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Mar 20, 2009

Manny rated it:

There's a characteristically witty essay by Borges about a man who rewrites Don Quixote, many centuries after Cervantes. He publishes a novel with the same title, containing the same words in the same order. But, as Borges shows you, the different cultural context means it's a completely new book! What was once trite and commonplace is now daring and new, and vice versa. It just happens to look like Cervantes's masterpiece.

Similarly, imagine the man who was brave or stupid enough to More...

24 comments like (169 people liked it)

Apr 05, 2011

Joel rated it:

DBR to follow, at Ceridwen's request. She must have used one of her Bene Gesserit tricks on me.

***
Dune. Dune is a fascinating book. A classic of science-fiction, it plays equally as fantasy and allegory. It is deeply textured, richly layered. And if you want to read a sensible review of it, I'd go read, say, Cedriwen's. This one is going to be full of silliness.

Arrakis. The desert planet. Home to spice and sandworms. Dune. You know, I went to the desert once. The Sa More...

47 comments like (29 people liked it)

Aug 25, 2011

Keely rated it:

People often forget that this series is what innovated our modern concept of science fiction (up until Neuromancer and The Martix, at least). Dune took the Space Opera and asked if it might be more than spandex, dildo-shaped rockets, and scantily-clad green women. Herbert created a vast and complex system of ancient spatial politics and peoples, then set them at one another's throats over land, money, and drugs.

Dune is often said to relate to Sci Fi in the same way that Tolkien relat More...

14 comments like (21 people liked it)

Sep 04, 2008

Matt rated it:

Like most of my five star books, I’ve read Dune multiple times. In fact, I’d say that what makes a book more than just enjoyable and instead truly amazing is that you want to read it more than once and are rewarded for doing so. I’ve probably read Dune six times, and I’ve never gotten tired of it but my understanding of the work has increased over time.

To begin with, the first time I read Dune, I got about three pages into it, realized I didn’t understand a thing and that I was hop More...

7 comments like (48 people liked it)

May 10, 2009

Ceridwen rated it:

When my grandfather died, he had a paperback of Dune sitting on his bedside table. Finding it there was like a revelation to me, like the sort of experience only Taoists and Catholic philosophers have a name. He was nearly 70 years older than me, a teetotaler, a hymn singer and dramatist in the Celtic vein, a schoolteacher, a ham. We didn't have a lot in common, as you may might imagine, two generations removed and a gender divided. But I loved him, and he was gone, and here was this book that w More...

27 comments like (130 people liked it)

Dec 16, 2009

John rated it:

No one should argue the importance Dune. It laid the foundations for a great deal of the themes and constructs in modern science fiction. Frank Herbert was as important to the genre as Isaac Asimov and Arthur Clarke. Unfortunately, just like them, he's quite dated, and his books can be a labor to read. One thing he maintained from old science fiction was prim and scientific dialogue that no one would ever actually speak. I've known many scientists, and they don't talk like this. You're not going More...

8 comments like (41 people liked it)

Dec 16, 2009

Keith rated it:

I guess I'm one of the few that bridge the gap between the Pride and Prejudice camp and the Dune camp. I loved both.

Dune isn't a light, enjoyable read. At times it reads more like excerpts from geology, ecology, zoology, sociology, pscyhology, and political textbooks. The characters are more like mega-archetypes than real human beings.

The appeal of Dune is peculiar. In order to enjoy Dune you have to enjoy complexity. All authors create little worlds in their stories but More...

5 comments like (24 people liked it)

Oct 05, 2011

Chris rated it:

As kids, my older brother was a Dune guy, whereas I bowed at the altar of John Ronald Reuel—and neither of us could ever bring ourselves to meet fully in the other's territory. I have tried Frank Herbert's renowned series several times now but have yet to make it further than Dune Messiah, the succinct, but inferior, follow-up to his smash-hit series opener. Everything that constitutes this curiously prescient science-fiction champion appeals to me: an alluringly thoughtful and flush aeon-spanni More...

4 comments like (14 people liked it)

Sep 14, 2008

Adam rated it:

I've read and reread this novel across the years, and I'll continue to do so.

Dune was Frank Herbert's imagination breathed into the pages of a single book. He wrote numerous others to follow it, all of which continue to explore and flesh out the world he introduced us to in this, the first of his Dune series. The world in its pages is so vast and so rife with potential that his son, Brian, has continued in his father's footsteps, writing further explorations of the history that led More...

3 comments like (10 people liked it)

Aug 05, 2010

Becky rated it:

This is one of those books that I've always thought that I should read, but never actually wanted to read, simply because I thought that it would have to be tedious and dry and, I hate to say it, boring. Which goes to show what a poor book-cover judge I am, because this book was anything but tedious, dry or boring. In fact, one of the first things that struck me about this book was the readability and fast-paced action and intrigue. So much happened in such a short amount of time, that I'd have More...

