goldenluck's review against another edition
- 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
4.25
Honestly, if you have any curiosity about this book at all, I recommend you pick it up. If you're a fan of fantasy political novels, I also recommend picking this up, as I would call it more science fantasy with a dash of hard science. It is, in a word, fantastic.
Moderate: Violence and Incest
Minor: Pedophilia
camelliagwerm's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
(This book has definitely not aged well and some of it truly is Whack but the 2.5 stars are for the girlboss Lady Jessica and the worms. The worms are awesome.)
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Fatphobia, Homophobia, Pedophilia, and Slavery
Minor: Incest
Probably one of the worst villains I have ever had the displeasure of experiencing in any form of media. Vladimir Harkonnen is the nastiest depiction I've encountered and is pretty much why I've flagged this book for half of the aforementioned content warnings. Depicting your villain as aSpoiler
grossly obese gay man who is a sexual predator towards young men (drugs then rapes them - the act itself always happens off page, but you unfortunately have to read him thinking about it) and even has incestuous thoughts about his teenaged nephew and grandsonluminifera'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.harrisoncassel's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: War and Death
Moderate: Death of parent and Pedophilia
Minor: Incest
brnineworms'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
He takes on various names and titles over the course of the story (Duke Paul Atreides, the Kwisatz Haderach, the Lisan al Gaib, Muad’Dib, Usul) and these personas seem to supersede any true sense of self he may have once had. His identity fractures and frays at the climax; not only does he flit back and forth between multiple selves, he also refers to them in the third person and assigns them different motives and personalities (“You have the word of a Duke [...] but Muad’Dib is another matter.”) I don’t know if I’d insist that Paul is plural, but his selfhood is certainly compromised and complicated by all these assumed identities.Spoiler
Paul has a drug-induced epiphany late in the novel wherein he claims women are givers and men are takers, and that he himself is “the fulcrum” who cannot give without taking nor take without giving.Spoiler
He starts off as a vague force of evil that influences the actions of others, only becoming a fully fledged character after the betrayal of Duke Leto.Does Dune deserve four and a half stars? Probably not. Am I going to give it four and a half stars anyway? You bet. It’s not beyond criticism (far from it) but I thoroughly enjoyed it nonetheless. I’m curious to see where the story goes from here and I’ve already ordered Dune Messiah, but I won’t be reading it just yet because I have quite a backlog of unread books to work through first.
Graphic: Blood, Emotional abuse, Sexism, Torture, Violence, Death, Death of parent, Drug use, Fatphobia, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Murder, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Suicide, War, Addiction, Gore, Ableism, Body horror, Child abuse, Colonisation, Genocide, Incest, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Pregnancy, Racism, Rape, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Slavery
Minor: Homophobia, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal death, Cannibalism, Child death, Excrement, Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, Islamophobia, and Self harm
literarydumpling'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
4.0
Graphic: Death of parent, War, and Death
Moderate: Fatphobia, Child death, Grief, and Genocide
Minor: Incest and Rape
meredith's review against another edition
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Moderate: Slavery, Drug use, Genocide, War, and Colonisation
Minor: Incest, Pedophilia, and Sexual assault
serafinam's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
My biggest complaints about the novel come from how minority characters are depicted and treated. Women in Dune are subservient to men, very manipulative, and are often depicted as slightly less intelligent than their male counterparts. While some of this can be explained by Paul's youth and the wickedness of some characters, none of the female characters are treated as equal and it does make the book harder to enjoy as a woman. The Fremen are more often that not depicted as mystical fanatics with outdated, or even primitive ways of living. Without their existence the entire plot would fall apart, and yet they are not treated with the respect they deserve, both as fictional people and as those based on an actual minority group. My final, and perhaps greatest issue, is with the Baron Harkonnen. It cannot be denied that he is a wicked, evil man--facts easily gleaned from his attempts to exterminate the House Atreides and his treatment of other characters. the inclusion of his penchant for young boys is wholy unnecessary to show just how evil he is. This is especially compounded by the fact that he is the only character we see to have same sex attraction.
I have a love/hate relationship with this book, though it does lean more towards love. I found the politics of the novel to be fascinating and the character motivations keep me guessing at who to trust at every turn. While the style of writing, lore introduced, and involved of the spice lends itself more similarly to high fantasy, it thrives as a solid science fiction novel. The time jumps and perspective changes could be a bit confusing at times, and I often found myself a little perplexed as to the importance of some characters, but I would still recommend this to anyone who loves works like Lord of the Rings, The Wheel of Time, or Brian Sanderson.
Graphic: Death of parent, Eating disorder, Colonisation, Death, and Fatphobia
Moderate: Violence, War, Xenophobia, Misogyny, Murder, and Pedophilia
Minor: Grief, Incest, and Gore
queer_bookwyrm's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Dune by Frank Herbert is a classic that I've been meaning to read for a long time, but avoided it because this big boy is intimidating. Although this was a long and slow paced read, it was enjoyable.
We follow Paul Atreides who is being tested by a Reverend Mother to see if he is really human and able to withstand pain. Paul is special, when his Bene Gesserit mother was told to birth a girl, she chose a boy instead and raised him in the weirding ways. Paul can also detect truth and see into the future. The Reverend Mother thinks he may be the Kwisatz Haderach they have been breeding for generations. If that sounds like a lot, just know this is only the tip of the iceberg.
This book is very involved. Herbert has created an entire history and culture for the world and includes a glossary and several other appendices at the back that gives I'm depth detail about the religion and politics of this society. Basically, we have a chosen one trope with political intrigue and commentary on the weaponization of religion as a means to colonization and oppression.
Herbert has used a blend of Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Bhuddism, etc. as the basis for the Bene Gesserit religion. Herbert reveals that the Bene Gesserit don't actually believe in their religion, but use it as a means to push an agenda and infect lesser nations with their prophecies. This backfires.
There is just so much to cover with this book. There were so many details that at times it dragged the story along. This is not a fast paced action type of story. Paul's growth throughout the book was very interesting. I liked seeing him embody the dual aspects of Duke and Muad'dib.
I think if you are patient, this is worth a read and I now look forward to the movie coming out in October.
Graphic: Violence, Torture, Murder, Suicide, Rape, and Child death
Moderate: Slavery, Religious bigotry, and Pedophilia
Minor: Incest
tinnuben's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Graphic: Death of parent, Death, Pregnancy, Slavery, Torture, Violence, and War
Moderate: Child death, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Sexism, and Rape
Minor: Genocide and Incest