535 pages
English language
Published Sept. 1, 1990 by Chilton Books, Putnam - Penguin Books.
Dune is set in the distant future amidst a feudal interstellar society in which various noble houses control planetary fiefs. It tells the story of young Paul Atreides, whose family accepts the stewardship of the planet Arrakis. While the planet is an inhospitable and sparsely populated desert wasteland, it is the only source of melange, or "spice", a drug that extends life and enhances mental abilities. Melange is also necessary for space navigation, which requires a kind of multidimensional awareness and foresight that only the drug provides. As melange can only be produced on Arrakis, control of the planet is a coveted and dangerous undertaking. The story explores the multilayered interactions of politics, religion, ecology, technology, and human emotion, as the factions of the empire confront each other in a struggle for the control of Arrakis and its spice.
Dune is set in the distant future amidst a feudal interstellar society in which various noble houses control planetary fiefs. It tells the story of young Paul Atreides, whose family accepts the stewardship of the planet Arrakis. While the planet is an inhospitable and sparsely populated desert wasteland, it is the only source of melange, or "spice", a drug that extends life and enhances mental abilities. Melange is also necessary for space navigation, which requires a kind of multidimensional awareness and foresight that only the drug provides. As melange can only be produced on Arrakis, control of the planet is a coveted and dangerous undertaking. The story explores the multilayered interactions of politics, religion, ecology, technology, and human emotion, as the factions of the empire confront each other in a struggle for the control of Arrakis and its spice.
2018 read: 5 stars because it was so interesting, but was a 1-star slog to get through.
2025 re-read: 5 stars on all fronts; guessing I was just not in the mood for this pacing the last time around. Loved so much about this book. Would re-read again now and excited to continue to the next books.
You are really brough into the world of Dune the book sucks you in with intrigue as it reveals how the world works and how the people of Arrakis live, the book can drag on in some parts but it is well written and gives you a real feel for the world.
The book is so packed of action, emotion, mysticism and lots of character development. Loved it. Coming from reading most of the Foundation series, I wasn’t sure if I me being a fanboy, Iwas going to like it another big Sci-Fi saga but I did. Can’t wait to read the next books!
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it took me ages to get through this. not because it's bad, probably mostly because i repaired my computer and had.. other things on my mind. but also partly because herbert's style reminds me of tolkien. like, a lot. at least in the sense that herbert really wants you to read his mediocre poetry too.
this isn't bad by any means, and i will surely read on in the future. probably around the time the second movie hits. the characters are fleshed-out and there's surprisingly little overt misogyny for a science fiction book that is, at this point, positively ancient. it's just the constant internal monologuing and then rushing through the actual happenings that gets exhausting after a while.
it took me ages to get through this. not because it's bad, probably mostly because i repaired my computer and had.. other things on my mind. but also partly because herbert's style reminds me of tolkien. like, a lot. at least in the sense that herbert really wants you to read his mediocre poetry too.
this isn't bad by any means, and i will surely read on in the future. probably around the time the second movie hits. the characters are fleshed-out and there's surprisingly little overt misogyny for a science fiction book that is, at this point, positively ancient. it's just the constant internal monologuing and then rushing through the actual happenings that gets exhausting after a while.
Entertaining enough, and even better, I could follow it after watching the film!
Not sure I would be able to go too many books further into this universe (maybe with more film support ha!)
