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Summary: NOT just for science fiction fans
Review: There is a few books that have lived throguh more a century that deserve their classic status. 'Dune' is very likely one of the most brillant worlds ever imagained and also one of the most ingenious books you will ever read. Frank Herberts genius at creating a true and real culture is always overwhelmingly apparent. His stunning creations of literature, history, religion, and culture reflect and could very easily be our world.Set on the planet Arrakis, the only in a universe where the entire population depends on a spice called melange, Arrakis is the only planet that produces this staple. The king and queen of House Arrakis, Duke Leto and Lady Jessica have a son named Paul and they have been assigned to watch this planet. But getting there is only the beginning........ Although very slow at times, Dune is truly a great book. Hard to get into at times, it is absolutely worth the read. This book will be read by me for many years to come. My only regret is that I will not be able to read it for the first time. The only warning is that the books that follow have only gotten much, much, poorer.
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Summary: The greatest SF novel of all time?
Review: As THE LORD OF THE RINGS is inarguably the greatest fantasy novel of the 20th (or perhaps any) century, Frank Herbert's DUNE marks the high-water point of speculative fiction. A novel of extraordinary depth that draws upon elements of history, religious study, philosophy and ecology, DUNE weaves these disparate strands into a planet-spanning epic that spawned four sequels by Herbert and a flood of pastiches by his son in conjunction with author Kevin J. Anderson. Yet even without the enormous body of writing that has grown up around it, DUNE stands as a prime example of how to do grand-scale SF correctly. DUNE's story begins more than 8,000 years in the future with Paul Atreides, the teenage son of Duke Leto Atreides, ruler of the planet Caladan. The Atreides clan is part of galaxy-wide imperium where feudal dominions struggle for predominance using methods both subtle and not. As part of complex web of betrayal, Paul's family has been given stewardship over the inhospitable desert planet Arrakis, also known as Dune, the only place in the universe where geriatric spice mélange can be found. Deception layers upon deception, and Paul is thrust into a vortex of carnage and bloodshed wrought by enemies of his clan. From that beginning, DUNE could easily have become a saga of Roman-style revenge. That alone would likely have made a compelling read. Herbert had far more to say, however, and Paul's development from fugitive ducal heir into a desert warlord with the powerful wind of a religious jihad rising behind him is what makes DUNE the finest novel in its genre. Herbert's epic reads like dramatized history, rather than the overblown space opera it could have become in the hands of a less assured writer, filled with dozens of understated references to culture and history both real and imagined. In its way, DUNE has been as influential as THE LORD OF THE RINGS, with numerous other works borrowing from this superior example. Unlike many works of speculative fiction that followed DUNE, the maps and glossaries and extensive appendices in Herbert's masterwork are actually useful, entertaining additions that enhance the reader's enjoyment and understanding of the novel at large, and not so much self-indulgent puffery. Reading DUNE is an intellectual investment as well as a pleasure, and could certainly prompt one to follow any one of many scholarly avenues Herbert used to enrich the events of his novel. Teasing the invention from the vigorously researched can be half the fun. So complete is Herbert's vision of the future that whatever question a reader thinks to ask already has an answer waiting in the text. In a marketplace glutted with fiction, certain novels simply deserve to be read. In the case of DUNE one finds a novel that demonstrates how weighty and relevant speculative fiction can be when it's taken seriously as a form of literature, and not as the stunted cousin of "mainstream" fiction. DUNE has earned a place among the ranks of great novels, and once a reader has turned the book's final page, he or she will know exactly why this is.
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Summary: grab a highlighter
Review: Dune is an amazing book. Even though it was written in the 1960's it is still a solid sci-fi book. This is the first book I have read that made me want to grab a highlight at highlight certian passages. Granted, the first fifty pages are the hardest, but after you get used to the language it runs smoothly. Frank Herbert is not afraid to kill off main charaters either(something more authors should do). Forget about the terrible movies and take a ride to Arkeen, just be wary because you will want to read the rest of the series.
Rating: 
Summary: ...sorry...
Review: After reading Ender's Game...well, to put it lightly, lets just say I got cabin fever.
I admit--I have NOT finished the book yet (a side effect of cabin fever), and I WAS intrigued at first. 200 pages in...and nothing remotely exciting was happening. I argue with myself, wondering if I should finish it or not. Will something utterly fascinating grab my attention just 20 pages on? Or will the rest of the l o n g book be a total drab?
Dune certainly has a good plot idea, I'm just not sure that Frank Herbert has the gift of grabbing a reader's attention.
Please R&R!
