Dune

by Frank Herbert

English language

Published May 15, 1983 by Berkley.

ISBN:: 978-0-425-06434-4

(227 reviews)

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.

57 editions

Sharyl reviewed Dune by Frank Herbert

Review of 'Dune' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

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.

NowWeAreAllTom reviewed Dune by Frank Herbert

Review of 'Dune' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

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.

altlovesbooks reviewed Dune by Frank Herbert (Dune Chronicles, #1)

Review of 'Dune' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

"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.

GenericHero reviewed Dune by Frank Herbert

Review of 'Dune' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

Characters were a bit whatever. So much hero worship and "chosen one" bs. The world and the setting was awesome though

grahams reviewed Dune by Frank Herbert

Review of 'Dune' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

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

Sara reviewed Dune by Frank Herbert

Review of 'Dune' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

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.

Artemas reviewed Dune by Frank Herbert (Dune Chronicles, #1)

Sci-fi Classic

5 stars

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.

Victor Hugo Kebbe reviewed Dune by Frank Herbert

Review of 'Dune' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

It’s already the best book I read this year (and we’re still in April).

perfischer reviewed Dune by Frank Herbert

Review of 'Dune' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

Great read - a pleasant surprise, in fact.

johnny dangerously. reviewed Dune by Frank Herbert

Review of 'Dune' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

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 …

essteeyou reviewed Dune by Frank Herbert

Review of 'Dune' on 'Goodreads'

No rating

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.

Adrián Astur Álvarez reviewed Dune by Frank Herbert

Review of 'Dune' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

I got more enjoyment from this now than the last time I read it some 20 years ago. Reading now also made me appreciate how closely the David Lynch film adheres to the material.

A. Rivera reviewed Dune by Frank Herbert

Review of 'Dune' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

This is the second time I read this novel, and it reminded me of just how good it is. Herbert does an excellent job with the planet building in creating Arrakis, the planet known as Dune. He also sets in motion a story of intrigue and politics in an Empire where a religious sect strive to control certain genetic lines while a guild controls a monopoly on space travel. In the midst of this, the House of Atreides is betrayed leaving the young heir to the Duke, Paul, as survivor who is left in the desert. There he is taken in by the Fremen who come to see him as the prophet they have waited for. The novel is definitely a classic of science fiction on many levels. From the setting to the epic story, this is an excellent novel that is hard to put down. It is also a novel that immerses the reader; you want to take your time reading it even as you speed through it.

There are so many things I could say about this book. The writing can be very poetic at times. The descriptions of the setting are just amazing. There is a bit of a spiritual element within the science fiction that makes the story work very well. There is suspense in the machinations of the various factions seeking power within the Empire. It has political intrigue, adventure, coming of age, all in an epic science fiction tale. The novel clearly has earned its place in the classics.

I will add that I have not read the sequels that Herbert wrote for it. I may pick them up at one point just for the sake of being complete. But this novel pretty much does stand by itself, and you can certainly stop here. As for the extensions by Kevin Anderson and Brian Herbert, I am not as sure if I want to read them. I tend to think less of other people making sequels and prequels to works by other authors, especially someone as good as Frank Herbert was with Dune. I usually figure that for good novels, one should leave well enough alone. Anyhow, that's my disclosure note. Now, if you consider yourself a science fiction reader, and you have not read Dune, go read it.

Curtis reviewed Dune by Frank Herbert (Dune (1))

Review of 'Dune' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

I read this awhile ago, in either high school or college. I recall liking it, but don't remember much about the story. I recently picked up a number of volumes in the series at a book sale, and would like to read this again.