Dune by Frank Herbert

 

Dune

by Frank Herbert

Young Paul Atreides leaves his home planet of Caladan with his family and royal house for the planet Arrakis. His father (Duke Leto) has been granted the planet to rule, but is betrayed by Dr. Yueh for political and personal reasons. Paul and his mother, Jessica (a Bene Gesserit) flee into the desert and become part of the Fremen people who are native to the desert planet. Paul has been trained in his mother's mystical ways, and trained in combat by his father's loyal men.

Arakis (or Dune) is a crucial planet to the known universe for its habitability and production of a drug called melange, also known as spice. It is a substance that is addictive and is in everything on Arakis, but is also used as a power source throughout the galaxy. It extends lives and fuels enhances capabilities. The Fremen on Arakis have these abilities, though they do not explore or understand them. The royal Houses vie for control of Arakis because of the spice. 

Religion and politics are intertwined on Arakis, especially for the Fremen who live by mystical and religious beliefs. Jessica is recognized as the Reverend Mother by the Fremen and both she and Paul proves themselves to be prophetic characters to them after passing certain tests that prove their superhuman knowledge and physical abilities. Paul becomes known as Muad'Dib to the Fremen, a leader. With their help Paul takes back the planet amidst a host of political intrigue, and he becomes the Kwisatz Haderach, an all-knowing, all-seeing prophet.

There is a lot of betrayal and death in Dune, which was exciting to read. The use of Middle Eastern references, idea, and concepts was also very interesting. The action scenes were good, and the world and its systems were obviously deeply thought out and realized.

I was not a fan of the story for the first 200 or so pages. Then it started to get good when the House of Atreides fell. But the book fell short for me in several ways. I did not like the third person close omniscient narration as it jumped from one point of view to another within the same scenes. That always leads to a loss of mystery and tension for me. The story had way too much dialogue and not enough reflection on events. I also didn't like Paul and Jessica's near perfection. They seemed to be too much the "good guys" even when they were killing people off. They were far too noble all of the time.

I'm giving Dune 3.5 stars. I liked a lot of the story, and it wasn't too heavy on the technology, focusing more on politics and religion. I would have liked more mystery and tension. Not knowing everyone's motivations would have made it more exciting for me.