Dune: Deluxe Hardcover Edition

Earlier this year, I decided to actively stop doom scrolling. With the help of Opal to limit my access to social media on my phone, I had a ton of time to kill. I didn't want to go back to playing video games, I have probably played enough video games for two lifetimes, and I could only spend so much time job hunting, so I decided to give reading a real shot. Truth is, I never enjoyed reading as a kid. It always felt like homework, like something forced, and that took all the fun out of it. So why did I pick Dune? I really enjoyed the movies by Denis Villeneuve, and something about the book pulled me in. At that point, I could not tell if I chose Dune or if Dune chose me. 📖 Now onto the actual review. 🚨 Spoiler Alert 🚨 “The mystery of Dune is not a problem to solve, but a reality to experience.” Dune feels less like a book and more like entering a world that already exists. Published in 1965 by Chilton, a company better known for auto repair manuals, it is packed with politics, philosophy, religion, ecology, prophecy, drugs, hallucinogenics, and deep world building. Following Paul Atreides (protagonist) from royal heir to outcast to leader of the Fremen to emperor felt like going through a transformation alongside him. I found myself learning about resilience, how to navigate a future you can see coming but cannot avoid, and what it really means to lead. Each chapter gave me something to think about. Even more, Dune feels very relevant today given our current political climate. Power, manipulation, religion, and control over resources are all central themes, and they hit differently when you look at the world around you. 💡 Pro tip for reading Dune Frank Herbert does not hold your hand. He drops you into a world filled with esoteric technology, unfamiliar terminology, and a culture with its own rules. It can feel overwhelming at first, but do not get discouraged if you do not understand everything right away. Let the world unfold as you go. I ended up reading the first three books in the series, Dune, Dune Messiah, and Children of Dune, and then went back to re-read Dune. This review is based on that second read, and it is amazing how much more you pick up the second time through. What also helped was reading the graphic novels alongside the book. They do not include every detail, but they stay faithful to the story and help bring the world to life visually. Also, if you have not watched the recent movies directed by Denis Villeneuve, they are worth checking out. I saw them before reading, and they helped me better understand the characters and major plot points.

I absolutely love Dune (my dad got me into it recently), and I really enjoyed reading it. It is a bit confusing a times, but luckily there are appendixes at the end of the book as well as terminology of the imperium all in alphabetical order (which helps A LOT when you get confused on some of the terminology of Dune), cartographic notes, a map, and an afterword. Aside from the fact that it was a bit confusing for me at times though, it's an amazing book and I had so much fun reading it as well as watching all of the Dune movies out there. It's an amazing and classic sci-fi franchise, and I would highly recommend it!

A Bene Gesserit proverb: “When religion and politics travel in the same cart, the riders believe nothing can stand in their way.” I have to be honest, as a contemporary consumer of sci-fi film, small screen works and books, Frank Herbert’s 1965 Dune starts out slow. To be clear, I’m talking about the first half of some 800 pages. The reason why I stuck it out, though, is because I know the saga gets better as it continues (with Children of Dune being arguably the favorite). Known as one of the original sci-fi novels, I approached it like I would any classic piece of literature. And you know what? I’d put Dune in my personal cannon of classic lit because of it’s heavy influence on sci-fi … everything. That’s right, not even Star Wars would exist without Dune. Herbert, a (sometimes struggling) freelance writer with a passion for ecology and a streak of utopian futurism, wrote Dune when he was almost 40 years old. At the time, sci-fi readers generally liked their stories short but this paperback was almost 900 pages. Not surprising, Dune wasn’t an overnight success but it’s popularity grew in the 1970s and 1980s. Dune is set in a dry, distant future, where warring noble houses are kept in line by an interstellar empire. The noble duke Leto (heir apparent Paul Atreides’ father), head of the House Atreides, is forced to move his household from their perfectly good home planet to the desert planet of Arrakis (also known as Dune). The climate on Dune is practically inhabitable to the layman. Water is so scarce that whenever its inhabitants go outside, they must wear stillsuits, which capture body moisture and recycle it for drinking (it’s beyond nasty). In a nutshell, the whole thing is a classic you killed my father and I’m going to get revenge coming of age story. Everything else revolves around the hot commodity on