17 comments like (11 people liked it)

Apr 02, 2011

Ben rated it:

Second review (Reviewed on February 12, 2011).

Dune is a classic because it tells a classic story well. It combines two plots that I love: a vast political intrigue with an intimate family conflict. The Atreides and Harkonnens are related by blood; their feud is a blood feud going back generations. Yet their battles are political in scale, using vassals as soldiers and spies in an interstellar chess game where the throne of the Imperium itself is within reach.

In my first revi More...

0 comments like (7 people liked it)

Oct 25, 2007

Donovan rated it:

I had never read Dune. I can’t put my finger on exactly why I hadn’t read it; although, I do have a nebulous memory of picking it up and not being able to get in to it. I know for a fact that I’d read the closing line previously, which is something I never do prior to reading a book; so that is really odd, perhaps it was quoted in either the movie or the miniseries.

I do know people, a surprising number of people, who give Dune an almost Biblical reverence. It isn’t a selective groupi More...

1 comment like (10 people liked it)

Jan 29, 2012

Cindy rated it:

I've spent a few days hoping that my thoughts and feelings about Dune will solidify into one coherent and brilliant essay. There's a lot going on in the book, and there's been a lot going on in my life, so coherency might not be forthcoming.

Dune is intricate, at times confusing, allegorical and meticulously researched story. Even though I didn't fall in love with the characters, I fell in love with the book. It's easy to see how Dune is a classic, often imitated.

I l More...

17 comments like (5 people liked it)

May 05, 2008

Cassidy rated it:

Frank Herbert
Dune
Philadelphia: Chilton Book Company, 1965
pp. 483 (without appendices and glossary), 539 (with app. and glos.), unpriced
ISBN: N/A

Commonly billed as the best-selling science fiction novel of all time, Dune, an expansive tale of intrigue, religion, and human nature set in a semi-recursive far future, is looked upon fondly by newcomers and diehard genre addicts alike. Even without its innumerable critical acclaims, the novel is counted among More...

1 comment like (7 people liked it)

Jun 28, 2011

Ryan rated it:

In Dune, Frank Herbert sets his young hero, Paul "Muad'Dib" Atreides, on a course that will involve the loss of his father, isolation in a sandworm infested desert, a vicious and bloody revolution that will -- this is at worst a PG 13 spoiler -- result in him becoming the head of an intergalactic empire.

It's a tough road, but Paul's up to it, largely because he has some of the greatest mentors in the history of science fiction and fantasy.

The list must surely st More...

9 comments like (4 people liked it)

Feb 29, 2008

Karen rated it:

I've read this before and liked it; several portions stick vividly in my mind but I never read the rest of the series. I still don't expect to read the rest of the series, but my friend just read it and has brought it up a few times in conversation so when they had it on the "Librarians' Picks" shelf at the--guess where?!--library I grabbed it.

ADDED FEBRUARY 26:
The book has some odd characteristics of the writing that I am overlooking in favor of the story. I don't li More...

1 comment like (6 people liked it)

Feb 10, 2008

Jacob added it

If this isn't a formative text, then I don't know what is. I figure evangelicals have the bible, and usually a regressive translation at that, while my family had weird science fiction novels. One that all ten of my brothers and sisters read was Dune. It's true. I grew up in a large family. A sprawling sort of California family of Hippie-Hillbillies positioned precariously on the edge of the continent that seemed to be positioning itself to dump us all into the ocean. We had a small herd of goat More...

3 comments like (5 people liked it)

Oct 11, 2007

Matt rated it:

This is the best book ever written. Cerebrally stimulating for anyone. When we attempt to understand why entertainment of this caliber (Lord of the Rings, Star Wars) and mass appeal (Harry Potter) resonates so strongly with us, many are quick to utilize Jungian archetypes to support such effects.

I haven't heard it said for this novel and for good reason, I believe. Herbert didn't draw upon existing archetypes to flesh out his story, He created completely different new ones. Herbert' More...

2 comments like (9 people liked it)

Jan 31, 2008

Chris rated it:

When I was a kid, I tried about a dozen times to get through this book. My mom loved it, so I figured I'd give it a try, but this book definitely has a high learning curve and I had low patience.

Years later, of course, when I knew something more about politics, religion, science and life in general, I raced through the book - I devoured it. It's a fantastic work, well deserving of its place in the science fiction pantheon. The movies are good too, though if I could find a way to cros More...

0 comments like (6 people liked it)

Sep 13, 2008

Brooke rated it:

I've never given a book 5 stars instantly upon finishing it. My 5-star favorites became favorites after they had time to stick around in my mind for a year or so while my devotion to them grew. It's entirely possible Dune will join them in the future, but right now it's hard to tell. If I could, I would give it 4.5 for now.

Dune has the qualities that a lot of my favorites have. It's an epic, sprawling story with its own vocabulary, a fully-realized world and deep characters. Like a l More...