Rating:
Summary: The Greatest Epic in Human History
Review: To call this masterpiece just "sci-fi" is a horrendous insult. That's like calling War and Peace a "political narrative." This is adventure, war, romace, environmentalism, ecology, psychology, mystery, religious fanaticism, philosophy, more philosophy, and a whole load of great storytelling. The first book is a compelling adventure of murder, betrayal, war, intrigue, and all that, but anyone who bothers to read the whole series more than once, which is required to fully appreciate it, will slowly come to grasp the extraordinary subplots and sub-subplots that make it so realistic, even though it's set so far in the future almost nothing is recognizable except the unchanging forces that have always driven humanity. The five succeeding books get into some extremely heavy philosophical issues, yet continue the rich and entertaining story across five thousand years. The pathetic attempts to make it into a film have failed miserably time and time again because it just can't be done. A story this big and complex defies any cinematic interpretation simply because no one interpretation is correct. There are few cut-and-dried "good" or "bad" characters, just like in reality, and the moral ambiguity adds whole new dimensions. You can't do that in a movie, audiences are too lazy for that. Lord of the Rings made a great movie because you knew exactly who was who, what their motivations were, and what the eventual outcome would be: good over evil every time. It is a huge, but deceptively simple story. Not so with Dune. You have to work out motivations, make your own judgements about characters. But as you're doing this the story, along with its profound and multi-layered messages, quietly and insidiously work their way into your psyche. When you emerge on the other side of the gargantuan plot you find yourself changed, either for the better or worse, you have to judge. You might not agree with all the ideas presented (I know I don't), but that's inconsequential. Everyone should at least try to read it, even if they fail. Anyone who gets through the whole series has significantly improved their minds. Anyone who claims to completely understand the whole series is either a fool or a liar.
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Summary: He who controls the Spice...
Review: For anyone who even remotely enjoys sci-fi, they should pick up this book. But it is not for people who think sci-fi should be "all action, all dialogue, non-stop." Because Dune is a far cry from action. It has it's moments of intense action at times, but for the most of it, it delves into the inner-workings of baronies and empires, the thoughts of young dukes and old planetoligists, and the struggle against tyranny. There are characters you will hate, characters you can do nothing but love, and some characters will seem so unimportant you forget them, only to have them come back at the end.
All in all, I reccomend this book so highly, I think 5 stars is a rude understatement. I believe this to be the best book ever written (that I've read.) Buying this book is a must.
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Summary: Continually Relevant!
Review: I've been a Dune fan since the late '70's when I first picked up my mom's copy (she was a fan as well). The early '70's "oil shortage" was still a recent event so the concept of artificial shortages of heavily-used commodities created for political and economic reasons (the over-arching theme of all the Dune books) had particular relevance to this impressionable teenager. All through the "greed is good" '80's and "internet-a-go-go" '90's, I kept returning to the Dune stories and finding continuing relevance and insights which helped me understand the world around me. In early September, 2001, I had the good fortune to take a plane trip with a friend who happened to be as devoted to Tolkien's Rings as I was to the Dune series. (Our discussion would have made a Comparative Lit professor proud as we each vied to "prove" our stories were better than the other's!) My arguments hinged on the premise that many of the themes and situations in the Dune stories were applicable to the real world (and this was a week before 9-11, which made them even more relevant!) When people ask me to recommend books, Dune is always first on my list, followed by Dune Messiah and Children of Dune. If you desire a complex, imaginative and morally ambiguous series of novels that have deep and continuing resonance to the world around you, try Dune. At the very least, you'll be treated to a grand adventure story. At the very best, you'll find a tremendous resource that you can return to again and again.
Rating: 
Summary: Good, but it didn't "grab" me
Review: After seeing part of the movie (as much as I could stand to watch), I've always avoided this book, but after reading some reviews of it, I decided it was probably just the movie that stunk and gave it a try. I liked the book. I thought the plot was good, and the characters were solid, and I was always interested to find out what happened. But the plot never really grabbed me, I never had to keep reading to find out what happened, so it went a litt;e slow for me. But I think that may just be a personal preference more than any shortcoming of the story. I thought it got a little too involved in the ritual and the customs of the Fremen, but what I was more interested in were the characters of Maud'dib and Jessica and the Atriedes and Harkonnen families. I'll probably at leat read the next book to see if I get any more interested, but if I don't I probably won't go any farther with the series. Overall, though, I thought this book was interesting and well-written if not the best thing for me personally.
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Summary: One of the true classics of Science Fiction
Review: It is, without a doubt, one of the greatest feats in science fiction. Frank Herbert created one of the most detailed, most fascinating worlds in the history of SF. He didn't only create of single world, but an entire intergalactic empire, of which the world of Arakis (Dune) is the lynchpin. The characters are well rounded, with even minor characters having believable motives and some with histories that are obviously well thought out and full understood by the author even if he only hints at them within the book. Dune is a massive tome, but it takes that many pages to tell the epic tale that Herbert has set out upon. Definitely not to be missed. The only reasons I gave it 4 stars instead of five were (1) The books that follow are actually better than the first and (2) Herbert's foreshadowing is a little heavy handed...at times he tells us EXACTLY what will dozens of pages before it does.
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Summary: Dune Review
Review: By far the best book written since "Lord of the Rings." Herbert was talented beyond belief. The series as a whole is in my opinion the best ever. An Epic comparable to that of any epic ever created.
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