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

Feb 14, 2015 Dea rated it liked it

I enjoyed the book. I don't think it is a masterpiece that some proclaim it to be, but it is enjoyable. The last third of the book felt very hurried, I do not know if it was because the author was already planing a sequel or because he realized the book was already six hundred pages and things needed to be wrapped up. I am not sure if I am going to read the sequels myself as there seems to be a great rift between people saying the sequels are terrible and people saying the sequels are a must rea I enjoyed the book. I don't think it is a masterpiece that some proclaim it to be, but it is enjoyable. The last third of the book felt very hurried, I do not know if it was because the author was already planing a sequel or because he realized the book was already six hundred pages and things needed to be wrapped up. I am not sure if I am going to read the sequels myself as there seems to be a great rift between people saying the sequels are terrible and people saying the sequels are a must read to complete the arc. I may give a chance to a couple more books, and then invest my time in reading something else.

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Let's go into specifics. How evil can Harkonnens be? I mean really? Fat. Murderous. Backstabbing. Pedophiles with a hint of being gay. It's like a bad guy caricature. As if saying, here are all the things good leaders are not. On the other hand Atreides are supper good. Loved by their subjects. Leto doesn't even have concubines, and if politics were not in play he would have married the only woman in his life. He is tall dark and handsome and is presumably good at hand to hand combat. While Baron Harkonnen is indulging in sex with boys and mountains of food, Leto stays awake for nights on end making sure his troops and family are protected and taken care of. I might be a bit jaded, but I prefer my heroes and villains to have a little gray to them, rather than the concrete black and white.

A lot of the book deals with population control and leadership. The first time we see it mentioned is when poison sniffers are described. Although Atreides are not afraid of being poisoned by their own people they do fear assassination. Baron Harkonnen has his own personal shield to protect himself from possible assassinations from even his own people. He even keeps an extra shield, keeping the door to his room protected just in case someone could slip in. The complete opposite of that was Jessia's experience in the Sietch with a cup of coffee brought to her. Jessica notes that not only are there no poison sniffers but she does not even know who brought her coffee. The gesture was offered because the tribe members care about her not about gaining favorablity from her for bringing her a gift.

The second time we see it is when Leto mentions propaganda being prepared and distributed between the masses. How else is the populace to know about it's leaders if there is no one telling the populace about those leaders. Propaganda is suppose to create an image of leaders in the eyes of the followers. It is suppose to cast a favorable light on someone who would otherwise be despised. The trees outside of the Atreides residence are a display of wealth, we have so much money we can waste it on decoration. But those same trees tell the populace that those who live in the house rather waste the water on trees than to spend that water and help people survive. Would Leto had cut down the trees if he had had the chance? After all, he did give out water instead of wasting it on unnecessary hand splashing and floor wetting.

Third time we experience public opinion sway is when Feyd-Rautha sets up the gladiator battle. From the outside he is made to look fearless and strong, having defeated a gladiator that was not drugged and allowing him to be berried with some sort of respect. Interesting enough, the crowd ignores the fact that the gladiator was given a smaller shield and only one knife without poison, Feyd-Rautha looks like a hero. On the flip side Paul also makes use of public displays to sway the opinion of the masses. When he is faced with challenging, and killing, Stilgar, he makes it a public display to explain why he would not kill his second in command. It was not enough to say “this is my wish” it was not enough to say “don't you trust me” Paul had to explain and create a ritual, even though his people already saw him as a religious leader that knew things others could not imagine.

Fourth time, and arguably through the entire book, there is a heavy case for using religion as control of the masses. Would Paul and Jessica have been taken in and made leaders if Fremen did not have a religion foretelling of their coming? At the same time would the Bene Gesserit have attempted to do their breeding program if they did not foresee the coming of Kwisatz Haderach? Is the desire to see Arrakis green and full of life just like a promise of heaven? How many of the Fremen would have followed the plan to change the planet without having the promise of heaven to entice them?

Unfortunately I feel the book lacks the large political drama I thought it would have when I first started reading it. We were introduced to a variety of power players in the beginning and yet they were all scrapped just to show Paul's assent to the throne. We got one battle, which is not even that big of a battle. The super awesome scene of Fremen riding sandworms and how awe and terror inspiring it should be was just skimmed over. I think there is only one sentence mentioning the Fremen and the sandworms. So much potential.

Finally, I would like to talk about the Jihad and the parallels drawn between Fremen and the mujaheddin. Able to navigate a difficult terrain? Check. Live in caves? Check. Able to defeat technologically superior enemies? Check. Kamikaze attacks an acceptable form of warfare? Check. A messiah who shall bring the promise-land? Check. And the green and white colors of the Atreides but sometimes green and black could not be ignored. The variety of divans and many wife families sound impossibly Turkish. Finally, the sign of the Muad'dib's jihad is the moon. The whole book feels like the author is hammering the point that the Fremen are the true strong people and not the rest of the humanity obsessed with indulgences and spoiled by luxuries unable to appreciate even something as important to life as water.
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Read it. It's a classic. The world building is incredible. And it's important to understand the references which are undoubtedly present in current fantasy and sci-fi literature. ...more

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