Dune Read-Along discussion
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Dune
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This chapter is one of my favorites. It's so dense with world building but it's very edge-of-your-seat as you say. Everything related to Arrakis is spoken with such reverence, dignity, and fear that when you finally see your first "worm sign" you're dying to see it and immediately filled with dread. I love how Kynes tries to resist the draw of personality Leto and Paul both have. Every box that Paul checks for the prophecy leaves him awed and trying to justify it. He even seems to begrudgingly admit he likes the Duke at the end there. Kynes is a great character and adds a lot of needed context in his thoughts to the reader.
I would absolutely want to encounter a sand worm! Just maybe from waaaaaaay up high. They're absolutely fascinating. I love the mysticism that surrounds them from the very start.
This is my first time reading Dune. I had a late start in this read-along. I am only about 100 pages into the book. I am hoping to catch up by the end of this month. So far I am intrigued. I remember watching the mini-series when it was out, but can't really remember anything from it.
Kynes’ meeting with Duke Leto leads to the first intense action sequence in the book. Sure, the attempted assassination of Paul was lively, but this! Seeing a spice harvester and a sandworm! How many exclamation points can I use!
Overly enthusiastic fragments aside, the entirety of the chapter had me on the edge--first because of Kynes’ observations of Paul and then because of the sandworm taking down the factory crawler. The Missionaria Protectiva planted such specific seeds and they’re coming to fruit. It feels like all of them are, but I guess we don’t know the exhaustive list. Paul knows how to properly put on a stillsuit without guidance. Paul says the right words to make Fremen accompanying Kynes to see him as the Lisan al Gaib. He asks the right questions.
The layers are in place before their thopter arrives to the spice harvesting site. It’s meant to be an observation of the process; it becomes a frantic rescue. We, as well as Kynes, see the Duke’s decision to value people over profit--a decision the Harknonnens would not make. We confront the size, terror, and determination of the sandworm. I think it’s in this chapter that it really strikes just how formidable a threat the creatures of the desert are. They’re inescapable. Practically invincible. And this demonstrates how dangerous it is to work on a factory crawler.
We have more to unpack. I specifically want to focus on the propaganda corps that is mentioned and how Halleck is so quick to pivot into a public relations type role, but for now… what do you make of Kynes? On a scale of 1 to 10, how much do you never want to encounter a sandworm? Were you on the edge of your seat?