Arrakis, which is basically a very powerful and desired drug: Spice (melange). This cinnamon-scented substance is made from excretions of killer 1,000-foot sand worms (yes, I had a lot of Tremors flashbacks reading this book), gas, then exposure to the sun — but to mine it is very dangerous because said worms don’t like noise. At all. The drug is crazy addictive but it’s also everywhere in small doses, so everyone that lives on or visits the planet has to stay, or else suffer fatal dopesickness. For empathic people, it helps explore the limits of personal identity and the mind’s relationship to the body. Daily use extends the lifespan by hundreds of years. Paul’s intellectual state (already Jedi-like due to his Bene Gesserit training) is heightened by the spice, causing some pretty spot-on nuggets of wisdom. Fear is a mind-killer. “Fear is the little death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past me I will turn to see fear’s path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain,” Paul reminds his mother at one point. While commentary on fear is serious and quite important to ponder, I’m reminded of the advice from the late Patrick Swayze’s character in Point Break: “Fear causes hesitation. And hesitation causes your greatest fear to come true.” By 1984 we had our very own Dune movie, directed by David Lynch (I’ve yet to see it but to be fair Lynch didn’t even like the cut that was released). Critics say an even better Dune movie came out later: Star Wars. Desert planets, evil emperors, a boy with a destiny, warring noble houses and a princess guarding spice — all things borrowed from Dune. There are mental Jedi powers like the Bene Gesserit, and even moisture farming like the Freman. Academics have written entire doctoral thesis on the topic. What’s next? Well, I’m waiting for the new Dune feature film to come out (prob not until late 2020), directed by Dennis Villeneuve. A feat that’s proven difficult today due to the original book’s heavy influence on so many well-established sci-fi classics like Star Wars. Consequently, it’s been rumored difficult to get the screenplay right. But in July 2019, Herbert’s son Brian (who co-wrote prequels to the Dune saga after his father’s death) said he’s seen and is pleased with draft four of the screenplay … in the meantime, I’m reading Dune Messiah. And drinking a tall glass of ice water.

“Ish yara al-ahdab hadbat-u” Though I’ve given DUNE 5⭐️ and will definitely reread it at some point, there are things (serious and not so much) to complain about. Before that, if you’re thinking of reading DUNE but feel intimidated, don’t be. Despite its complex themes of religion, colonialism and ecology, at its core DUNE is a story about a 15yo intergalactic hero 💫 🦸 It’s highly entertaining and has cool fighting scenes and badass moments. Though, if you haven’t watched the movies and are not familiar with all the terms, a glossary may help you survive the first few pages. Or you can rely on your SFF reader muscles💪 Now, to the complaints. From petty to serious. ① PRESENTLY Can you guess Frank Herbert’s favorite word? I’m convinced it’s “presently”. Throughout the first book, it is used 58 TIMES😱 I really-really got tired of it😓 ② BABY-FAT BARON Same with “FAT”, but it’s worse because it involves portraying a villain as an obese man. Fat Baron has fat fingers and a baby-fat face. First of all, what a disturbing imagery🤢 And secondly, we got it after a few times! Not need to repeat it every time the character enters the scene. ③ POOR FREMEN To avoid spoilers, I’ll just say that they are exploited by every outsider. And I mean EVERY. With one exception, but that exception doesn’t…end up well💀 As a person from a country that has been exploited over and over, I was fuming😡 To be fair though, I think Herbert did it on purpose. So it’s not a valid complaint😅 ④ HIDDEN MISOGYNY Now to the actual problem. On the surface, Dune has prominent female characters in positions of power. And it made me excited for this world. But the more I read the more frustrated I got. I felt like a horse with a dangling carrot in front of me. There’s a women-only order that has vast knowledge and power? Oh no, they are called witches and hated throughout the universe. Fremen have a female spiritual leader AND their women have an equal footing with men? Oh no, tribe’s women are actually passed to a new man if their husband dies. And have no say in it for a full year. Sorry, what? ALL prominent positions are held my men? No waaay😐 And don’t get me started on the situation with concubines and “the history will remember us as wives” speech🎤 🔥 And despite all my complaints about this unaware misogyny, Herbert is known to be the SF writer who laid the groundwork for future feminist writes like Ursula K. Le Guin. Great, but how bad were things before ?🧐 So, did I hate Dune? To be honest, even if tried, I don’t think I could. It has so much to offer that it overweights the negative. Now go read Dune, if you haven’t already. It, no doubt, is worth your time✌🏻 “Bi-la Kaifa”

"Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past - will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain." - Frank Herbert, "Dune" Dune is widely known to be one of the greatest science fiction novels ever written and has sold tens of millions of copies all over the world, in more than 20 languages. It is to science fiction what The Lord of the Rings trilogy is to fantasy, the most highly regarded works in their respective genres. Of course, Dune is not just science fiction. It includes strong elements of fantasy and contains so many important layers beneath the storyline that it has become a mainstream classic. The novel was first published in hardcover in 1965 by Chilton Books, best known for their immense auto repair novels. No other publisher would touch the book, in part because of the length of the manuscript. They felt it was far too long at 200,000 words when most novels of that day were only a quarter to a third that length. Dune would require immense printing costs and a high hardcover price for the time in excess of five dollars. No science fiction novel had ever commanded a retail price that high. But, what does the world of Dune make it so unique? •DUNE CLEARLY PROVIDES AN ALTERNATIVE TO THE FERMI PARADOX: For the unfamiliar, the Fermi paradox poses a simple question. The universe is infinitely large, which means an exceedingly high probability for other life forms to exist. So if that is the case, where are the aliens? Unlike regular science fiction material, in Dune there are no aliens. There is seldom any mention of alien life forms in either the books or the movie. The truth is, Herbert envisioned humans spreading out so far and wide in the universe that they become alien among themselves. This is beautifully depicted in both movies where the Harkonnens living on Geidi Prime look seemingly closer to an alien life form than a regular human being. Of course, the reason for this, in a nutshell, is because Geidi Prime’s “sun” is a black sun and hence causes their skin to be exceedingly pale and their heads bald. This small change by Herbert to not include aliens in his world not only emphasizes the sheer size at which the human population has grown but also is the most realistic answer to one of the most debated topics of all time. •BENE GESSERIT TRICKS SEEM LIKE “MAGIC” TO US BUT AREN’T: To the average viewer (myself included on the first viewing), watching the Bene Gesserit would have immediately reminded us of “witches” and “magic”. However, the back story for their powers is far deeper. Thousands of years before the events of the movie/book, an event known as “The Butlerian Jihad” took place in which humans destroyed all “thinking machines” (machines we call “AI” today). When humans soon realized that they could not rely on machines to go about their daily businesses, schools dedicated to “unlocking” the human potential opened up and soon people began focusing best on how to hone human senses and perception to cope with the loss of the machines. Thus, the “Bene Gesserit” isn’t really a bunch of women just saying a few funny-sounding words. It is the consequence of hundreds of thousands of years of carefully selective breeding and humans’ abilities evolving over time. Most sci-fi material focuses on machines and fancy robots, often forgetting about the human aspect of evolution. While Herbert doesn’t go into super scientific detail on how these newfound abilities can be achieved, he doesn’t need to — For it would certainly be naive to think that humans would not have enhanced natural abilities thousands of years from now. •SPACE TRAVEL IS SHOWN TO BE AN ARDUOUS TASK AND NOT YOUR AVERAGE WALK DOWN THE STREET: One criticism I have of science fiction material is how easy it makes space travel out to be. Dune, however, is the opposite. Thanks to how rare it is to find spice, space travel is shown to be an expedition that can only be undertaken by the privileged. This is beautifully depicted in the first movie in one of my favorite scenes which I call “Leaving Caladan” (with an epic score by Hans Zimmer to boot). The Atreides are preparing to leave their home planet of Caladan to the harsh desert planet, Arrakis. The scene lasts for 1 minute and 37 seconds and it has zero dialogue but it is a masterful portrayal of how difficult space travel is and how daunting it is to travel between worlds. Two particular moments from this scene stand out to me. 1• Paul, touching water and seeing the sunset on Caladan: The obvious interpretation of this is, of course, that Paul is trying to just feel water for the last time given Arrakis has almost none of it. But it also could be symbolic as in to suggest the sun is setting on his “childhood innocence”. Leaving Caladan is the straw that breaks the camel’s back for the Atreides and forces Paul down the golden path of “Lisan Al Gaib”.  2• Duke Leto placing a hand on lady Jessica‘s shoulder. In just a few frames, Villeneuve captures the enormity of the journey they are about to undertake, the love between Leto and Jessica, and also foreshadows Leto’s demise by placing his face just outside the frame.  