Dune

Rating:
Summary: A Masterpiece
Review: Beginning with Dune and following the series through each subsequent novel was one of the most entertaining experiences I've ever had. The Dune series will always be one of my all time favorite reads! The series has everything, psychology, sociology, religion, adventure and engaging characters all woven together masterfully by Herbert's prose.

Rating:
Summary: A Sci-fi Masterpiece
Review: I found this book to be extremely intriguing. I had never bought science fiction and had never really cared for it. Frank Herbert did an excellent job of entrancing me into his work. This book is fast paced and keeps the readers attention well. Once started on this awesome adventure, Herbert takes the reader through politics, scandal, betrayal, religion, addiction, love, revenge, and of course the desert. The ending leaves you hanging and forces you to read the next one. This book is well worth the read a couple of times.

Rating:
Summary: ABSOLUTELY BRILLIANT AND CAPTIVATING!
Review: It seems the book has received many reviews on it's finer and lesser than finer points. All of them are valid and well made (but like everything in life - should be judged with a grain of salt).

I would like to add only a couple of points -

First, I thank Frank Herbert for the literary gift to humanity - for this book (and series) is not just attempting to be a SciFi book. It has many rich ideas about the flaws and beauties of humanity under a guise of another world created in 'science fiction'. Second, the best way to start this series is to delve into it with no precept of any kind - not even what you would expect from a Sci-Fi story. It gives you much more - a reflection of our universe through the eyes of an incredibly creative man.

There are parts of the series where it gets a bit wordy. But I respect it nonetheless because if the book was any different, than it would not be the masterful piece of work it is. Besides, how many of us in the ENTIRE WORLD can give to us in literary form, a story of an entire universe full of such diverse beings carried through for generations with plots within plots, with truly unwavering ideologies and philosophies directly parallel to our own humanity and issues? Plus, with the scientific ground work which it was all laid upon?

Considering when Herbert wrote this book and the immense research and work put into it by ONE man, TO SAY THIS IS ANYTHING LESS THAN GENIOUS & BRILLIANT, WOULD BE ARROGANT.

Lastly, this book is for people who have INSIGHT, VISION and a desire to be open-minded. I say a desire because if you are patient enough to read this series diligently, this book will be a good place for all those who desire open-mindedness. I have no judgment towards any of the characters or story plots. I think there is much to learn from all of it, even to the most trivial and the smallest.

Rating:
Summary: Nothing else like it
Review: Dune is one of the most popular science fiction novels, and with good reason. If nothing else, it's ambitious; a complex plot draws on elements from ancient and medieval history as well as Islamic culture, blending ecology, politics, messianic religion and mysticism to create a long, sometimes engrossing, sometimes baffling tale of a young superhero who revolutionizes galactic civilization.

The novel has several flaws; much of the mysticism is not luminously clear, and much of the dialogue is stilted. Herbert's style is in the process of maturing here; it's a quirky and distinctive voice, and his writing is generally of high quality, but the pacing is uneven, and many readers will find the book difficult to get into. (I started it seven times over a period of several years before it finally caught on for me; and Herbert himself admitted the book was not an easy start.)

With so many details involved in the story, it's not surprising that there are questions and plot holes. Some readers may find the characters two-dimensional, and Paul Atreides, the hero, remains remote. Still, Herbert deserves credit for tackling so many issues in the context of a science fiction adventure, and also for constructing what's basically a Van Vogt-style superman story whose central character is opaque, rather than the straight-up-and-down hero a more simplistic writer might have created.

Many of Herbert's ideas don't fit comfortably into a single novel, even one of this length; I found that I came to enjoy both his writing style and his ideas as I read further books in the series.

This is a worthwhile book that deserves all the attention it's garnered, but many readers should expect to be patient and to make a certain effort to get used to Herbert's approach to storytelling. The opening chapter is a stunner and immediately grabs your attention, but the book shifts gears after that and takes another fifty pages or so to pick up the pace. But stick with it --- it's fascinating and rewarding.

