Dune

Rating:
Summary: One of the best Books in the Universe
Review: I picked up a dusty copy of Dune off of a ill-used fiction section in my school library back in 6th grade. It turned out to be one of the best books i have ever read.

As i am sure many of you have heard the only thing comparible to the epic Dune serires is the Lord of the Rings. That is by far a true statment. If you have not read Dune, go, no run to the nearest bookstore or library and pick it up.

In between the two sheets of pressed cardboard you will find an amazing story covering everything from love to politics to enviomentalism, all in a convincing and moving story.

Go now, buy the book, you havent lived if you have not read this book

Rating:
Summary: Amazing...
Review: When I picked up Dune in 1998, I had no idea what it was. I had seen the horrible movie when I was a slight bit younger, and had been disgusted by it. I figured that the book would be pretty much the same. However, I opened the book, and could not stop reading. In Dune, Frank Herbert has created a living, breathing world, with characters that I can actually visualize. Herbert is a master of the speculative fiction genre. As far as I have seen, he is the only author capable of capturing my imagination in such ways that Dune (and later, its sequels) was able to.

Rating:
Summary: IF YOU ONLY EVER READ 6 BOOKS IN YOUR LIFE
Review: Then these are truly the ones.

They are not fiction, they are an education. This first book is an amazing introduction to Dune, the planet Frank Herbert created with his own bare hands. Frank Herbert, just for creating this world so imaginatively and vividly, deserves godly status,for he is truly a genius unlike myself.

I have never read such an enchanting, amazing, horrifying, insight into our world around us and our religions and societies, yet this book really does teach everything whilst telling the most enriched story at the same time.

Whether you read between the lines or accept the text literally there is pure delight and contentment in reading it. The Bene Gesserit are most fascinating, intellectually supreme, devine genetically engineered beings. They show you something beyond your reach that makes you want to be like them, wise and spiritual.

Paul Atreides is an amazing character to follow and I recommend that you MUST read the following books in the series and they only get more and more amazing and above beyond where the wildest imagination can take you.

You live Dune. An amazing literary works that really does describe everything, putting you there watching everything happen as if it were there in front of you, although you would still not get the insight if you were there- as you could not perceive the situations on such a vast scale!

I only wish I had a wide enough vocabulary to fully express the true pleasure I enjoyed while reading this book and if you pass by the opportunity of reading it you are missing one of the greatest experiences of your life.

Rating:
Summary: a towering classic that not everyone will necessarily enjoy
Review: Since enough has been written about the _Dune_ story, let me focus this review on helping the potential reader sift through the accumulated viewpoints. I will allude to some degree to the series that follows it, on the grounds that this pertains to whether one would want to invest the time in the first book to begin with.

First off, _Dune_ is deep. It's exciting, and Herbert is a master of creating The Moment. It has some of the richest character development you will ever see. It is often very subtle and will tend to inspire you to question some basic assumptions. It is a very egalitarian book in which both genders are quite deadly.

So who might not like it? Well, on your first go, it can be hard to 'get it'; my first effort didn't succeed, as a matter of fact. I read on, bewildered, not understanding much. (Lucky for me I gave it another go at a later date.) You should be prepared for there to be a large leap between each book (sometimes thousands of years). Herbert handles these quantum leaps interestingly, but they can throw you a curve. Also, if you want light reading, Herbert isn't it. And there is no question that there are mature and sometimes disturbing themes. (If your child is old enough to make sense of it, s/he is probably old enough to deal with the disturbing parts.)

Essentially, _Dune_ (and the series) is one of those works people either love or they hate. My recommendation is to try it--it is surely a masterpiece in the eyes of many, myself included--but to be prepared to invest time and brainpower in picking up the storyline, mulling over questions, and other cerebral pursuits. If you go into it armed with this understanding, your odds of enjoying it are excellent.

Rating:
Summary: Great Book
Review: This books is the second best ever to exist (past present and future). the only book better then it is Lord of the Rings by Tolkien. Herbert is the best sci-fi author ever!

Rating:
Summary: The first Science Fiction book Ive ever enjoyed. Magnificent
Review: When I first picked up the torn paperback copy of "Dune", it was out of boredom. As the book progressed, however, I was reading it out of necessity.

In a matter of hours, I was completely immersed in the trials of Paul Atreides and his cohorts. I cannot compare this novel to any others I have ever read. Im not a fan of science fiction in any way, but this irresistable masterpeice drew me in to the point I wished it would never end. As I reached the end of the book, I was filled with a sense of almost forboding. The fact that the book would some time end was my only regret.

