Reviews tagging 'Xenophobia'

Duna by Frank Herbert

31 reviews

philosopher_kj's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious reflective sad tense slow-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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Drug use, Violence, Xenophobia, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, and War

Moderate: Addiction, Child death, Pregnancy, Colonisation, and Classism

Minor: Slavery

thecriticalreader'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 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.

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. 

 

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

 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Violence, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Colonisation, War, and Classism

Moderate: Genocide, Slavery, Xenophobia, and Grief

Minor: Pedophilia, Sexism, Sexual violence, and Kidnapping

leeyongjin's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense slow-paced

• 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence and Murder

Moderate: Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Hate crime, Xenophobia, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Minor: Drug use, Genocide, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Slavery

naomi_k's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious reflective tense medium-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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, Colonisation, and Classism

Moderate: Addiction, Body horror, Torture, Xenophobia, and War

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Racism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, and Religious bigotry

mardana's review against another edition

adventurous tense fast-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? It's complicated

3.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Child death, Death, Drug use, Fatphobia, Genocide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Infidelity, Xenophobia, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, and Colonisation

caladbolg's review against another edition

reflective 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? It's complicated

1.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Racism, and Sexism

Moderate: Pedophilia and Violence

Minor: Xenophobia

luminifera's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious reflective sad tense slow-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

4.5

I find some of the characters very annoying for many different reasons, but the worst for sure is Chani. She simply

has no personality outside of being Paul's love interest

, which is kind of outrageous.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Cultural appropriation, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, and Classism

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Cursing, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Incest, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Rape, Vomit, and Medical content

It's about the colonization of a planet, and the main character is The Chosen One. Expect violence, war, and of course plenty of misogyny - this book is from the 1960s and was written by a man. Some things are simply offensive.

joan_zyaire's review against another edition

adventurous informative mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Dune required heavy emotional back lifting for me go care about the characters, especially for Paul and his mother. I was surprised when I read the final page because I expected more. More character depth, more world building and yes, although this is the first book in the series, it didn't feel like it did a lot plot wise. I was intrigued about the politics and the Benne Gesserit mythos. This is the only reason why I will consider reading the other books. A majority of the story takes place on Arrakis but I didn't feel immersed on that planet. The timeskips didn't help with that. Perhaps the other Dune books go more into depth but this book was more of a setup. 

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Content Warnings

Minor: Pedophilia, Xenophobia, Death of parent, Cultural appropriation, and War

nozomi's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Sexism, Death of parent, Cultural appropriation, and Classism

Moderate: Addiction, Drug use, Fatphobia, Misogyny, Racism, Slavery, Violence, Xenophobia, Islamophobia, Religious bigotry, Pregnancy, and Colonisation

Minor: Child death, Homophobia, and Pedophilia

sherilees's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional 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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Xenophobia, Murder, and War

Moderate: Slavery

Minor: Pedophilia and Rape