Some would say that Herbert walked a fine line between science fiction and fantasy and they may well be right but throughout the book (and indeed the movie), Herbert doesn’t stray away from the laws of thermodynamics, particularly the first law - “Energy can neither be created nor destroyed. It can only be transformed from one form to another”. This fine line allows Herbert to keep Dune within “science fiction” territory but also unique enough to distinguish itself from regular sci-fi material. Dune is set in the distant future in a feudal interstellar society descended from terrestrial humans in which various noble houses control planetary fiefs. It tells the story of young Paul Atreides, whose family reluctantly accepts the stewardship of the planet Arrakis. While the planet is an inhospitable and sparsely populated desert wasteland, it is the only source of melange or “spice”, an enormously valuable drug that extends life and enhances mental abilities. Melange is also necessary for space navigation, which requires a kind of multidimensional awareness and foresight that only the drug provides. As melange can also be produced on Arrakis, control of the planet is a coveted and dangerous undertaking. The story explores the multilayered interactions of politics, religion, ecology, technology, and human emotion as the factions of the empire confront each other in a struggle for the control of Arrakis and its spice.

Dune A book review by Nathan Poulson Written by Frank Herbert in 1959, “Dune” is an epic adventure of political betrayal, ecological brinkmanship, and messianic deliverance. It won science fiction’s highest awards—the Hugo and the Nebula—and went on to sell more than twelve million copies during Herbert’s lifetime. The mantel piece of sci-fi, Star Wars, owes many of its’ widely popular ideas to Dune. To this day, it is still acclaimed by readers and critics alike as a “science-fiction masterpiece”. I highly recommend it to all readers, as I believe it will put a new perspective on things, deepen your understanding, and excite you to the edge of your seat. Dune follows the 15 year old boy Paul Atriedies and his mother, Jessica Atriedies in the very distant future. He is an only child of the duke of the Royal house of Atriedies. The house is given the stewardship over the desert planet of Arrakis or “Dune”, which controls the most valuable resource in the universe, the spice. On the planet where water is more valuable than gold, desert sand worms that are bigger than spaceships, life is lived to the extreme. With the spice comes a longer life span, increased perception, and in some cases prediction of the future, but at the cost of being highly addictive. The Harkonens, a noble house that previously owned the planet is intent on revenge and recapturing the spice. The spacing guild, which relies on the spice for navigating their spacecraft, is also intent on preventing anyone restricting or destroying their monopoly on space travel. Paul finds himself thrown into the mystery of Dune and its fierce natives, the Fremen. They think he is the savior their prophecy speaks of - is he destined to be the great preserver of their world or a false prophet to be purged? With multiple factions fighting, deceiving, and pulling strings, you never know quite what to expect in this awesome futuristic battleground. One side I really like about Dune is that it is not just a distant sci-fi to be enjoyed, but a book to learn and understand from. I really enjoy the themes Herbert establishes in the plot; one of them including the danger of entrusting too much power to a super being. Although his themes might be very serious and almost depressing, I admire that he has the courage to end the story based in reality, instead of a unrealistic Hollywood ending with no depth. Although the plot was very engaging, at some times the writing style really dragged things down. This can be a real turn off for even patient readers as Frank ambles around in unimportant details describing made up words and the very boring thought process of the characters. This is the one thing that made this otherwise a perfect book. Even though I thought the plot was almost pulling me down, somehow I still enjoyed it through the few sparks of almost perfect harmony when the style actually worked for the story. What makes Dune so special is the pure atmosphere. You can really tell that Frank put in a lot of effort into his fictional world and society. Even though the story is set in another universe, the planets, the characters, and the motives seem very real. He had the worlds built before he set the plot on them; you can see he studied Greek and Near East history extensively to make this book really come to life. Most books have characters that you can easily relate to. With Dune, it is a little bit harder to do that. In it, you have a story that instead of a personal account, it is more like a “retelling” and it is sometimes a little harder to relate to the feelings and values of the characters. My favorite character Paul is the most distant character for most of