Reviews tagging 'Torture'

Duna by Frank Herbert

46 reviews

katie0528'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? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

A sci-fi classic. I've blown this off for years thinking I knew enough by how elements have trickled down into pop culture. However after watching the two new movies, I decided to give the book a chance. I see now why it is a classic that so many other sci-fi franchises draw from. It largely holds up. Of course as a book from the 60s, there are elements that are a little cringe to a modern reader and there are elements and small plot lines that could have been cut for the sake of brevity, but over all I was impressed with the book. I think it helped that the audiobook had a full cast to help me keep track of who was who. I suspect some of the minor characters may have blended together otherwise.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Drug use, Misogyny, Sexism, Violence, Murder, and War

Minor: Child death, Slavery, and Torture

kergo's review against another edition

adventurous inspiring mysterious 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal death, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Fatphobia, Racism, Slavery, Torture, Blood, Medical content, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Cultural appropriation, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Colonisation, Classism, and Deportation

Moderate: Islamophobia

Minor: Suicide

yzvt's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Death, Drug use, Genocide, Misogyny, Slavery, Violence, Grief, Colonisation, War, and Classism

Moderate: Child death, Sexism, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, and Murder

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Pedophilia, Rape, Slavery, Torture, and Trafficking

ambert's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional inspiring reflective tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, Death of parent, Murder, and War

Moderate: Drug use, Racism, Pregnancy, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Minor: Child death, Drug abuse, Genocide, Incest, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, and Excrement

mbrogs2024's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Murder, and War

Moderate: Child death, Death, Drug use, Fatphobia, Suicide, Torture, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Minor: Addiction, Slavery, Blood, and Alcohol

not_another_ana's review against another edition

challenging dark tense slow-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? It's complicated

3.75

Ningún desastre más terrible podría sobrevenir a tu gente que caer en manos de un éroe.

¿Cómo empezar a reseñar un libro tan complejo y denso como Dune? Dune es una tragedia. Es una historia donde todos los personajes saben exactamente lo que va a suceder y aún así no pueden evitar lo que va a pasar. Siempre van a tomar las mismas decisiones, siempre van a acabar en el mismo punto. Lo emocionante es el camino que toma la historia para llegar a ese final ya pronosticado y la comprensión de que no había manera de parar el destino.

En un futuro lejano, los humanos han llegado a las estrellas y se han multiplicado, organizándose en feudos bajo el mando del emperador. En este imperio espacial el artículo más importante es la melange, la especia. Sin este bien el imperio se paralizaría de la noche a la mañana. La cofradía no podría volar sus naves espaciales, los mentats no podrían calcular ni las Bene Gesserit confabular. Y esta materia preciosa solo se puede conseguir en el desolado y desértico planeta Arrakis. Por muchos años bajo el control de la Casa Harkonnen se vienen vientos de cambio cuando el emperador le cede la concesión del planeta al duque Leto Atreides, un evento que cambiará el destino de la galaxia de una forma violenta e impredecible.

Este es un libro denso y complejo, lleno de ideas que necesitan ser digeridas para ser entendibles. Es una historia sobre política, venganza y los peligros del fanatismo de cualquier tipo. Seguimos a Paul Atreides, hijo del duque, quien termina en una situación en la que todos los caminos conducen al sufrimiento, ya sea de él o del universo. Poco a poco nos damos cuenta de lo lejos que irá por lograr su cometido y cómo estas acciones cambian quién es, hasta que lo que queda es irreconocible. La evolución de los personajes en este libro me gusta mucho porque obliga al lector a analizar la situación a profundidad, no existe tal cosa como los buenos y los malos sino personajes tomando decisiones difíciles cuyas motivaciones tienen muchos matices.

Para mí, lo mejor de este libro es la habilidad de Frank Herbert de crear un mundo ficticio que podría ser real. Creó desde cero un universo que se asemeja al nuestro, pero que es lo suficientemente alien para entretener y fascinar. Aunque esto puede ser una traba para entrarle al libro, ya que de entrada el lector debe sumergirse en un mundo completamente nuevo solo con un glosario de guía, y por esa razón, el inicio de esta obra puede parecer eterno. Mucha gente hablando sobre cosas que todavía no tienen sentido por páginas y páginas. Pero, sí mejora, por lo menos para mí, y si gustan de intrigas políticas este libro tiene suficiente de eso.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Death, Drug use, Genocide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Cultural appropriation, Colonisation, and War

seapotatohowisitalrtaken's review against another edition

adventurous dark reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Misogyny, Violence, Grief, and Murder

Moderate: Sexual content and Toxic relationship

Minor: Adult/minor relationship and Torture

timmytunter's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Racism, Violence, Death of parent, Murder, and Colonisation

Moderate: Drug use, Genocide, Suicide, Torture, Violence, War, and Classism

Minor: Slavery

rachaelbunny's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Fatphobia, Genocide, Sexism, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Trafficking, Death of parent, Colonisation, and War

Moderate: Addiction, Drug use, Pedophilia, Rape, Slavery, and Suicide

randirush's review against another edition

adventurous 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

4.0

i did appreciate having seen the movie before reading this, as the book heavily focused on the world building and political aspects of the story rather than a lot of the action — the movie was a great introduction to the tale, whereas the book just gave everything more depth. none of that is necessarily a bad thing, however, part of me thinks the book could’ve been a bit more condensed in some areas. that being said, i still really enjoyed it and it was nice to get some of those more in-depth details! this book was obviously revolutionary within the sci-fi genre and i can definitely see why. anddd i just love jessica — a reverend MOTHER 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child death, Death, Violence, and Death of parent

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Trafficking, Grief, Murder, and War