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Dune
NOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE directed by Denis Villeneuve and starring Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, Jason Momoa, Rebecca Ferguson, Oscar Isaac, Josh Brolin, Stellan Skarsgård, Dave Bautista, Stephen McKinley Henderson, Chang Chen, Charlotte Rampling, and Javier Bardem A deluxe hardcover edition…
- Release Date
- 2003
- Length
- 892 pages
- Publisher
- Ace
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Our Review
About the book
Young Paul Atreides moves with his noble family to Arrakis, a desert planet that is the only source of the most valuable substance in the universe. When political betrayal strikes, Paul must survive among the planet’s native Fremen as he is drawn toward a dangerous destiny.
Our review
For us, Herbert’s desert epic is still the benchmark for science fiction that thinks seriously about power, religion and ecology.
Dune is a world you seem to step into. Arrakis comes with its own economics, water discipline, religion and politics, and Herbert lets us piece them together instead of lecturing. The palace intrigue between Houses Atreides and Harkonnen is tense and clever, and the Fremen are drawn with real respect. Above all, the book asks what happens when people pin their hopes on a savior, and it refuses to give that question a comfortable answer.
The opening chapters are dense with invented terms, and the glossary at the back gets a workout. Herbert jumps between characters’ thoughts within a single scene, which some readers find jarring. The prose can be stiff and solemn, and the treatment of women and of the villainous Baron has dated. These are real flaws in a book that has influenced sixty years of science fiction, but they do not undo what it achieves.
What we loved
- Worldbuilding that rewards close attention
- Political scheming among great houses
- A sharp critique of messiah worship
Keep in mind
- A steep learning curve in the first hundred pages
- Head-hopping and a formal, sometimes stiff style
Read it if you like
Readers who loved Foundation or The Left Hand of Darkness, or fantasy fans ready for denser science fiction.
The verdict
Essential science fiction that earns its reputation. Be patient with the opening, and the book will reward you.
