From the Bookshelf of Sci-fi and Heroic Fantasy…

Dune (Dune #1)

Frank Herbert

Start date: April 1, 2012

Finish date: May 1, 2012

Discussion: Book Discussions

Why we're reading this: April 2012 Group Read
Hugo Award 1966 (tie)
Nebula Award Winner 1966 (tie)
#4 on NPR's Top 100 SF/F novels o…more
[close] April 2012 Group Read
Hugo Award 1966 (tie)
Nebula Award Winner 1966 (tie)
#4 on NPR's Top 100 SF/F novels of all time (2011 poll) http://www.npr.org/2011/08/11/1390858...
#1 on Locus Magazines Best SciFi novels of the 20th century http://www.locusmag.com/2012/AllCentu...

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What Members Thought

Aug 16, 2010 Athena Shardbearer rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: buddy-read, epic, lord-markus-the-book-pusher, fan-fucking-tastic

Re-Read with Markus

"Who rules here?" Paul asked. He raised his fist. "I rule here! I rule on every square inch of Arrakis! This is my ducal fief whether the Emperor says yea or nay! He gave it to my father and it comes to me through my father!"

When I was 12 I was obsessing over a book my mom just bought, Memoirs of Cleopatra. I kid you not, I read this book maybe three times in a span of two months. That book is massive! 1000 plus pages...it kept me busy for some time. But with all our favorite ...more

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Mar 16, 2014 Ivy rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorites, audible-owned, science-fiction

I had started Dune in the summer of 2015, but it wasn't the right book for me at the time. I gave up near the end of book 1, and figured I'd never pick it up again. Fast forward to this summer. I was in the mood for something epic, and this was it! I can absolutely understand how this is the best selling science fiction novel of all time. The characters are some of the best, they come alive off of the page (or through the speaker if you listen to the audiobook), the culture, the religious belief ...more

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Aug 30, 2011 Fungus Gnat rated it really liked it

The young heir to a planet’s throne is singled out for a mysterious destiny. So begins an epic tale of interplanetary power struggle that weaves together politics, religion, and the remarkable ecology and sociology of a desert planet. For its insights into Paul Atreides’ psychology and the challenge set for him by his unwanted vocation and his psychic powers, for the comprehensiveness with which it portrays Arrakis, for the individuality and vividness of its characters, and for the quality of it The young heir to a planet’s throne is singled out for a mysterious destiny. So begins an epic tale of interplanetary power struggle that weaves together politics, religion, and the remarkable ecology and sociology of a desert planet. For its insights into Paul Atreides’ psychology and the challenge set for him by his unwanted vocation and his psychic powers, for the comprehensiveness with which it portrays Arrakis, for the individuality and vividness of its characters, and for the quality of its writing, this book easily stands with the best of the ten years preceding—notably "A Canticle for Leibowitz"—atop the pile of sf. It’s far more sophisticated than the closest thing to it at that point in scope and ambition, which would have to be Asimov’s "Foundation" trilogy.

There is nonetheless plenty of room for quibbles, most of which arise from the flip sides of some of the book’s stronger points. I appreciate Herbert’s proclivity to depart from standard sf practice by refusing to explain everything, but I started out baffled and remained baffled by the motivations behind the intrigue (or even just what was supposed to be happening at times) which occupies the first third of the book, concerning the migration of Paul’s family to Arrakis and its eventual overthrow there. Herbert is refreshingly interested primarily in what is going on in his main character’s mind, and in the local politics of his interactions with his family, friends, and Fremen compatriots. These small-scale dramas are another welcome change from the swashbuckling space opera and breakneck, thoughtless drive of other sf, but after emerging from the early part of the book—long after emerging from it—I began to wonder whether anything was going to really happen, whether there were enough pages left to resolve the conflicts that the book seemed still to be setting up, very late in the game. (view spoiler)

Quality of writing matters a lot to me in a book, and Herbert writes more effectively and lyrically than most “good” sf writers. His portrayal of Paul and his encounters with his destiny and his planet are creative and imaginatively expressed, and he managed to get me more excited and more concerned for the characters than I’ve felt while reading any book in some time. Getting to these high points required a little patience with the early confusion and an at-first slightly clunky writing style. ("He said," "He said" -- enough already!)
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Dec 16, 2013 Iliyana added it

Франк Хърбърт, Дюна

Той си припомни отговора от молитвата срещу страх, както майка му го бе
учила според бин-джезъритските обичаи.
„Не бива да се страхувам. Страхът погубва разума. Страхът е онази
низка смърт, която носи пълно унищожение. Аз ще се изправя с лице
срещу моя страх. Ще му позволя да мине по мен и през мен. А когато
отмине, ще извърна вътрешното си око, за да проследя пътеката му.
Там, откъдето е минал страхът, няма да е останало нищо. Ще остана
единствено аз.“

„Онова, което прави човека свръ ...more

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