Dune

Rating:
Summary: One of the greatest books ever written
Review: An excellent work throughout. Dune has perhaps the most original setting in any work of literature. The whole far future/ feudalism concept is really amazing. Plenty to get lost in (in a good way!) Dune is the thinking man's Star Wars, not that there is anything wrong with Star Wars. I think they ought to be reading this one in the schools, plenty to be learned from this and the subsequent novels.

Rating:
Summary: The One
Review: This must be one of the best books I have read in my whole life!
Read it!

Rating:
Summary: Hmmm
Review: All the five star reviews make me wonder who really is writing in for these reviews. As a Sci-fi fanatic, I was disappointed in this book for a few reasons, the biggest being the boredom aspect. On page 229, I had to put the book down because I had no real desire to read on. The other bothersome aspect is that this book does not take you in on the same emotional level as a "Lord of the Rings." You really pull for Tolkien's characters, whereas Dune folk felt like automatons going through another Matrix-lite plot.

Rating:
Summary: A masterpiece of imagination!!
Review: Dune was one of the greatest books I have ever read. I don't usually enjoy science fiction, but Herbert's ability to transport you into his world(s) is amazing. I could not put this book down and it has been a discussion piece for me and my husband for weeks already. I have highly recommended it to everyone I know and if you love great writing this is a classic not to be missed!

Rating:
Summary: Its Hard to Decide
Review: Dune is, right off the bat, amazing...its a world so amazingly put together, that it just attests to Frank Herbert's genius...the only world created in depth as well as Dune's is Tolkien's Lord of the Rings

still, being 14 when i read it, i got lost sometimes, and had a hard time understanding the actual writing of Herbert's, not the story itself...though i managed to figure it out, Herbert could have written it simpler, but i prefer to instead recognize it as great literature that i was just too young to understand

on that note of literature, this and (again) Lord of the Rings are in my view, two of the very few sci-fi/fantasy books that can be accepted as literature...i doubt i could look my honors english teacher in the eye and call a book like Sheffield's Aftermath, or Hubbard's Battlefield Earth literature...Dune IS literature, and excellent literature at that...

though it has a great number of sequels (im still dragging my way through Dune Messiah), Dune can easily stand on its own as a single novel, one that i suggest for anyone to read, SF fan or not

Paul Muad'Dib is a great, true character...like a real person, he doubts himself and thinks about problems that a real person would think about...he second guesses himself and hates what he has to do at times..just like in real life, which i think is great writing on Herbert's part

the society Herbert created is genius...with the spice melange, the fremen way of life, and the sandworms, which i have a strange interest in, and love any mention of them...the Bene Gesserit is a stroke of genius and the mind capabilities of Herbert's characters make the society...just well, amazing
as read in the beginning of the second book, there also exists Bene Tleilaxu, another genius creation of Herbert's

Dune is, by itself, one of the best books i have read (albeit a small list, but i plan on adding to it)...i doubt my praise is needed, as writers like Arthur C. Clarke have given Dune their seal of approval....still, i just wanted to throw it in, because i think no matter how many times its been praised, if it is really worth it, then it will continue to get praise...so here is my small piece of praise for one of the classics

Rating:
Summary: A Fully Realized World
Review: Dune. The original. Much has been said about it, most good and deservedly so. Some have called it the best Science Fiction book of all time. I'm inclined to agree. Herbert has actually created a world with different cultures and religions and ways of life. The characters are well drawn, if a little cold. But that's the way of the world in which they live. In which Houses come before love and people seldom matter, except to a few. However, as usual, the good guys are easily identified, as are the bad.

The world of Dune has a life of it's on, one that seems seperate from the rest of the known universe. The Fremen are one of the most remarkable culture of people ever put to page and one of the most fascinating. You are drawn into Paul's story and his destiny, of which these desert dwellers are a part. The other characters are great as well. Just can't get enough of Duncan Idaho and Gurney Halleck. And Duke Leto is about a noble a character as you can get.

I was introduced to Dune by the mini series and the prequel novels by Kevin J. Anderson and Brian Herbert, all of which were vastly entertaining, but this book is easily levels above those works.

I really don't have a lot to add to what has already been said, but to encourage you to believe the legend. Dune is THAT good.

