Review: Dune by Frank Herbert

Title: Dune
Author: Frank Herbert
Series: Dune Chronicles #1
Genre: Science Fiction
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This Hugo and Nebula Award winner tells the sweeping tale of a desert planet called Arrakis, the focus of an intricate power struggle in a byzantine interstellar empire. Arrakis is the sole source of Melange, the “spice of spices.” Melange is necessary for interstellar travel and grants psychic powers and longevity, so whoever controls it wields great influence.

The troubles begin when stewardship of Arrakis is transferred by the Emperor from the Harkonnen Noble House to House Atreides. The Harkonnens don’t want to give up their privilege, though, and through sabotage and treachery they cast young Duke Paul Atreides out into the planet’s harsh environment to die. There he falls in with the Fremen, a tribe of desert dwellers who become the basis of the army with which he will reclaim what’s rightfully his. Paul Atreides, though, is far more than just a usurped duke. He might be the end product of a very long-term genetic experiment designed to breed a super human; he might be a messiah. His struggle is at the center of a nexus of powerful people and events, and the repercussions will be felt throughout the Imperium.

Dune is one of the most famous science fiction novels ever written, and deservedly so. The setting is elaborate and ornate, the plot labyrinthine, the adventures exciting. Five sequels follow.

This is actually the third time I’ve read Dune.  I first read it for my Science Fiction class in high school.  It was the first book I ever read that was assigned to one of my classes.  And, it immediately became one of my favorite books.  At the time, it was my only favorite book.

Each time I re-read Dune, I fall in love with it all over again because I love the complexity of the story.  While I was reading it this time, however, the relationship between the characters stood out more than they had the first two times I read Dune.  I think reading all the different stories with romance intertwined in them has affected how I view other stories.  For example, there’s a small love story between Paul and Chani.  But, it’s not the main focus of the story.  And, as I read about them, I found myself wanting that aspect of the story to be more prominent, even though I knew it wouldn’t be.

I think it’s interesting how each time I re-read a book, my view or outlook of the story changes depending on where I am in life, what type of difficulties I’m facing at the time, or because I now know the outcome of the story/series.  I found this to be especially true when I re-read New Moon.  Even though I think the story’s still heart-wrenching, I can get through it much more easily now because I know the outcome of the series.

Anyway, I loved Dune this time around just as much as I did the other times I’ve read it.  Actually, I think I enjoyed it a little more this time around and I’m glad I took the time to re-read it again rather than just focusing on reading books I’ve never read.  I also think it’s high time I read the other books in the series since I’ve never read them.