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A review by schneehutte
Dune by Frank Herbert
adventurous
challenging
reflective
sad
tense
medium-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
5.0
I must say, I did not expect to like this book as much as I did. And even more, I also did not expect to call this book a "masterpiece" when I started reading it, but here I am, calling it a masterpiece.
"Dune" is not only a fantasy story, it is also a piece of criticism - bringing together several topics that are as relevant today as they were when the book was published. It touches on corruption, the rise to power, politics and the balance of power, colonialism, tribalism, and many many more. Despite this, the book does not feel like a boring lecture - because you see all of those topics embedded into a detailed, well-built world (literally, the planet of Arrakis). The characters are interesting and well-developed. Furthermore, the book has an interesting approach toward the protagonist and the so-called "the chosen one" trope. Paul is not the protagonist coincidentally - and his self-consciousness of protagonism shapes many of his actions.
Another topic that was particularly interesting to me was tying up scientific principles within the story - terraform, ecology, sustainability, etc. Living in Arrakis means living without water abundance - which is quite a fundamental resource to humans. Warning: the book has nothing to do with climate change, but it was nice to see a story where people have to battle for the most miserable quantities of water (and I hope that will not be Earth in a few years), and how the planet's culture is so connected to those resources.
A few nitpicks every now and then are unavoidable, of course: the book might be (at least in my opinion) medium-paced, but it is quite a long read - and losing interest at some parts was almost unavoidable to me. In the beginning, the author will throw names and terms at the reader and the first pages will be quite confusing - but I do believe that is intentional. Instead of checking the glossary, just keep the word in your brain and keep going. After the first chapters, things will start to make more sense - even though the huge amount of vocabulary in the world of Dune can be quite daunting. And lastly, sometimes you can see clearly that this book was written by a man in the 60s - regarding "marriage" rules, the role of women, concubines, etc (which is a bit strange when you are reading it, because the story is supposed to be set many centuries in the future). But other than that, Lady Jessica and Chani are formidable characters and put up great fights against their male counterparts.
It is worth it. 5/5.
"Dune" is not only a fantasy story, it is also a piece of criticism - bringing together several topics that are as relevant today as they were when the book was published. It touches on corruption, the rise to power, politics and the balance of power, colonialism, tribalism, and many many more. Despite this, the book does not feel like a boring lecture - because you see all of those topics embedded into a detailed, well-built world (literally, the planet of Arrakis). The characters are interesting and well-developed. Furthermore, the book has an interesting approach toward the protagonist and the so-called "the chosen one" trope. Paul is not the protagonist coincidentally - and his self-consciousness of protagonism shapes many of his actions.
Another topic that was particularly interesting to me was tying up scientific principles within the story - terraform, ecology, sustainability, etc. Living in Arrakis means living without water abundance - which is quite a fundamental resource to humans. Warning: the book has nothing to do with climate change, but it was nice to see a story where people have to battle for the most miserable quantities of water (and I hope that will not be Earth in a few years), and how the planet's culture is so connected to those resources.
A few nitpicks every now and then are unavoidable, of course: the book might be (at least in my opinion) medium-paced, but it is quite a long read - and losing interest at some parts was almost unavoidable to me. In the beginning, the author will throw names and terms at the reader and the first pages will be quite confusing - but I do believe that is intentional. Instead of checking the glossary, just keep the word in your brain and keep going. After the first chapters, things will start to make more sense - even though the huge amount of vocabulary in the world of Dune can be quite daunting. And lastly, sometimes you can see clearly that this book was written by a man in the 60s - regarding "marriage" rules, the role of women, concubines, etc (which is a bit strange when you are reading it, because the story is supposed to be set many centuries in the future). But other than that, Lady Jessica and Chani are formidable characters and put up great fights against their male counterparts.
It is worth it. 5/5.