Dune

Rating:
Summary: Rich and complex
Review: This is one of those books you read over and over again, because each time you get a little bit more out of it. Highly recommended. I wouldn't bother with the rest of the series, though, as Herbert went off on rambling tangents that lost the basic sci-fi basis of the story.

Rating:
Summary: A Great Book!!!!!!
Review: This is a GREAT book. It is probably the best book I have ever read. Lord of The Rings is the only other book that I have read that compares to it. It is a must read to any person who likes science fiction books.

Rating:
Summary: A Prescient Classic
Review: Anyone who read Dune prior to the early 1990s will see that Frank Herbert had an excellent grasp of the politics of petroleum. Anyone reading the book after Desert Storm will probably get the creeps. If you read the author's preface to the short story collection Eye, you can see that Herbert was interested in describing the interworkings of business and politics, as well as the effect of "hydraulic despotism." (Hydraulic despotism, by the way, is what happens when an area is dependent upon one stream of water for the basics of life and somebody upstream attempts to dam it to gain control over the people downstream, exactly what happened in the 1973-74 oil shocks and in Desert Shield/Storm.) That's just the politics of it.

Herbert also examined the role of religion in politics, and thus we have the Fremen, a "Zensunni" group of fanatic beliefs (Ascetic Buddhism combined with Islam), made ferocious by their efforts to survive the desert landscape of Arrakis, the planet known as "Dune." Herbert creates or extrapolates some really remarkable technologies for drawing or retaining moisture from the desert air.

What really grabbed me about Dune, though, was the first third of the book, when we observe the society of the Great Houses of his futuristic Galactic Empire. For as much as the David Lynch film was panned by the critics, the movie got the "look" of this society dead right. It is a form of straightforward feudalism, with the primary spoils and properties being planets, commodities, and shares in the overarching Imperial corporation, CHOAM (Combine Honnette Ober Advancer Mercantiles, if that helps you any). The feudal arrangements of the Empire are complex and fascinating. The Imperial House rules by fear (Herbert's version of Stormtroopers or the Praetorian Guard, the Saudaukar), and the Great Houses of the Landsraad (legislature) fight amongst themselves for the scraps that remain. The opening story is a fight between two of these Great Houses, House Atreides and House Harkonnen. They war openly and by stealth, using blatant and subtle means of inflicting damage. A "Medici" look is entirely appropriate to their world.

Into this mix, Herbert also included the Bene Tleilax, a totally amoral technocracy focusing upon genetic engineering. The people of Ix are likewise technocrats, but focus upon standard machinery. Technology is slowly developed and unobtrusive. Instead of computers, there are humans trained as "mentats;" instead of disks or magnetic tapes, there are "scrolls" or "cielagos" (coded data transcribed into and relayed by a human or animal). There are also the Bene Gesserit, a group of women similar to Catholic nuns in their appearance and behavior. They endeavor to manipulate bloodlines in order to improve the human species. They wish to create the "kwisatz haderach," a man with the powers of a Bene Gesserit (contacting the memories of female ancestors, ability to transmute poisons, yoga-type mental and muscular disciplines).

Does all this sound incredibly complex and heavy? It is. That is part of what makes the book fascinating and difficult to read. Herbert has gone to the trouble to create an entire world, recognizably human, brutal, and unlikable at times, but very convincing and well-thought-out. As a story, all of this must be explained while the plot advances forward. This Herbert manages to do, as well as insert a great deal of philosophical and political thought. This is one of the best-wrought works in the science fiction canon. Alas, it can almost be too hard to read. Go forth bravely, and you will be rewarded.

Rating:
Summary: i hate sci fi but loved this book
Review: I read this book because it had on its cover, sci fi's supreme masterpiece. I however am a really harsh critics of both books and movies, so i had to read it to prove to myself that it wasn't. I hate sci fi, but this book had me up all night. The good thing was, it didn't seem sci fi, which has its robots, talking computers, light travel, and vulcan grips. it seemed more like an action/intrigue filled history book. the author makes the reader believe that even the most absurd notions are historical fact. If you like history, and some action, read this book, i look forward to reading the rest of the series.

Rating:
Summary: the most original science fiction universe ever depicted
Review: I had to put a word in about Dune because it's one of the most impressive achievements in science fiction and because it's the kind of book everyone with a weakness for science fiction should try and read at least once in their lifetime.

Dune is the tale of a post-utopian humanity. It is us, twenty thousand years in the future, in a feudal universe controlled by entrenched economic, religious, and political factions. A massive empire consisting of thousands of planets is completely dependent on an unreproducable drug found only on a bleak desert rock called Arrakis. The plot is positively byzantine and weaves the tale of a messiah figure with elements of religious, political, anthropological, and ecological philosophy. Somehow all of these elements are weaved into a great yarn that will compel the reader to seek out and discuss it with others.

Now alot of people try to read this book in their early teens and put it down. The first time I read it I was eighteen and had the benefit of a six hour train ride to soak up the initial hump. I re-read it at thirty and realized that I totally missed the point, I percieved it as a drug book when it's so much more than that. On one level it's an extended meditation on the influence of environment upon culture and religion. On another level it is a meditation upon the intentions of messianic figures and unavoidable distortion of those ideas by their fundamentalist followers. An incredible variety of themes are discussed and yet the human story remains compelling and interesting. It's a mindblowing book that elevates itself above the genre to become a true piece of literature. It should be as respected as any other work of fiction. I mean it! Any piece of literature because this novel is as relevant and profound as anything by Dostoyevsky or Hemingway or Kafka or James Joyce. You think I'm kidding? I dare you to read it and tell me otherwise.

(This is a kick ass book that I reccomend to anyone. I liked the lynch film version for it's great cast and unparalelled art direction, but it's no substitute for reading the book and may actually turn off potential readers. The miniseries aired on the Scifi channel is shoddy and presents an unimaginative, if loyal dramatization.)

Rating:
Summary: worth re-reading again and again
Review: whoever rates this book any less than 4 stars (in fact, I can't see how it could be less than 5) simply doesn't yet understand it. I'd recommend rereading it at least once, as well as finishing out the series. The scope of Herbert's plot is phenomenal and amazingly intricate. I'll admit that I first struggled with the beginning portion of this book - but that was in 7th grade... after rereading it, I found it came together beautifully.

Herbert's story weaves politics and ecology with pure science fiction in an amazingly seamless way. And, to answer the claim that LOR fans would do well to read this, I'd have to agree - but more importantly, I think Robert Jordan fans will see tons of amazing parallels between that series and this one.

Rating:
Summary: Wow :)
Review: Really good book :) It is very easy to read, and the flow is really good!

Rating:
Summary: Boring and Disappointing
Review: A famous quote in the book is, "Fear is the mind-killer". I agree if you fear reading boring books as alternative to treating insominia.
There were some good parts of the book that sparked interest, but they were few and far in between.
I read the marketing ploys trying to convince the LOR fans that Dune was their science fiction savior. It's pure nonsense.
What I can't understand is how overrated this book was. Even English majors I know gave me positive accounts of this book.

Rating:
Summary: Stellar stuff
Review: This book is great. Its got a good story that explores many political principles through a sci-fi atmosphere. If you are a sci-fi fan, pick it up.

Rating:
Summary: Politics and Religion
Review: On the surface, Dune seems to be a science fiction novel. However it is truly about the political games played out by various factions. Even the religions are run by political motives.

This book has so many layers and beautiful imagery.