Dune is a 1965 science-fiction novel by American author Frank Herbert, originally published as two separate serials in Analog magazine. It tied with Roger Zelazny's This Immortal for the Hugo Award in 1966, and it won the inaugural Nebula Award for Best Novel. It is the first installment of the Dune saga; in 2003, it was cited as the world's best-selling science fiction novel.Dune is set in the distant future amidst a feudal interstellar society in which various noble houses control planetary fiefs. It tells the story of young Paul Atreides, whose family accepts the stewardship of the planet Arrakis. While the planet is an inhospitable and sparsely populated desert wasteland, it is the only source of melange, or "the spice," a drug that extends life and enhances mental abilities. Melange is also necessary for space navigation, which requires a kind of multidimensional awareness and foresight that only the drug …
Dune is a 1965 science-fiction novel by American author Frank Herbert, originally published as two separate serials in Analog magazine. It tied with Roger Zelazny's This Immortal for the Hugo Award in 1966, and it won the inaugural Nebula Award for Best Novel. It is the first installment of the Dune saga; in 2003, it was cited as the world's best-selling science fiction novel.Dune is set in the distant future amidst a feudal interstellar society in which various noble houses control planetary fiefs. It tells the story of young Paul Atreides, whose family accepts the stewardship of the planet Arrakis. While the planet is an inhospitable and sparsely populated desert wasteland, it is the only source of melange, or "the spice," a drug that extends life and enhances mental abilities. Melange is also necessary for space navigation, which requires a kind of multidimensional awareness and foresight that only the drug provides. As melange can only be produced on Arrakis, control of the planet is thus a coveted and dangerous undertaking. The story explores the multi-layered interactions of politics, religion, ecology, technology, and human emotion, as the factions of the empire confront each other in a struggle for the control of Arrakis and its spice.Herbert wrote five sequels: Dune Messiah, Children of Dune, God Emperor of Dune, Heretics of Dune, and Chapterhouse: Dune.
Adaptations of the novel have been notoriously difficult and complicated. In the 1970s, cult filmmaker Alejandro Jodorowsky attempted to make a film based on the novel. After spending almost three years in development, the project was cancelled due to a constantly growing budget. In 1984, a film adaptation, directed by David Lynch, was released to negative reaction. A third film adaptation directed by Denis Villeneuve is scheduled to be released on October 1, 2021. The book was also adapted into the 2000 Sci-Fi Channel miniseries Frank Herbert's Dune and its 2003 sequel Frank Herbert's Children of Dune (which combines the events of Dune Messiah and Children of Dune), a series of computer games, a board game, songs, and a series of follow-ups, including prequels and sequels, that were co-written by Kevin J. Anderson and the author's son, Brian Herbert, starting in 1999.Since 2009, the names of planets from the Dune novels have been adopted for the real-life nomenclature of plains and other features on Saturn's moon Titan.
This book is labeled as one of science fiction's greatest masterpieces - it is a label well deserved. Frank Herbert's tale of revenge, politics, culture, ecology and religion is of a caliber that hasn't been seen in a long time.
The most notable evidence for this book's classic nature is how it reads - though it was published many decades ago, the language and settings read as though they were invented just last week. The characters are powerful and moving while still maintaining a healthy sense of reality; the locales are presented in a manner that easily depicts them in the mind's eye; and though the story can be a tad confusing at times, the overall theme of love, revenge, and fulfilled prophecy is staggeringly good.
Review of 'Dune (40Th Anniversary Edition).' on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
It has been decades since I read this series. I had forgotten how excellent it is/ was. The depth of the characters, intrigues, and plot complexity are all exceptional. If your only contact with the Dune tales is via movies, you really ought to explore the novels. They stand head & shoulders above Hollywood's efforts.
Great world-building, great story, but only "okay" story telling. Despite being a long book, the ending feels like it rushes to a conclusion.
Important characters are introduced out of whole cloth, familiar characters from the beginning of the book are changed, but in ways that don't feel authentic. The emotional dynamics in this book have potential, but are never explored, because of the need for the characters to be superhumans with exquisite control of their minds and bodies.
The uberman thing is fun for a while, but story lines with them are always limited to "he gains control" or "he wasn't really an uberman." This book has a reputation for being a more "mature" sci-fi book with political machinations and backroom deals, but it didn't seem to follow the rules of politics or human motivation that exist in our world. I think Gordon R Dickson's "Tactics of Mistake" in his …
Great world-building, great story, but only "okay" story telling. Despite being a long book, the ending feels like it rushes to a conclusion.
Important characters are introduced out of whole cloth, familiar characters from the beginning of the book are changed, but in ways that don't feel authentic. The emotional dynamics in this book have potential, but are never explored, because of the need for the characters to be superhumans with exquisite control of their minds and bodies.
The uberman thing is fun for a while, but story lines with them are always limited to "he gains control" or "he wasn't really an uberman." This book has a reputation for being a more "mature" sci-fi book with political machinations and backroom deals, but it didn't seem to follow the rules of politics or human motivation that exist in our world. I think Gordon R Dickson's "Tactics of Mistake" in his Dorsai series paints a more realistic picture. The characters in this book openly scorn the 3 branches of power in their government and do little to offer systemic solutions other than to say with subtext that it'll all be better when our uberman is in control.
Still, I'm looking forward to rewatching the movie and seeing the TV miniseries, now that I have some background, and look forward to reading more stories from this universe... particularly what happened to the machines made with the image of man's mind.
I really enjoyed this book. Lots intrigue and action. The very beginning of the book was difficult as Herbert throws a lot of names and terminology at you with little explanation, but the story picks up pace very quickly.
The plot is incoherent. Characters appear and disappear in the narrative randomly and change personalities from scene to scene. Simple concepts are elaborated lengthily and repeatedly. It's often dull to read.
But the slog is worth it, since this book is studded with ideas both crazy and brilliant: personal energy shields making knife fights a common concern for space travelers, a galactic economy based on an addictive drug that grants psychic powers, secretive organizations cultivating human bloodlines over thousands of years, and of course the famous sandworms of the titular planet.
These ideas (and more) fascinated me, so I'm glad I read Dune despite the many tedious passages. It's a vision that will stay with me.
Fantastic! I avoided this for so long because I didn't want to be sucked into an interminable series - was recently convinced by friends that it is not necessary to continue. This does stand alone quite nicely and is so richly developed on its own. I'm kind of amazed that a book that includes so much political machination, cultural and mythological back-story, and buckets of characters can move as well as this one.
I always wanted to read this classic and finally got the chance. I am happy to say that I was not disappointed! While a labor to read at times, the story kept me interested. I would recommend it.
I really wanted to love this book. I wanted to dive into a new fantasy series but "Dune" failed to connect with me. I enjoyed most of the chapters, but if the story shifted away from Paul, Jessica or someone within their immediate circle my interest level dropped. I found that some characters became a chore to read about, but once the story returned to the characters I liked I was fully engaged. I'm glad I read the story but I have no interest in carrying on further. Which is too bad because this universe is extremely entertaining but I think any more may become monotonous.
One of the first sic-fi fantasy series I read. Whenever I read any of the Dune books I'm always blown away by the scale and the history of the world. For me this is a masterpiece, others find it a bit boring and hard to get into it but I never had that issue.
