Mike added a quote:
"Always do what you are afraid to do." — Ralph Waldo Emerson

Mike read and liked Donovan's review of Dune (Dune 1):

"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 somet...more 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 grouping either. A totally random swath of people I’ve known have considered Dune to have had a very formative role in their growth; one, in particular, credits it with her move away from conservative religion. It is a really big deal to some people.

While I don’t feel like reading Dune changed my life, I did really enjoy it. I suspect I partially enjoyed it just due to contrast. I felt so unstimulated by the Foundation Trilogy that I was thrilled to read something where a “hero” was doing something. It allowed for the “I can change the world” fantasy transposition of reader and main character that I was missing in the Foundation books. I think that having a cast of characters who are active in the whole of the book was an important factor in drawing me into the story.

I also enjoyed it for the richness of the world. That’s where most of the “science” in this fiction was found, and I find myself more drawn to science as I mature. [In fact, I have been disappointed thus far; I want more science, less fiction.] I have to constantly remind myself while reading through the books on this list that these were, presumably, the first books to use these concepts. Frank Herbert made a universe, complete, from Space Guild to sand plankton. Even after years of reading other stories by authors who have done the same, I can still appreciate the depth of thought and idea behind Arrakis and its surrounding universe. I don’t know if I’ve ever read a book which had as great a handle on the ecology of the world in which is was set; if I were pressed, I can only think of Grass by Sherri S. Tepper as coming close.

Equally impressive was his treatment of religion. I especially liked the appendices, which moved even deeper into the evolution of religion over time. Herbert’s answer to how religion [and culture] evolved over the millennia[s] since “Old Earth” is similar in concept to the answer Joss Whedon gave with Firefly. Herbert saw the future as blend of Middle Eastern and Western ways; Whedon’s future is China/America. Being that his focus was religious as opposed to say, economic, this is understandable. It may even have been more base than that. Possibly he chose that direction because Arrakis is most similar to our desert regions where Islam originated, but I think it has more to do with cultural impact than mere climatic coincidence.

I think one of the strongest elements is the writing itself. It’s very well written. Although I had been exposed to 2 movie versions of Dune prior to reading it, almost none of the previous imagery colored my mental image of what the characters and settings were supposed to look like. Weaker writing would have easily allowed my perceptions to be molded by the theatrical versions. I really hate when that happens. I don’t even know how I used to imagine Harry Potter looking before the movies came out. If Paul Atreides looks like anyone in my head that I’ve seen visually, I’d tell you he looks like this kid I went to school with [coincidentally named Paul Strange] [anybody remember that kid?] albeit much more attractive.

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