Rating: 
Summary: This is NOT Lord of the Rings
Review: Comparing this 500 page sleeping pill to Lord of the Rings is like comparing a Rolls Royce Phantom II to a 1975 Pinto. Dune has some good ideas and in some parts the story really pick up, but over all this book is not as interesting, the characters are not as deep, and the writting style not as polished as Tolken's work.Paul Atreides is not as interesting as Frodo, or even Luke Skywalker. Jessica reminds me of Jan Brady or a 1970s coffee commercial where the character is always talking to themselves about the things around them. Gurney, I must admit reminded me of Sam, but only a little. Whether you like this book or not, Dune cannot hold a candle to LOTR. I must admit Dune has its interesting moments, but not enough for a good review. The reader will find himself or herself saying over and over again, "No, not another sand worm!" The writting style is deplorable. Herbert's prose is some of the worst I have ever read. Unlike Hawthorne, Dickens, and Melville, Herbert sentence structure is choppy, uneven, and cumbersome. I made it through this book, but I must admit, it did not hold my interest and I did breeze over a few pages. This book stinks! I give it a B plus for over all creativity.
C minus for the story develpment
D minus for style.
D plus for Character development
F for the micro-font this edition is printed in I know I am going to get tared and feathered for this review!
Rating: 
Summary: Epic
Review: For me, finishing Dune was like walking out of a great movie with a smile on my face thinking, "Damn, that was good." I'm not a regular reader of science fiction, but I can see why the cover proclaims it "Science Fiction's Supreme Masterpiece." Herbert combines politics, religion, strategy, psychology, intelligence, and emotion inside an incredibly detailed and seemingly tangible universe. Despite the alien environment, Dune is a book that drew me in instantly, and didn't let me go until the end. Herbert's writing style was a joy to read, as he managed to find the delicate balance between detail and brevity, resulting in a fluid tale with both depth and raw emotion. What makes books like Dune and the Lord of the Rings series so great is that their respective worlds seem completely natural and real to the reader. Add some great action, plot twists, and wonderfully fleshed out characters, and you have a masterpiece of not just science fiction, but modern literature as well. The incredible epic of the Muad'Dib, the deadly beauty of Arrakis and its inhabitants ... Dune is a novel I will never forget.
Rating: 
Summary: A perfect combination of politics and action and death
Review: Simply put, this is one of the best sci fi books anyone will ever pick up. It's true that there are many notable sci fi and/or fantasy books out there (i enjoy both) but Dune is in a class all its own. The story, the plots within plots, the hidden meanings...It may be a bit hard to read sometimes because of the concepts and language involved-but it is all worth it!!!
Rating:
Summary: A classic that will endure forever
Review: I've read this book twice, with about ten years in between. I liked it even better the second time - - I believe that was because I was in a better position to ponder the intricacies of the plot, which is incredibly involved, in both time and space. I sometimes think it was Frank Herbert's vision of a galactic empire that was the inspiration behind the Galactic Republic in the Star Wars movies and novels.
Of course, the star of this novel of conflict and war is the desert planet Arrakis itself, or Dune, where giant sand worms roam the desert and make the invaluable spice melange that makes it possible for the giant space craft of the Spacing Guild to travel between the stars by folding space. The spice melange, which also turns the whites of your eyes blue, is what everybody is fighting about. And on Arrakis, water is worth gold too, can power an army, and is being secretly hoarded by the Fremen, the native desert people of Arrakis, who are also waiting for their messiah to lead them to freedom.
The ideas and concepts behind this story are simply mind boggling. So rich are the characters and elements in the plot that it has never been equaled: the secret order of the Ben Gesserit, the evil Harkonnens and their even worse leader Baron Vladimir, the Spacing Guild that controls intersteller travel, the Emperor and his fanatic Saudaukar troopers, the boy messiah Paul Atreides, his father Duke Leto Atreides, the all-blue-eyed desert Fremen of Dune, the Dune planetary ecologist Pardot Kynes, the sand worms, and more.
I can nitpick, however. I've always thought that the author needed to do some work to present the beginning of the story better. The beginning reader has simply no idea of the richness of the universe that will shortly unfold, and can get somewhat lost and confused in the beginning, which is why it's a book that can be read twice. I remember the first time I read it that I was tempted to give up on it after the second chapter, because I was quite confused, even alienated. I continued, however, because I had been warned in advance that this might happen, and I'm now passing the warning on.
