Dune Week 1

[Rachel]

What'd y'all think of this first section!?

[Aaron]

As someone who has read this series before, watched the film, the miniseries and such, I still love coming back to this series.

I mean you have the main protagonist have his hand put into a box to induce extreme pain, told don't move and take it else you get a poison needle jabbed into your neck and die, and then told good job. You are human after all.

I will admit the terminology can be a bit daunting but it gets easier to understand as you go on as they repeat words often enough that you can understand their meaning thru context.

All in all, I'm really happy this is our next book. I hope we can come back in the future and get into the other books too. They are equally as fascinating and entertaining as this one.

[Kelsey]

I have never read, watched, or had much interest in Dune before, but I was surprisingly hooked pretty quickly! There’s a lot I still feel a little confused about, but I’m really interested to see where it goes!

[Dom]

I found it really expository, which I normally hate. But Herbert did it in such a way that it also revealed character and motivation while slowly advancing the plot.
Mostly I love the world building here. It really seems well thought out and like he came up with the world and how it works before starting in on the plot.
Honestly I am now going 'did I have a hangup about the book before because I didn't get into it the times I tried before?'

[Dom]

Kelsey wrote: "I have never read, watched, or had much interest in Dune before, but I was surprisingly hooked pretty quickly! There’s a lot I still feel a little confused about, but I’m really interested to see w..."

Did you read the appendix at the end first? It made so much make sense to me.

[Kelsey]

Dom wrote: "Kelsey wrote: "I have never read, watched, or had much interest in Dune before, but I was surprisingly hooked pretty quickly! There’s a lot I still feel a little confused about, but I’m really inte..."

I haven't yet but I might try that out!

[Louie]

Don't mind me. Just dropping this here. Please, continue. ;-)

[Rob]

😮😮😮😮😮😮😮😮😮😮

[Paul]

You know this book really plays with the “Mythic hero” lore in a fun way. I think Rachel was the one to bring up Paul as being trained in the masculine and the feminine. It reminded me of the tale of Romulus and Remus (the most famous legends of the founding of Rome) and that the strength of Rome comes from the founder having nursed at the teat of the mother wolf. But as the Roman historian Plutarch points out, “wolf” is a roman euphemism for a free-spirited and aggressive woman -the same way we use the term cougar… or even bitch. So it’s really the story is about these powerful men being taught to eliminate male weakness and harness female power. In fact, the theme carries over to the other legends of Rome’s founding. Whether it’s Roma being the one to burn the ships and demanding the city’s founding while the men squabbled and beat their chests on whether to move forward or go back. Either way, it’s the philosophy of roman strength. 


And now him going into the desert an outcast and coming back (probably) a savior, screams Jesus and many other religious leader myths.  

[Dom]

I'm finding a lot in this section a lot of strong allegories and themes from history too.
I'm getting strong colonial arrogance vibes about the noble houses.
Baron Harkkonen essential thinks of them as a lower species and only cares about the planet and it's inhabitants in terms of profit.
Even House Atreides while well meaning has little knowledge of the inhabitants, don't understand their ways and especially with Hallek seem determined to try and mold their way of doing things onto them.
I'd not be surprised if Herbert took some real world inspirations from 19th century colonial rule in Africa and from things like T.E Lawrence in WWI...the desert setting immediately set of Lawrence Of Arabia triggers for me.

[Dom]

My fave part of this section of Dune was Halleck and the smuggler meeting.
It really showed how different members of House Atreides think and how people of Arrakis do.
It didn't say much, but said everything between the lines