Paperback, 702 pages
Spanish language
Published Dec. 30, 2005 by Debolsillo.
Set on the desert planet Arrakis, Dune is the story of the boy Paul Atreides, heir to a noble family tasked with ruling an inhospitable world where the only thing of value is the "spice" melange, a drug capable of extending life and enhancing consciousness. Coveted across the known universe, melange is a prize worth killing for...
When House Atreides is betrayed, the destruction of Paul's family will set the boy on a journey toward a destiny greater than he could ever have imagined. And as he evolves into the mysterious man known as Muad'Dib, he will bring to fruition humankind's most ancient and unattainable dream.
A stunning blend of adventure and mysticism, environmentalism and politics, Dune won the first Nebula Award, shared the Hugo Award, and formed the basis of what is undoubtedly the grandest epic in science fiction.
The book becomes more fragmented as it goes on due to time jumps--an unfortunate flaw in an otherwise extremely strong genre title.
it took me ages to get through this. not because it's bad, probably mostly because i repaired my computer and had.. other things on my mind. but also partly because herbert's style reminds me of tolkien. like, a lot. at least in the sense that herbert really wants you to read his mediocre poetry too.
this isn't bad by any means, and i will surely read on in the future. probably around the time the second movie hits. the characters are fleshed-out and there's surprisingly little overt misogyny for a science fiction book that is, at this point, positively ancient. it's just the constant internal monologuing and then rushing through the actual happenings that gets exhausting after a while.
Content warning spoilers, though, you know, it's a book older than me
I first read Dune when I was about 11 or 12, and I absolutely adored it. This year's movie was excellent, and it made me want to reread the book, albeit with trepidation from all the critiques I've heard as an adult.
Re-reading as an adult was kind of painful. The elements I liked were all still there, but there's so much about the book that is just horrible. A few:
I love the Fremen and the ideas about geoengineering the desert planet, but by the end they were just barely enough to keep me reading.
I don't think I've ever said this about any book before, but I strongly recommend just watching the movie and forgetting about the book.
In the beginning, I thought this book would be too daunting, with its glossary of terms and appendix. Then, I slipped into the story and became immersed. It’s obvious why Dune is a classic. Yes, it’s a bit dated in the way women are perceived, but many classics contain outmoded attitudes.
This is a complex story with some fascinating characters. The transformation of Paul Atreides from intuitive, bright teenager to ruler and spiritual leader is riveting. There is more going on than I could describe in any reasonable length! I do feel compelled to read the next book, mostly because of the foreshadowing of this one--
[Paul’s mother] had quoted a Bene Gesserit proverb to him: "When religion and politics travel in the same cart, the riders believe nothing can stand in their way. Their movements become headlong - faster and faster and faster. They put aside all thought of …
In the beginning, I thought this book would be too daunting, with its glossary of terms and appendix. Then, I slipped into the story and became immersed. It’s obvious why Dune is a classic. Yes, it’s a bit dated in the way women are perceived, but many classics contain outmoded attitudes.
This is a complex story with some fascinating characters. The transformation of Paul Atreides from intuitive, bright teenager to ruler and spiritual leader is riveting. There is more going on than I could describe in any reasonable length! I do feel compelled to read the next book, mostly because of the foreshadowing of this one--
[Paul’s mother] had quoted a Bene Gesserit proverb to him: "When religion and politics travel in the same cart, the riders believe nothing can stand in their way. Their movements become headlong - faster and faster and faster. They put aside all thought of obstacles and forget that a precipice does not show itself to the man in a blind rush until it's too late."
Paul is prescient and knows that there is to be a jihad, and does not want it, but at some point during this first story, knows he cannot control everything...we shall see.
I have not seen any of the movies, but have always meant to read this story, and now I finally have! And, I recommend it.
This was my favorite book as a teen. I always wondered whether I'd be disappointed if I revisited it. Turns out: Nope, not at all! It's so full of strange ideas, odd narrative feints, and literal poetry disguised as prose. Some find it a bit too dry (har har) and fair enough but it's also very weird and I love it for that.
"He looked at his hand. How inadequate it appeared when measured against such creatures as that worm."
This is one of those books I always felt like I should read, but never actually ended up doing so. The mixed reviews from friends that oscillated between it being the best book ever to it being the most boring book ever didn't really instill confidence in me, and it's quite a large book to commit to if you're not even sure people like it. If it wasn't for the movie coming out, I likely would continue kicking the can down the road until I either ran out of can or ran out of road. My friends goaded me into finally reading it, and while it took me forever, I can finally say I've read it. I can also confidently say that this is the best book I'll never revisit.
For the good, …
"He looked at his hand. How inadequate it appeared when measured against such creatures as that worm."
This is one of those books I always felt like I should read, but never actually ended up doing so. The mixed reviews from friends that oscillated between it being the best book ever to it being the most boring book ever didn't really instill confidence in me, and it's quite a large book to commit to if you're not even sure people like it. If it wasn't for the movie coming out, I likely would continue kicking the can down the road until I either ran out of can or ran out of road. My friends goaded me into finally reading it, and while it took me forever, I can finally say I've read it. I can also confidently say that this is the best book I'll never revisit.
For the good, the worldbuilding is spectacular, and the entire reason I finished the book. Full disclosure, I did not read the appendices, but what was included in the actual novel was enough to keep me engaged. I wanted to love this journey I was on, Frank Herbert kept my imagination fed and made it easy for me to picture the desert, the vistas, the people, the scenes. I loved reading the descriptions for that alone.
