nozomi's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Classism, Sexism, and Cultural appropriation
Moderate: Racism, Violence, Xenophobia, Slavery, Religious bigotry, Misogyny, Islamophobia, Fatphobia, Addiction, Drug use, Pregnancy, and Colonisation
Minor: Pedophilia, Homophobia, and Child death
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
iwi'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? No
3.0
I think part of the intention here was to show how harmful humans and power is. That I can agree with. But I still wish that I liked more about this story.
Graphic: Blood, Cannibalism, Colonisation, Death, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Drug use, Fatphobia, Islamophobia, Misogyny, Murder, Religious bigotry, and Sexism
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Body shaming, Fatphobia, Genocide, Homophobia, and Slavery
Minor: Addiction, Child abuse, Incest, Infertility, Pedophilia, Pregnancy, and Sexual content
owenwilsonbaby's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
I would definitely say I found the first two sections of the book - Dune and Muad'Dib - much more interesting. I think that might just be my personal preference for
Spoiler
tragedies and survival narrativesSpoiler
dark prescience and subsequent self-loathingSpoiler
burdened with 'a great and terrible purpose' lineI did struggle with the scope of the world building. Often, in order to motivate myself to keep reading, I would just have to accept that I didn't really grasp all of the wider political and social contexts for the events of a scene. I also had to make peace with the fact that it's a book from the 1960s, so sometimes it's tricky to tell if it's pro or anti capitalist, and also that sometimes its Islamic influences can read a bit islamophobically. Also the blatant homophobia of having the villain
Spoiler
be the only camp and queer coded character but also a paedophile!Overall it's definitely a good book and a well-deserved classic - I'm more excited for the movie now I kind of understand the plot and world! It is going to be interesting to see how Villeneuve cuts the book in half. I definitely think the first two sections are stronger and will make an excellent film, but I'm not sure the final third will work as a standalone.
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship and Violence
Moderate: Grief, Torture, Religious bigotry, Body horror, Medical content, and Pedophilia
Minor: Homophobia and Islamophobia