the book. Most of this isolation comes from the fact that people look to him as an idol, even though he still has human flaws. Throughout the book Paul is the character with the most burdens, and in constant pressure that he doesn’t measure up to other’s expectation of him. “They think they have a God, but I am only a man”. In reality he is a character we can all reflect from, he just has some layers in his personality that you have to peel away to really get to the core. This book is near from perfect, but it still hits home. Frank Herbert has done a difficult thing that combines ancient myths and stories with laser guns and mind control. He was the first one to do it, and the last to do it so well. Even without its deeper meanings, this is still a great read to just casually absorb. I cannot explain to you how amazing this book really is; so experience it yourself and pick up a copy, you will be surprised to what it has to offer.

Frank Herbert's Dune is simultaneously one of the most sublime and frustrating works of literature ever produced. I gave this novel a 5/5 rating outright for two reasons: it's my favorite novel, one I never tire of re-reading; and it's a book that should be read at least once by anyone interested in science fiction, fantasy, history, political science, economics, mysticism, or narrative. Regardless of whether or not someone actually enjoys Dune, every reader can glean something from it. That said, were it not for the latter two points, I would likely give this novel a lower rating, and here's why: Dune sacrifices storytelling for story. What in the name of Thor am I talking about? Let me explain. The world-building of Dune is outstanding, and I mean, REALLY outstanding. Tolkien can't hold a candle to Herbert's work in this regard - sure, he came up with a number of artificial languages, but from a narrative perspective that's actually one of the less productive things you can do to flesh out a setting. In Dune, every story element has relevance and connection to every other story element. The political reality of the galaxy depends on economic power, which is derived from trade, which is made possible by the Spacing Guild, who uses the spice, which exists only on Arrakis, whose administration depends upon the political climate. Paul's character is related to the mystical aspects of the story, but also brings relevance to the ecological and historical aspects. And so on, and so on. There isn't a loose thread here, no equivalent of the Fellowship of the Ring's Barrow-wights; nothing here could be removed from the whole package without substantially diminishing it. Tapping into all of these fundamental spheres of thought and creativity gives Dune the feeling of being a real history, and it gives the reader the feeling they're witnessing a change in the axis of civilization - something more subtly epic than big battles, of which we only get one (and an indirectly described one at that). That said, because Herbert is so dedicated to giving us as much material to work with as he can, in many instances this novel misses out on what might have been effective dramatic elements. An important plot point early on in the book is the supposed presence of a traitor in the midst of the Atreides, a traitor who will make the Harkonnen plot possible. Ordinarily I wouldn't mention this for spoiler concerns, but the novel basically comes out and tells you who the traitor is from the beginning, a while before it even comes into play in the events of the story. The reason this is problematic is because in a story which is so dependent upon political intrigue, it makes the decisions of the characters more powerful when we share in the mystery of the information around them. Another narrative problem is Paul himself. Though he is unquestionably the central character of the story as well as its protagonist, Paul starts off as a precocious fifteen-year-old and ends as a major player in galactic politics. In other words, he starts of as unrelatable and becomes less relatable as time goes by. In fact, several of my friends told me they stopped reading after a while because they didn't like Paul. This is an entirely fair criticism. In fact, the only character with whom a reader could form a true emotional connection would be Paul's mother, the Lady Jessica, whose problems are much more grounded in humanity. Now Paul's nature is basically vital to the fabric of the story, so it would diminish the story's complexity for him to become a more human character; but Dune would undoubtedly have been an easier reading experience had the novel chosen to focus on Jessica. This should give you a taste of what I mean. Dune isn't a novel that really engages a reader on an emotional level; because it reads so much like a history, it engages you on intellectual and thematic levels - but again, not emotionally. This is still my favorite novel, because measured against the standards of what it's trying to accomplish it succeeds beautifully; but potential readers should know what sort of undertaking they're facing when they pick this up.