Unfortunately pretty scenery does not a great book make. I found the characters vaguely unpleasant, and boring in some cases. Herbert's reliance on the auto-win Bene Gesserit button also made any conflict predictable and flat. The pacing also felt really weird in places; things have a slow steady buildup in the beginning, and then suddenly we're clearing entire years in a few pages with very little warning.
I'm glad I read this in anticipation of seeing the movie, but I likely will not re-read it, nor will I read the followup novels.
Characters were a bit whatever. So much hero worship and "chosen one" bs. The world and the setting was awesome though
This was a “great book” that I had never gotten around to reading. I had seen the Lynch film in the 80s but hadn’t watched it since, so overall I retained very little about the story or characters.
This truly was a great book. We listened to it on a long road trip and we immediately began Dune Messiah afterwards
Već neko vrijeme sam razmišljala da se uhvatim u koštac sa nekom knjigom naučne fantastike, jer sam ih uvjek zaobilazila. Čitanje ove knjige je za mene predstavljalo lični izazov i jako mi je drago što sam istrajala i pročitala je do kraja.
Sa najavom za izlazak nove filmske adaptacije, ja kao i dosta ljudi se upoznajemo sa dijelom za koje se smatra jednim od pionira moderne naučne fantastike. Pri daljem interesovanju saznajem i za druge adaptacije, kao na primer za onu neslavnu Dejvida Lynch-a i Alehandra Hodorovskog i to me još više tjera da se upustim u ovaj svijet, te naknadno odgledam njihove interpretacije ove knjige.
Kao neko ko nije nikada prije čitao ovaj žanr, trebalo mi je dosta vremena da uđem u čitav svijet u koji autor naglo gura čitaoca. Univerzum je sastavljen od velikog broja koncepata i termina inspirisanim jezicima našeg srednjeg istoka, jer se veliki dio radnje …
Već neko vrijeme sam razmišljala da se uhvatim u koštac sa nekom knjigom naučne fantastike, jer sam ih uvjek zaobilazila. Čitanje ove knjige je za mene predstavljalo lični izazov i jako mi je drago što sam istrajala i pročitala je do kraja.
Sa najavom za izlazak nove filmske adaptacije, ja kao i dosta ljudi se upoznajemo sa dijelom za koje se smatra jednim od pionira moderne naučne fantastike. Pri daljem interesovanju saznajem i za druge adaptacije, kao na primer za onu neslavnu Dejvida Lynch-a i Alehandra Hodorovskog i to me još više tjera da se upustim u ovaj svijet, te naknadno odgledam njihove interpretacije ove knjige.
Kao neko ko nije nikada prije čitao ovaj žanr, trebalo mi je dosta vremena da uđem u čitav svijet u koji autor naglo gura čitaoca. Univerzum je sastavljen od velikog broja koncepata i termina inspirisanim jezicima našeg srednjeg istoka, jer se veliki dio radnje odvija na planeti-pustinji. Takođe, čitanje uspori i stalno prebacivanje na kraj knjige gdje se nalazi mali riječnik pojmova, ali mogu da vidim kako to može nekome predstavljati i poseban gušt, jer je karakteristično za ovu vrstu literature (meni je to bio otežavajući faktor jer sam čitala u pdf-u).
Voljela bih da sam se potrudila doći do hardcopy verzije. Čitala sam e-book verziju na hrvatskom jeziku što mi je dodatno otežalo čitanje jer sam jednostavno više navikla na srpske prevode.
Svakako mi se knjiga sviđela, drago mi je da sam baš nju izabrala za probijanje "sci-fi leda", originalna je i jako je interesntno bilo ući u jedan novi svijet.
Incredible world building and intelligent characters makes it believable and engaging. Would definitely recommend for science fiction lovers that somehow haven't read it yet.
It’s already the best book I read this year (and we’re still in April).
Can't recommend enough! Must read for Sci-fi lovers.
Great read - a pleasant surprise, in fact.
An engaging, fascinating read, a look into a pre-Star Wars scifi world. I always love seeing genre fiction before it became hugely popular, to see what was influencing things behind the scenes. This book is absolutely amazing, and then the final sentence ruined it for me completely, and I won't be continuing.
Yes, it's gender essentialist in various ways, but I could deal with that; this book is old as anything. But then it doubled down in a way I couldn't deal with.
"Do you know so little of my son?" Jessica whispered. "See that princess standing there, so haughty and confident. They say she has pretensions of a literary nature. Let us hope she finds solace in such things; she'll have little else." A bitter laugh escaped Jessica. "Think on it, Chani: that princess will have the name, yet she'll live as less than a concubine - never to …
An engaging, fascinating read, a look into a pre-Star Wars scifi world. I always love seeing genre fiction before it became hugely popular, to see what was influencing things behind the scenes. This book is absolutely amazing, and then the final sentence ruined it for me completely, and I won't be continuing.
Yes, it's gender essentialist in various ways, but I could deal with that; this book is old as anything. But then it doubled down in a way I couldn't deal with.
"Do you know so little of my son?" Jessica whispered. "See that princess standing there, so haughty and confident. They say she has pretensions of a literary nature. Let us hope she finds solace in such things; she'll have little else." A bitter laugh escaped Jessica. "Think on it, Chani: that princess will have the name, yet she'll live as less than a concubine - never to know a moment of tenderness from the man to whom she's bound. While we, Chani, we who carry the name of concubine - history will call us wives."
I just really don't have the time for that nonsense.
I enjoyed the story. It was told pretty slowly, but that's not a bad thing. I can see how some people might have issues with it.
Now I can finish re-watching the original movie, and then eagerly await the new one.