My only other nitpick is about the atomic weapons Paul and the Fremen use in the big battle at the end of the story. For the life of me, I've never been able to figure out how they got their hands on nuclear weapons, which require extensive industrial processing to make; there was no sign of any such plant among the Fremen. But this is probably just a minor plot flaw, of no significance to this magnificent story. The book is a classic that will endure forever. I would also add that if you liked "Dune", you will probably like "Glory Be To Mars", a different story of war on a desert planet.
Rating:
Summary: Ingenious Science Fiction Masterpiece
Review: I read Dune in high school and loved it then, and it was such a pleasure (more than a decade later) to pick it up again.
Dune is to Science Fiction what The Lord of the Rings is to Fantasy. It almost defines the genre and you can see its influence in almost all Sci-Fi literature today.
What makes Dune especially exciting is how complex and thorough it is. Dune is not a simple story, but then, neither is life. You have so many characters and groups of characters all with different and opposing objectives. You see how the decisions and actions of one can influence the course of so many other groups of people.
The characters are all so real, deep, and believable. The plot is sensational. Getting this bird's-eye view of the rise, the fall, and the rise of the Atreides family is a real thrill unmatched by very few other books.
Yes, this book is a must-read even for those who do not read the science fiction genre often.
On a side note, I was warned in high school about continuing the series as most people I talked to considered it dull and boring. I'm in the middle of Book 4 right now and I attest that while the next two books are not as fast paced as this one they are still quite interesting with a fun and complex story line.
Rating:
Summary: Arrakis - Dune - Desert Planet [no spoilers]
Review: "Dune" is the first novel in the "Dune Chronicles". The detailed writing style is superb with inventive explanations behind the science fiction physics and the imaginative items plus a fine mixture of politics, warfare, and individual introspection. The cycle of life on desert planet Arrakis contains well thought out processes from the overall planetary scale to the biological.
Aside from fifteen-year-old Paul Atreides, I found one of his mentors Gurney Halleck to be a great character to follow during the story and wish there had been more regarding his background. The Fremen desert culture has been tempered in the harsh planetary environment, forging a hard society. The primary attraction to the hostile planet is the spice mélange, a poison yet a potent drug to its users and the inhabitants of Arrakis (it even permeates the very air people breathe). The spices' negative side effects are not completely discussed, leaving me to question whether it is even considered a drug or poison if it doesn't significantly impair a person other than a lifetime addiction to its benefits.
At the end of the book, there are excellent appendixes including ecology, religion, and terminology. As with just about every film-based novel, I would suggestion at least not watching the movie prior to reading the book if not forgoing the movies thereby leaving the series entirely to the imagination.
I highly recommend the series to any fan of the science fiction genre.
Thank you.
Rating:
Summary: The all time classic Sci-Fi Novel
Review: This is a must have. I'd even say one of the best novels ever written. The idea behind the entire Dune Universe is tremendously well worked out. Frank Herbert's craftmanship is to be studied for ages if you ask me. Many popular sci-fi and fantasy novels haven't got more to tell than the neverending fight between good and evil. The good is white and the bad is black - how very boring. Frank Herbert paints us a universe that is so detailed in both characterization and storyline that it truely becomes real. Marvellous!!!
Rating:
Summary: There are better choices out there
Review: Having been recommended by friends as a must read in the sci-fi genre, I finished reading the original Dune trilogy, expecting something spectacular. Unfortunately, I found myself disappointed and want my time back :).
Herbert has created a colorful and exotic world. The writing is very detailed. However, I found the series to have too much pretentious babble with little real substance behind it. The first book, Dune, is the best book of series. The second is barely readable. The third one bored me to tears at times. For a classic sci-fi series with real plot twisters (or "a feint within a feint within a feint" in Herbert's words) and intelligent discussions, read Isaac Asimov's Robot series and Foundation series. For a fantasy series with enticing plots and moving character, read Salvatore's Dark Elf Trilogy.
Rating:
Summary: THIS NOVEL IS BOUND TO BE A GREAT ONE!!!
Review: This was a great book that started out really strong and kept me reading, but the ending turned out weak. It was almost as if Herbert got bored of writting. The book as a whole is very excellent though, and worth the read.
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