Rating:
Summary: A detailed world of politics, religion and history
Review: Dune is a complete sub-world; it has its own political struggles, its own history and its own religious traditions. The setting is in the distant future, thousands of years from the present.

The political system is based on the Imperium, the Great Houses and the Guild. The Imperium's military and economic power is balanced by the combined power of the Great Houses. The Guild, in turn, has exclusive monopoly over banking and space travel. The political system was established by the Great Convention, which set laws of war, principally the banning of nuclear weapons for combat purposes.

The religions of the novel are faintly similar to current religions; there are strands of Taoist and Islamic ideas scattered about. The Muad'dib is a messianic figure who is able to combine male and female traits. The main character, Paul Atreides, of House Atreides, becomes this Messianic figure on Dune. He has great persuasive ability, limited power to predict the future and many other almost super-human qualities.

Dune (the planet) is significant for its spice; spice is perhaps best described as a life-prolonging drug that is mildly or extremely addictive based on how much one consumes. However, the spice is produced by gigantic worms that make harvesting the substance dangerous to all but the native Fremen.

I really liked the political intrigue of the book, the scheming within the Great Houses, the Guild and the mystical/religious Bene Gesserit School; there is no clear all-powerful faction in this Universe.

The religions of the novel are strange. The characters frequently quote the Orange Catholic Bible. The novel's "Terminology of the Imperium," says this about the O.C. Bible:

"the 'Accummulated Book,' the religious text produced by the Commission of Ecumenical Translators. It contains sections if most ancient religions, including the Maometh Saari, Mahayana Christianity, Zesummo Catholicism and Buddislamic traditions. Its supreme commandment is considered to be: 'Thou shalt not disfigure thy soul'" (page 525)

One of the Appendixes of the novel gives the religious history that led to the production of the O.C. Bible. The conditions leading up to that point are vaguely similar to the Thirty Year's War (1618-1648) in Europe; however, the outcome in the two cases was very different. In the European situation, the denominational theory of the Church (multiple denominations could peacefully coexist) was developed and the idea of separation of Church and State formed. In the history of the novel, the religious leaders form syncretistic religion. The leaders of the movement make their first public statement: "We are here to remove a primary weapon from the hands of the disputant religions. That weapon - the claim to possession of the one and only revelation." (page 502)

It is unfortunate that an otherwise good novel makes such a basic philosophical error. In ruling out exclusive claims, the leaders cut the branch they're standing on. This means that their authority and writings can have no supreme claim, they are simply one among many equal options. The leaders included everybody but those who thought that there was only one way; they weren't really all-inclusive.

I don't know if I will lead the rest of the series but this first book was definitely a good read. One of things that I appreciated about the book is the fact that it takes religion seriously. In many of the futures commonly depicted in science fiction, religion of any sort is missing and secular humanism is triumphant. There were some parts of the novel that felt really slow and sometimes I would wonder when a certain section would end.

Rating:
Summary: Good... To a point
Review: This book is good enough for someone to read if they aren't busy, and are almost bored out of their minds, and if they don't stop reading this book, they will end up finishing it without a problem. The only problem that I have with this book are with the rest of the series, which seems to be milking his worlds for all that they are worth, and in retrospect, I realize that I have read books that are a lot better.

If you like politics, this book would seem a lot better to you. I can understand the politics, but it doesn't seem to really interest me all that much. I also like fantasy books more than science fiction, and I would rather have the main character that seems all-powerful to have some more impressing abilites than to simply see into the future, and then to find out that he isn't the only one that can do that in the universe made it almost like he wasn't THAT special, and was simply the right person in the right place at the right time.

Rating:
Summary: Start here and read the whole series
Review: The Dune series truly is a wonderful collection of sci-fi books. The vividness and completeness of the 'alternate reality' being portrayed is staggering. You truly are thrown into another world; given the number of books available, you can 'wallow in it' for quite some time. If you want a break from everyday reality, dive into these books and don't surface until you need food, sleep, etc.

Rating:
Summary: Classic
Review: This is an excellent work of sci-fi from the Golden Age. It is a beautiful combination of philosophy and action. The planning and the intrugue are the best ever. When a person can create a world of political manuvering that occurs over millenia and you want to see all of it, it is truly remarkable. Where The Prince was a theoretical discussion Dune is a practical application. A work of art.