Rating:
Summary: Fusion of Fantasy and Sci-Fi
Review: I'm still reeling from the spell that Herbert wove! I have not felt so strong about a book since I read Orson Scott Card's "Xenocide" . Incredible.
This is a layered book: The tensions between the royal houses; the tensions between the houses and the Spice Guild; the tensions between the patriarch and the shadow matriarchy of the Bene Gesserits. You you are looking at a real world!
In fact, this book is AS complex as "Lord of the Rings," but does not have Tolkien's archaic quasi-Middle English. Herbert's prose is smooth. The only down side is that I had to return to the index to check on the unfamiliar words. I'm glad Herbert put that index in there: although they are humans, this is an alien world and an alien culture.
Herbert's genius is, however, his ability to meld Sci-Fi and Fantasy into that rare elixir of "Sci-Fant." Look at "Star Wars" and the Force, or even Ghostbusters where you catch ghosts not by magic but by technology. Chief among the fantasy elements is the Melange, the Spice, the macguffen. Another element is the Bene Gesserit "witches," that secretly are controlling the destiny of humanity.
The milieu is a marble cake of Mid-east cultures: Judaism messiah, Islam's jihad, Christianity's Bible. But the wild card is the mideval royal families, or "houses" (Pharaoh="Great House")that compose the main political force. Then the Spice Guild jockeying for their power. Most authors would stumble and crumble by trying to wangle in such diverse milieus, but Herbert scores yet another touchdown!
The protagonist is Paul Atreides, a cross between Luke Skywalker and Ender Wiggam. We are lead along as he grows to understand his destiny as the messiah of Dune. In a sense, we are Paul Atreites as we work out our calling and mission in life.
Four final observations:
1) This book is a great study for fans of "The Hero With A Thousand Faces."
2) The only draw-back with the book is that it is very serious. There is not a lot of humor, or wise-cracking, even with Gurney, the troubador-soldier. The closest thing to a jock is Duncan Idaho's name. 3) I got thirsty reading this book.
4) Don't let the 1984 movie adaptation deter you. Use it as an overview to one of Science Fiction's greatest books.

Rating:
Summary: An average book among the most famous SF ones
Review: I read that book after I happened to look at the (grotesque) film adaptation by Lynch. The book itself is not really better than the latter. Esoteric, repeatitive, obsessively descriptive of mind states and thoughts, there are many good ideas (worms, guilds and sisterhoods, stillsuits and many others) but they are attached to a weak structure and a poor and heavy writing style. To be honest, it is very hard to find a book of good SF that is also a good book, but Dune seems to have a bit less than the average narrative flow. Perhaps, if I were younger, I would be a fan of the Herbert's complex world, but now I have really got the opinion that the book has too many more pages than it needs.

Rating:
Summary: Bare-bones essential SF
Review: After being a hard-core SF fan for a couple of years now, living mainly on a diet of Clarke and Heinlein, I told myself I couldn't keep calling myself a science fiction fan any longer until I read Dune. So I finally read it. What can I say? All the praise is justified. This is one of the most complex and compelling books I have ever read. It is a universe unto itself. Dune is a whole world; the book is not only a 500-page epic, but even includes 4 appendixes, a long dictionary of terms exclusive to the book, and a map. How's that for epic? Not to mention the numerous sequels. But the original book Dune itself is a masterpiece. It is a truly deep and complex book. This is not the type of book that you want to read while doing something else-listening to music, or watching TV, or whatever-this is a book that you must immerse yourself in. And you will not regret it. This is like an entire series of books in one volume. An essential work for even the most bare-bones science fiction collection.

Rating:
Summary: BEST SCI-FI BOOK EVER!
Review: Well if not book definately series. This is an addictive series. a must for anyone who calls themselves a sci fi fan, and anyone who doesn't! This was very real and detailed. Frank Herbert really understands human nature. The only problem is that there are no sentient species. Odds are there would be at least one in the universe. Otherwise great book.

Rating:
Summary: definitive work of science fiction
Review: this is not your typical science fiction. Dune is an introduction to a different, strange universe. Frank herbert did a masterful job of setting up this place- it is unique in a way that no other science fiction can replicate. Herbert's best creation is the world of Dune itself, and its mystical connections with the worms. But perhaps the most satisfying aspect of the book is the way in which its written. Nothing is spoonfed to the reader. You have to work to understand what he is trying to say- and its not easy for the casual reader. Dune is actually the most readable of the books in the series. From this one on, the series becomes more and mroe complex- until it became unreadable in my opinion, with Book5. But even lovers of traditional science fiction will find much to like here. A whole lot of suspense, intrigue and machinations form the first half of the book, with a unique setting and environment.

Rating:
Summary: Dune
Review: I liked the recent TNT version of the book.... I have read all the philosophical and esoterical reviews and this is my conclusion. Jessica is repulsive. I didn't like her. Paul is a poor pawn. The fact that they survived is miraculous. Overall, it is a good tale of survival, and treachery, and ambition. I only read it to see if the tv show was true to the book and largely it was.