joppiereading'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? Yes
3.0
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.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
kristine_kb's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
0.5
Moderate: Addiction, War, Pregnancy, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Pedophilia, and Child death
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
luminifera'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
has no personality outside of being Paul's love interestGraphic: Child death, Sexual harassment, Suicidal thoughts, Body horror, Classism, Cultural appropriation, Murder, Slavery, Blood, Drug use, Drug abuse, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Alcohol, Colonisation, Death, Physical abuse, War, Animal cruelty, Confinement, Addiction, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pregnancy, Violence, Death of parent, Grief, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Xenophobia, Racism, and Sexism
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Genocide, Gore, Pedophilia, Rape, Vomit, Incest, Cursing, Gun violence, Medical content, and Miscarriage
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.suppressingreality's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Death, War, Murder, Violence, and Death of parent
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Rape, and Pedophilia
Minor: Colonisation
aguattery'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? No
4.5
Cons:
1. I'm not super imaginative so even though the world building was great and I bought into it I struggled to imagine even simple things like stillsuits.
2. The first 100 or so pages are mostly setup and they can be difficult to get through. Once you push past that it really picks up.
Graphic: Violence, Death, War, Death of parent, and Addiction
Moderate: Child death, Fatphobia, and Slavery
Minor: Grief, Adult/minor relationship, and Classism
ivana's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.0
Graphic: Addiction, Blood, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Drug use, Violence, Genocide, and Murder
Minor: Child abuse, Pedophilia, Adult/minor relationship, and Rape
tarnishedcopper's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.75
Graphic: Misogyny and Sexism
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Colonisation, Drug use, Genocide, and Torture
Minor: Sexual assault, Rape, Pedophilia, Murder, and Homophobia
kashby's review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.5
Moderate: Addiction, Blood, Child death, Colonisation, Death, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Violence, and War
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Cannibalism, Pregnancy, Religious bigotry, Slavery, and Torture
johnhamm's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.5
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Cultural appropriation, Death of parent, and Sexism