If you are a fan of liturature at all, read this book! I have been disappointed by the genre in the past, even by the "Greatest" of science fiction (The Hobbit, Lord of the Rings), but Dune was one of the greatest novels I've ever had the fortune of reading. If any of the other books in the series (I've just ordered all 6 of them) live up to their predecesor, then I will not be disappointed.

Although many other reviewers said this book held less meaning in their youth, I still grasped enough of the epic to enjoy it greatly at my 15 years of age. If you have come this far, you must take the next step; read the book. You will not regret it.

Rating:
Summary: Boring
Review: Clearly, you have to be a fan of the robot genre to remotely even come close to liking this book. The first chapter gets off to a very slow start, the storyline becomes boring rapidly, and after a while, the book is unreadable. I would imagine that those disappointed with this highly overrated book would turn to other science fiction. Lord of the Rings puts this book to shame. J.R.R. Tolkien makes this author look unimaginative to say the least. If you want real science fiction, start with The Hobbit and go onto the LORD OF THE RINGS. Put this book where it belongs: in the GARBAGE bin.

Rating:
Summary: knowledge is power
Review: On the encouragement of a friend who was very into the "Dune" series at the time I tried reading this first book about sixteen years ago and couldn't get into it then. The movie came out about that time and I was lost in it also. Recently I picked this book back up and found it a joy not only to read, but to complete.

The only thing I can add to these already glowing reviews for "Dune" is if you had tried reading it when you were younger and couldn't muddle through it, try it when you're older and have a little more experience and knowledge (and patience) about life and it's workings and it should be a lot easier. It's worth another attempt-or two-for it is one of those rare experiences that will change your life, and make you see the world in a different way, enriching it.

Also I recommend checking out the movie before you start the book. Even though it only touches upon the events in "Dune", skimming over them almost in a superficial way, it will help you to understand the deeper actions in the novel, and bring together some of the more confusing elements-of the "plots within plots", that incredible tapestry that Herbert succeeds in weaving so well. It works great as a "travel guide" to the "Dune" book.

Rating:
Summary: A Classic in every sense
Review: Frank Herbert's Dune is, without a doubt, a must read in every sense of the term. It is on the same level as Tolkein's "The Hobbit". Without writing a book reort, let it be enough to say that when you step back and consider the depth and intricancies Herbert created, it's simply mind boggling.

There is something in this book for everyone, from action to philosophy to political intrigue.

I wish I could give it more stars!

Rating:
Summary: An admirable achievement of the imagination.
Review: After hearing and reading many glowing reviews, I was disappointed to find that Dune was not quite what I had expected. Perhaps my less-than-perfect rating is due to the discrepancy between my expectations and what was delivered, but I found that Dune lacked a overall cohesiveness that would have merited it the fifth star. There were points where the novel seemed to teeter on the edge of something greater, but the potential was never fulfilled and the work would quickly steer clear of whatever larger goal it had glimpsed.

The barren landscape which Herbert depicts is very real in its harsh cruelties, and I doubt that anyone could dispute Herbert's ability to render an entire world and a related existence with such precision. However, I found his characters devoid of that which gave his landscape such life, almost paling in comparison to the grand events and environment sweeping around them page after page. They seemed less human than pawns of fate, even Paul with all his power; perhaps that is Herbert's point, but not one I felt it was necessary to sacrifice character quality to prove.

The greatest flaw of the work was my lack of belief, in both the characters and events. I believe the greatest sign of a work to be the level in which one can relate, or even believe in the reality, the truth which the author presents. I felt incredibly distant from the events I read, unable to suspend my disbelief even momentarily. I felt that the story was repetitive, cycling within the same limited confines, and even the the magnitude of the ending did not seem a release. Although the end of the novel is a far cry from what the reader could imagine at the beginning, the story lacked a quality that made me believe. I gave it four stars only because of the quality of the author's writing, and because I can see the potential effect of such a work for other readers even if I am unable to experience it myself.

Perhaps I should temper my critique with a confession, however. When this book was recommended to me, it was compared to Tolkien's Lord of the Rings trilogy. I read it in anticipation of what I had read and so enjoyed in Tolkien's work, only to be disappointed when I realized that it was nothing similar. Perhaps had I read it without any preconceptions, I would be able to appreciate Herbert's work on its own merits. Unfortunately, I found myself comparing it to the fantasy trilogy, resulting in the review you read above. I am more a fantasy-fiction lover than one of science fiction, which gives me a definite bias. If you like science fiction then by all means, I highly recommend this book as one of the watersheds of modern science fiction.