Dune by Frank Herbert ★★★★★

[Jenni Elyse]

This is my seventh time reading Dune. I first read it for my Science Fiction class in high school in 1995. I fell in love with the story that first time I read it. Over the years, Dune has become my all-time favorite book. I adore everything about it. I love Herbert's writing, the characters, the setting, the complexity of the story, and the ethical/moral issues it explores.

I understand why some new to the story have a hard time with it. (I tried to get my book club to read it and most gave up.) In today's publishing world, so much of Dune would've been edited out. I also understand that the third-person omniscient POV isn't for everyone.

I've never read any of Dune's sequels. I've toyed with the idea, but I've decided against it. I don't want to be disappointed since I've hyped them up so much in my mind. I also don't want that disappointment to ruin my love for Dune. Fortunately, Dune stands well enough alone that I don't need to go on.

During this reread, I was very aware of how much Herbert relied on Islamic culture as his inspiration for Dune. In past reads, I had wondered if some of the words were inspired by Arabic. It wasn’t until I was watching the new movie that I started to do more research on Herbert’s inspiration for Dune. I didn't realize just how much of Islamic cultural references he used. Is Dune a misappropriation of Islamic beliefs? Can I still love Dune, acknowledge the misappropriation for what it is, help society do better, AND support Muslim authors?

P.S. My shortest read this year was Dune, the Graphic Novel, Book 1 at 160 pages and my longest read was Dune at 894 pages. Ha!

[John]

You have me beat since I have only read it twice approximately 50 years apart. I still loved it the second time around and appreciated it better with some life behind me.

[Jenni Elyse]

John wrote: "You have me beat since I have only read it twice approximately 50 years apart. I still loved it the second time around and appreciated it better with some life behind me."

That's awesome that you read it approximately 50 years apart. :D