Dune
Book Review
Dune is the first book in a series of science fiction epics by Frank Herbert. Science fiction isn’t really a genre I’m drawn to, so maybe that’s the main reason why I wasn’t very invested in this book. First of all, the world of Dune is pretty overwhelming in terms of the sheer amount of new, imaginative information that is being poured out from page one. The story itself isn’t too complex - the main character is a stereotypical, broody hero named Paul Atreides, who is special in some mysterious way and overcomes a great tragedy. Typical main character things. But then throw in all the terminology of the different planets, the political games that are being played, and the magical (?) elements at hand, and it all becomes a big blur of weird terminology and characters. The main storyline comes through pretty clear, but it takes some patience to get used to. Since everything in this world feels new, it leaves a lot to the imagination in terms of what you picture in your head.
If anything, I give major, major props to the author, Frank Herbert, for his sheer imaginative capability. He builds planets, an ecosystem, a language (?), and years of complex history from the ground up, and I can tell that a lot of thought was put in to making sure everything connected. The fact that Dune is the first book amongst many is evidence that Herbert thought through so much more than what was written on these pages. A pioneer of science fiction epics for sure! I also feel like this book was really deep in ways that I have not really processed and there seems to be some religious undertones that are being hinted at (I also found it really cheesy every time Paul would say something about his “terrible purpose,” but that might just be me LOL). It seems like Paul is being likened to some religious leader multiple times in the book, so I’m not sure if the author is trying to connect Paul to biblical/religious themes. Because of this, I feel like this book shows its age because it doesn’t seem like a book that was written for the 21st century, with 21st century kids in mind.
I remember reading Harry Potter as a kid and dreading the chapters that focused on the death eaters talking about politics. All I wanted to do was get back to the fun and adventures at Hogwarts. But Dune was pretty much all politics and very little “fun and adventures at Hogwarts.” But jokes aside, I’m not sure if I want to continue reading this series. This first book was pretty dense (my Kindle said it was almost 900 pages!), and it definitely felt like a long book. The other part of my brain wants to continue on this journey because otherwise, all the time I spent getting used to this world will go to waste. Maybe the next books will get more exciting and I won’t be as confused! Who knows…I’ll keep you posted!
My vector art of Chalamet and Zendaya as the characters of Paul and Chani in the upcoming Dune film.