Being as long as it has been since I've last read Dune, eight or nine years or so, I had a small worry that my extremely high opinion of the book was at least slightly inflated by time's passage and fond memory. The first chapter alone was enough to dissuade me of that. I sit here now, having just finished, with full confirmation that Dune remains on the throne my thirteen-year-old self set it upon; that of my favorite book. Herbert's writing is sharp, his ideas are powerful, and he is willing to dive deep immediately. He asks much of the reader, providing a glossary and gently insisting we keep up. Those types of stories are the most rewarding, I've found. Forgive me but most of this review, all of it perhaps, will be unfiltered praise. This book means a lot to me; it has for a long time. And revisiting it, in light of all the exciting movie news with Denis Villeneuve, was more than a treat. I will refrain from summarizing the story; it's likely you know what it's about. If not, Goodreads has neatly summarized it better than I will. The book, and the prose in general, holds up extremely well for having been written over fifty years ago. Admittedly the character thoughts and some dialogue is a little stiff in areas. But not so much so that it hindered my enjoyment in any way. Additionally I'm not used to omniscient narration; you just don't see it that often currently. I don't at least. So the POV hopping without chapter or line breaks took just a little getting used to. Having said that, I am so impressed by Herbert's expertise at moving his story using the art of conversation, and all its minutiae. This is especially true when Fremen are in conversation with non-natives, and the culture clash is on display. If you hold it in your hand, what you hold is more than a mere science fiction novel. It breaks through those boundaries as a worm broaching the desert surface. This is a space-fantasy, and a heady mixture. The story is wrapped up as much in mysticism and religion as it is in technology; more so even. It is as concerned with ecological prediction and deep, flowing political undercurrents as it is with a well-written fight scene. It is the perfect mixture of odd-future strangeness, vast cosmic scope, and spiritual involvement that stitches the story up at the seams. Prophecy, and psychedelic consciousness-expansion through the addictive spice melange, are as much the heart of this story as laser guns and space ships. So much so that one wonders just how many mushrooms Frank Herbert was eating as he penned this thing in the 1960's. And I'm only kind of kidding. Herbert, with this first story alone, never mind the sequels, displays an absolute mastery of world-building. He has just the right flavors of real-world inspiration and influence to make it all feel familiar; especially in the touches of Eastern influence, down to the broken remnants of Sanskrit appearing in the Fremen language. It all just feels so feasible. Like you're at once reading a manual of our distant future and texts of our ancient past. Meeting in the now. That ethereal, dream-like moment of present time. The now. It's clear I've been infected by the mood of the story. And beyond anything else, the story is itself is just so interesting. I found it hard to put down even for a moment. Even the epigraphs are worth a session of deep thought, and clearly lead the way for popular usage in things like Sanderson's Cosmere stories. Dune influenced so much that followed it it's just undeniable. I can't help but draw parallels with the Wheel of Time, which I'm in the middle of. I drew comparisons with the Aiel/Fremen immediately when I started reading WoT, and that comparison is reinforced. As are other little things that hint at direct homage (Shaitan being the name for Satan in Dune, for example). I remember, all those years ago in Frogtown Books, the quote on the back that caught my eye. 'I know nothing comparable to it except the Lord of the Rings.' What higher praise? Here is a book that transformed the landscape of science fiction; just as it transformed, for me, what fiction can be. Something like Dune is extremely hard to review for me, so forgive my love affair in the form of language. I just can't say enough good things. Dune shaped my reading life growing up, and now I remember why. I can do nothing more but urge you to read it.

