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A review by jefffrane
Dune by Frank Herbert
5.0
One of the apparent advantages of advancing age is the opportunity to reread books as if they were brand new. I read Dune shortly after it was published, in the late 60s and had pretty much forgotten the whole thing. I remembered the general plot (and was again reminded by all the blurbs), the sandworms and, well, the sand but little else. My memory of the book was further muddied by my impressions of the later books in the series, which weren't particularly good.
Once again I was amazed by the sheer scope of Herbert's invention, as profound a case of world building as any you will find. Not only is the planet itself fascinating, but Herbert peopled it with some amazing characters and a level of spirituality unusual in science fiction. I did not, however, remember how drug-laced the story is and I came away with the suspicion that Herbert had done a little spiritual and, um, psychedelic exploration of his own. A good deal of Dune takes place in people's minds rather than the physical plane.
I can't imagine the response if Dune was published today. Among the characters are the Fremen which are very clearly modeled on nomadic Arabs and the names and language of the Fremen is just as clearly Muslim in origin. Herbert makes frequent reference to jihad, which would certainly get a different reaction than in 1965.
Dune is wildly imaginative and intoxicating. If I can find any flaw in Herbert's creation it's the unimaginative feudal power structure and court drama, a flaw common to a great deal of fantasy and to a lesser extent, science fiction.
There are very good reasons why Dune won the Hugo and the first Nebula awards for Best Novel, and a measure of the shoulders that modern sf writers stand upon. Also worth keeping in mind: no publisher would touch the book until it was finally published by a firm known for auto manuals.
Once again I was amazed by the sheer scope of Herbert's invention, as profound a case of world building as any you will find. Not only is the planet itself fascinating, but Herbert peopled it with some amazing characters and a level of spirituality unusual in science fiction. I did not, however, remember how drug-laced the story is and I came away with the suspicion that Herbert had done a little spiritual and, um, psychedelic exploration of his own. A good deal of Dune takes place in people's minds rather than the physical plane.
I can't imagine the response if Dune was published today. Among the characters are the Fremen which are very clearly modeled on nomadic Arabs and the names and language of the Fremen is just as clearly Muslim in origin. Herbert makes frequent reference to jihad, which would certainly get a different reaction than in 1965.
Dune is wildly imaginative and intoxicating. If I can find any flaw in Herbert's creation it's the unimaginative feudal power structure and court drama, a flaw common to a great deal of fantasy and to a lesser extent, science fiction.
There are very good reasons why Dune won the Hugo and the first Nebula awards for Best Novel, and a measure of the shoulders that modern sf writers stand upon. Also worth keeping in mind: no publisher would touch the book until it was finally published by a firm known for auto manuals.