Incredible. Plots within Plots. There are stories that age poorly over time, but this maintains its complexity and depth and avoids dating itself. I have been exposed to so much of Dune that I thought I had read the novels when I was younger, but as I started my ‘re-read’ after watching Dune 2021, I realized this is my first read!

The world-building is phenomenal - where we are shown but not told about the impacts of the past, with hints about Spice, the Guild, Mentats, the Great Convention, stagnation, the Bene Gesserit and more. The novel definitely skips over scenes that I think should have existed, but given how long it already is, I understand why we have major time skips and clever little scenes that imply what has happened to the many characters.

So much of Dune has become basis of modern science-fiction that there are ‘twists’ that you were already aware of. Much like everyone knows who Darth Vader really is, what Spice is used for and how it’s made was already known to me. And yet… reading this was still incredibly enjoyable. I can’t explain it. Even if you know everything, it’s still a masterpiece.