3 comments like (8 people liked it)

Mar 03, 2009

Beth rated it:

Sitting here on the desert planet -- uh State, Arakkis -- I mean California, I'm staring in amazement as water actually falls from the sky.

This grand sprawling book has a lot to offer: genetic engineer witches, religion as premeditated social engineering, amazing heroic islamists -- I mean Fremen battling the decadent western -- uh Harkonen imperialists, ecology, jihad, water conservation tips, really crazy drugs, vermiculture on a grand scale and a Messiah. At age 11 when I first r More...

7 comments like (3 people liked it)

Mar 09, 2009

Terence rated it:

Don't mistake me, Dune, the novel, retains its 4+ stars in my heavens. This audio version gets the lesser rating because of deficiencies in presentation.

The good side of the CD is that, as happened while listening to Tolkien's The Silmarillion, I heard a lot of things I had missed or glossed over in my many rereadings of the book. (I first read Dune when I was 12 or so.) For example, I had never really grasped the "ecological" theme of the novel that many critics point to. More...

4 comments like (9 people liked it)

Apr 15, 2010

Tatiana rated it:

I like books for different reasons - characters, writing style, exciting plot. I will remember "Dune" for its remarkable world-building.

Dune (or Arrakis) is a desert planet. It is barren, almost waterless, and it is the only source of melange - a spice with unique geriatric qualities - it extends lives, enhances mental abilities, and is necessary for space travel. Dune is at the center of an Imperial scheme to bring down the influential House of Atreides led by Duke Leto At More...

9 comments like (8 people liked it)

Mar 11, 2011

David rated it:

Dune, by Frank Herbert, is by far one of the most thought provoking books that I have ever read. It has been described by critics as a “triumph of the imagination”, and is often cited as the best-selling science fiction novel ever to be written. It is set thousands of years in the future, in which mankind now inhabits far-flung regions of the galaxy. The story delves deep in the life of a young boy named Paul Atreides, who being intellectually superior to us in the 21st century, enjoys greater a More...

2 comments like (5 people liked it)

Jun 13, 2010

Pavel rated it:

Since majority of my goodreads friends have read this book, I see no reason to re-tell its plot etc. All I have to say is that it is incredibly fun read and probably second fantasy book I really ever liked after Lord of the Rings. Evil is rarely that vivid and hateable, Freemens are totally cool. I feel sad that I was fooled by bad David Lynch movie and didn't read this book in my teen age. I believe I would enjoy it even more back then. It was hardly D. Lynch's fault with "Dune" thoug More...

6 comments like (3 people liked it)

Jul 22, 2008

TeraD rated it:

Dune is a fantastic book. The confusion of the first few pages as you enter a new world quickly dissipates as you feel yourself drawn in and understanding begin to seep from the pages of the story. The imagery is amazing, the attention to detail enthralling and the characters deep and well-developed. This easily fits into my group of most favorite books.

A section of the story that I really enjoyed was the mention of Heisenberg. The reader is engulfed in this alien world and suddenly More...

0 comments like (5 people liked it)

Jul 09, 2007

Jason rated it:

Like many, my relationship with this science-fiction classic has changed as my life has progressed: too dense for me when first attempted as a young teen, by the time I was an undergraduate it was one of my all-time favorite novels; but then while reading it again near the age of 40, found a lot more problems with it than I had before, and more parts that made me roll my eyes and quietly laugh. Maybe this is why so many people over history have enjoyed the first novel but never read any of the r More...

0 comments like (7 people liked it)

Sep 07, 2010

Beggs rated it:

I first read Dune one summer sitting in an old arm chair in the basement of my grandparents house in rural Minnesota. I found a copy of Dune on the book shelf next to Louis Lamour western and Readers Digest Condensed Books when I was 14 or so. A battered musty original print run version that had belonged to my uncle. I read it in 3 days sitting in the basement in a chair that is probably older than me.

I still have that copy of Dune — it’s held together by a strip of Duck Tape along t More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Dec 16, 2009

Aerin rated it:

Dune is a difficult read. I'd tried to get through it twice before this, over a period of a couple of years; neither time could I get past the first hundred or so pages. But as a sci-fi fan, I felt somewhat obliged to finish it, since it's considered a classic of the genre.

And it is an excellent book. Once I got through the dense, boring exposition, I found myself in a complex and fully-imagined universe. Although the political intrigues weren't really my cup of tea, and the myst More...

0 comments like (6 people liked it)

Apr 09, 2007

Katie rated it:

I've loved science fiction my whole life, but I was finally told that I couldn't call myself a SF fan if I hadn't read Dune. So I read it. I know Dune is worshipped as a paragon of groundbreaking SF, I can witness and acknowledge Herbert's genius, and I can understand that when it was written it was certainly seminal, but I still don't think much of it.

Aside from Herbert's horribly annoying use of 3rd-person-omnipotent viewpoint, he's just not a good writer. For clarification: he' More...

7 comments like (8 people liked it)

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