Dune

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Summary: Dune is the #1 selling science fiction novel of all time!
Review: This is the science fiction novel by which all other science fiction novels are judged. I remember reading it for the first time as a sophomore in high school and I was completely blown away. The first 50 pages were pretty boring, as Frank Herbert is laying the groundwork for what's about to come. By the time I hit page 100, I couldn't put it down. I have read thousands of books, newspapers, and magazines over the last 30 years and if someone were to ask me, "If I only read ONE book in my lifetime, what would you recommend?" - DUNE would be my answer. Here's my credentials: [website]

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Summary: The Pinnacle of Fantasy
Review: The greatest book I have ever read. Where to start?

Frank Herbert, the author, is as forward thinking with this masterpiece as any work I have ever seen. There is something here for every scifi/fantasy lover.
It begins with the typical noble house situation. The young Paul Atreides is the prince of a noble house that is about to assume control over a world of great wealth amidst the typical feuds and objections of other noble houses, namely the Harkonnen.

This is where cliché fantasy gets derailed and nuked.
The world, Arrakis, is the only world in the empire that can grow a mysterious spice called Melange. The Melange is said to have many qualities such as granting longer life (kind of like a modern day low calorie/cholesterol diet, but nothing supernatural). It does however grant an ability to see slightly into the future and for some far into the future ( a la Star Wars). This ability is crucial for interstellar navigation to foresee disaster while traveling at great speeds. Why don't they just use computers you ask? There is a really chilling and mysterious reference about a war that took place 10,000 years ago when man made machines that could think. The machines fought back and humanity barely survived (a la Terminator). After that it was law that no one person could make a machine for a task that a human could do. People then began inventing incredible abilities such as the Navigators (the only ones who can fly spaceships because they can see into the future) the Bene Gesserits (predecessor of the Jedi who can manipulate people, move supernaturally fast, mind control with voice command, and see into the future) and the Mentat (a human computer trained to calculate the outcome of any situation where logic can be applied).

It just so happens that the young prince of the Atreides house is an extremely talented prodigy who is a Mentat, Bene Gesserit, and fighter. Utilizing his immense powers of body and mind he will combat the evil house Harkonnen. I don't want to give anything away so I will just say that what ensues is NOT another lesson in morality like most fantasy. It is a fantastic adventure exploring an exciting alien world with very deep and complex characters, plot twists, and philosophic questions that will leave you wondering how on earth so much substance got crammed into one novel.
Summary: Get this book. If it doesn't change your outlook on fantasy and on how good books should be written I will be shocked.

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Summary: No-go at this station.
Review: I can't help but feel the need to write a less-than-memorable review on these books of Frank Herbert. I'm on the verge of giving it away, but if you read them, over %90 of them are people sitting on rock ledges or balconies thinking of plans and plans and plans. The action scenes seemed to be written as if they were afterthoughts, almost a "by the way" feeling. The characters were elaborate, but making them ACT was impossible, and that's why I gave the whole Dune series 2-stars instead of one. If you're thinking about reading them, ask someone who has already read them and then get a summary; it'll be quicker.

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Summary: Dune is a thought provoking masterpiece.
Review: Arthur C. Clark found nothing comparable to it except Lord of the Rings. I find it better.

Dune was, is, and forever shall be, pardon the Dune pun, the God Emperor of science fiction. Nothing, from Tolkien to Poe can beat it.

It starts out cloudy, and especially if you saw the movie first. You find that the slow trickle of Spice is the only way to keep the weakly ruled houses together, through the inefficient practices of the Guild, and keep it together through the iron scepter of the Saduakar and the clay fist of the Emperor Shaddam. But the fat were growing fatter in the old system, quite literally, so the immense and immensely powerful Baron Harkonnen lost fief-ship of the planet Dune, the only place where Spice can be found (at the time). Dune is given to Duke Leto Atreides, but the Baron and Emperor made a pact behind his back and destroyed House Atreides. The traitor and doctor Yueh sabotages the shields, getting Leto killed and his concubine the Bene Gesserit Lady Jessica, and son, Paul Atreides, run into the unbearable desert, home of the worms.

Although I won't give away the later parts, I will tell you it does rule. The only problem: Duncan Idaho dies. He ruled!

I seriously recommend this book. If you ever get the option to read it, do it. Nothing is better. And then read the next ones!
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Summary: Dune - Spice of the Day
Review: Probably the best of his works, Frank Herbert's DUNE is a masterpiece by a master of authors. The story line is rich, with realistic characters portraying people as they really are and not loaded with sugarcoated individuals that survive the entire book and the next four in the series. It begins with Paul Atreides being brought to the desert planet Arrakis, the sole producer of spice, by his father the Duke Leto Atreides. Ambushed in a strange world with his father killed, Paul is taken in by the desert Fremen to become the Kwizatz Haderach... This book can only be compared to Herbert's The Godmakers, another one of Herbert's greatest works. I am also a fan of John Robert Reule (J.R.R.) Tolkien, Tom Clancy, and Clive Cussler; Herbert is one of my favorite authors among the few whose books I look for.

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Summary: Want to be forever changed?
Review: That is how good this book is. I will forever remember it. As previous reviewers said, music that I was listening to at the time and things like that, when I hear it again will bring my mind straight back to DUNE. Dune blends plot, character development, tradegy, and triumph perfectly. I know no other book(s) that can compare to Dune.

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Summary: A Masterpiece
Review: This book is simply one of the greatest books of the 20th Century. It features compelling characters, an intricate plot, and some very interesting ideas about the environment and problems that it may face in the future. I recommend this book to any Science Fiction/Fantasy reader.

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Summary: Masterpiece
Review: This is one of the best science fiction books ever written. The attention to detail is wonderful.

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Summary: great read, geniously written.
Review: the book may have a high reading level and fairly difficult to understand at times, but if you stick with it I garuntee you will like this book.

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Summary: Enter the mind of the future
Review: Pual Maud'Dip, a Duke's son, a Human computer, the ultimate Fighter, a man who see the doors through the corridors of time. Trained from birth in the musculature and mind manipulation of the Bene Gessirit. He is slamed into manhood, when his father is murdered, his house betrayed and the only survivors are him and his mother. Abandoned on possibly the most unhabitable place in the universe, and coincidently the most valuable, they must learn to learn, learn to move, learn to think, learn to fight, and learn to lead a people who have proclamed Him their Messih. This is one of those few masterpieces that can enthral the mind and wrap the senses. It is a fascinating literary accomplishment spaning time and the human mind in a way never before concieved.