor: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Child death, Pedophilia, Rape, and Blood