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."
This book is in no way perfect but boy, is it good.
The atmosphere of the book is stunning and the world building is top - notch. There is a seriousness that pervades the entire story, it is a deeply esoteric book that is far from the traditionally 60's green women sci-fi.
The politics and world dynamics are both unique, original and deeply recognisable. We get a new planet, and while it's obvious that Herbert based his desert planet on real sights and cultures, it's still absolutely awesome. The Fremen and their culture, the stillsuits, the worms, the plight for water... It's all explained in such a vivid detail without being boring or repetitive. You feel the sand rubbing, you can feel the sun beating down. The dynamics between the Houses, the Emperor, the CHOAM all felt fleshed out but never bogged the story down.
This is classic sci-fi that really deserves the label. What Frank Herbert accomplished in one novel is stunning, he built a fascinatingly detailed universe in which the politics, religion, economics, espionage, and military strategy are all equally important. He then blended these more grounded concepts with bigger sci-fi ideas like being able to use spice to see through space-time, and the scope of that encompasses trying to pick the proper path through various potential timelines as well as free will vs. fate.
I think one of the factors that helps this story stay timeless is that so much of it is based on what humanity becomes vs. trying to predict what futuristic technology would be like. This is a society that once had a war with machines and has since rejected any type of computers so people have developed to fill the gap with the help of the spice. The Mentats are trained to use data to predict outcomes. The Navigators of the Guild have use the spice to help them move through space that they’re mutating. The all female Bene Gesserit have developed a variety of skills to place their members alongside positions of power to help advance their breeding scheme that spans generations. Herbert also cleverly came up with an excuse that explains why knives and hand-to-hand combat are so important with the idea of the personal body shields.
I think one of the factors that helps this story stay timeless is that so much of it is based on what humanity becomes vs. trying to predict what futuristic technology would be like. This is a society that once had a war with machines and has since rejected any type of computers so people have developed to fill the gap with the help of the spice. The Mentats are trained to use data to predict outcomes. The Navigators of the Guild have use the spice to help them move through space that they’re mutating. The all female Bene Gesserit have developed a variety of skills to place their members alongside positions of power to help advance their breeding scheme that spans generations. Herbert also cleverly came up with an excuse that explains why knives and hand-to-hand combat are so important with the idea of the personal body shields.
I personally loved the more esoteric side of this book. The Bene Gesserits and their abilities, Paul being able to kind of see the future, the turning of the poisonous water of life into something harmless, the terrifying Alia. It was all brilliant and so unique.
The plot is straightforward and follows a 'Chosen One' pattern.
Paul, is the 'Chosen One', the Lisan al-Gaib, the Kwisatz Haderach. He gets many names. After a betrayal, he finds refuge among the Fremen and seeks revenge from those who wronged his house. While simple, it fit the feel of the book and never got boring.
Paul, is the 'Chosen One', the Lisan al-Gaib, the Kwisatz Haderach. He gets many names. After a betrayal, he finds refuge among the Fremen and seeks revenge from those who wronged his house. While simple, it fit the feel of the book and never got boring.
But I would be remise in not pointing out the problematic parts of this book. First is the gender politics. It is very problematic with women being shown to be irrevocable different from men. They where either terrifyingly manipulative Bene Gesserits or completely useless cardboard cut-outs eg Chani.
"[Paul] began tightening his still suit. "You told me once the words of Kitab al-Ibar," he said. "You told me: 'Woman is thy field; go then to thy field and till it.'"
"I am the mother of thy firstborn," she agreed."
How romantic. I am sorry but what! Why say that! It's so demeaning and vulgar.
The Fremen, while wonderful, do have slightly racist butchered Arabic nomad feel to them. I don't know, I might be wrong. I would love to have other's opinions on this.
The Baron being gay and a paedophile, while being the only gay character well.. using gayness as a short hand to show depravity of a character and then to link gayness with paedophilia ….not great. But hey 1960's, times change.
Last, but not least. The ending is incredibly abrupt and I did not like it. It felt jarring, incomplete and I kept checking if I had missed a page or a chapter hasn't loaded onto my kindle.
Age Rating 15+. Adult ideas, murder, mentions of sex, off screen paedophilia.
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