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A very good hardcase version of dune. Together with Dune: Messiah of the same publisher really good. Just fair warning there is no children of dune in this version

Simplesmente obrigatório. Uma obra-prima que deveria ser mais conhecida. O autor Frank Herbert tem uma narrativa lenta, porém cativante; você sempre sabe que algo vai acontecer, então não fica chato. O narrador é onisciente, o que é mais comum na época dele; não se usa muito mais hoje em dia. O leitor atual prefere que estória seja contada do ponto de vista de um único personagem, pois as imagens ficam melhores na cabeça. Mas Herbert conta sua estória com maestria, cativando mesmo até os leitores mais novos. E o fato de vermos os pensamentos de todos os personagens ajuda, pois é uma estória bem política, com cada um tendo sua própria agenda (o que não funcionou bem no filme do David Lynch, diga-se de passagem. Vamos ver como Dennis Villaneuve vai fazer na adaptação dele). A jornada do protagonista, Paul Atreides, é uma jornada do anti-herói muito bem executada. Os temas de ecologia, futurismo, política, etc. também são dignos de nota. Até os nomes fictícios são ótimos. Eles soam muito bem. "Ele É o kwisatz haderach!"; "Bene gesserit" ; as famílias "Atreides" e "Harkonnen". Como não gostar desses nomes? E o sistema de magia também é muito bom. Está bem mais para hard magic do que soft magic (Brandon Sanderson), o que, mais uma vez, funciona melhor nesse tipo de estória. Espero que as pessoas leiam e falem mais dessa obra. É bem possível, por causa do novo filme.

Frank Herbert's "Dune" is a fascinating, layered, and deep book. I read the book continuously until I reached the last page. Even though I knew that this book was the first of a series of six books (more, if you include the 'Dune' books his son wrote), from the ending, it was clear that the story was incomplete. The tale follows the fortunes of the young Paul Atreides's transformation from a young adolescent to a powerful man. Frank Herbert set the story in the distant future, where ruling houses control entire planets. The planetary fiefdoms are a far cry from the world we live in and will make a discerning reader wonder if we are heading in that direction. Kingdoms rise and fall, and when Paul's father is assassinated, he and his mother, the witch, Lady Jessica, find themselves lost on the desert planet, Arrakis, which is also the only source of mélange, or 'spice,' the valuable drug that enhances mental abilities and is the required for space travel. The book explores numerous themes – the rise and fall of empires, the coming of age, the exploitation and struggle for resources, love and politics, and the intersection of religion and politics – which demand careful consideration. Through the tale, he keeps you engrossed, but the book demands patient reading. He divided the story into three sections, each corresponding to a different phase in Paul's life. A few themes fascinated me. One is the value of water on a desert planet, where people regard even a teardrop as a precious source of water. The way they treat the dead before burying them should make us shiver and ask if this is our future. The second theme that intrigued me is the importance of mental power and magic. Even in the distant future, he envisioned, mental prowess is critical for survival. However, would he believe the same in these days of computer super-intelligence? Last, there is a strong connection between religion, mysticism, and political power. Love is always sacrificed at the altar of political power, even in the distant future Frank Herbert envisioned. The book is fascinating, and when you finish the story, you will want to read the next installment.

Hace ya años que leí Dune por primera vez, y me encantó. A partir de leer Ready Player One, estoy volviendo a leer mucha ciencia ficción, con lo que valía la pena revisitar Dune. Es un libro espectacular. Personajes bien trazados, un universo interesante, una trama potente, y un desarrollo perfectamente elaborado. Junto con Fundación, es mi libro favorito de ciencia ficción, y es por algo. Además, es una caso muy claro en el que la película (ni la mini-serie) llegan a dar una idea lo más mínimanete remota de la historia que te cuenta el libro, con lo que vale mucho la pena leerlo. En cuanto a la edición, totalmente correcta. Típico ebook, que se lee perfectamente en el kindle. Un poco caro, pero muy recomendable.