Dune by Frank Herbert- Book Review

Dune by Frank Herbert- Book Review

Title: Dune

Author: Frank Herbert

Publisher: Ace Books

Publish Date: August 1965 (original publishing)

Rating: 4/5

Summary(blurb): "Whoever controls Arrakis controls the spice. And whoever controls the spice controls the universe."

Set on the desert planet Arrakis, Dune is the story of the boy Paul Atreides, heir to a noble family tasked with ruling an inhospitable world where the only thing of value is the “spice” melange, a drug capable of extending life and enhancing consciousness. Coveted across the known universe, melange is a prize worth killing for... When House Atreides is betrayed, the destruction of Paul’s family will set the boy on a journey toward a destiny greater than he could ever have imagined. And as he evolves into the mysterious man known as Muad’Dib, he will bring to fruition humankind’s most ancient and unattainable dream.

**This book review may contain spoilers**

This book is one I've been reluctant to read over the years because I had heard it's a high-fantasy space opera similar to Star Wars, but after reading a Star Wars novel (Thrawn by Timothy Zahn) as well as getting multiple recommendations from friends, I've started it. I haven't seen the movie but ads for it have popped up everywhere so I've known that Paul is played by Timothee Chalamet. Anyways, I quite liked the book-- it genuinely has one of the most interesting storyline and the most complex world of all the books I've read. However, some parts are lacking, most noticeably the pacing is quite coarse and I was confused at many points in the story. However, the story is a great one overall, and Herbert's exploration of the mental crisis Paul undergoes (as well as the overall storyline) is amazing. 

The most basic background of the book is that space travel has developed in this universe, and to navigate space safely a natural compound called the spice (also called melange) is needed for the pilots (which acts as a kind of stimulant drug, elevating pilots' awareness and enabling them to see space travel lanes and safe paths. However this spice is only produced on the desert planet Arrakis, and is guarded by massive sandworms. Great Houses (families with great political power) are competing, and we focus on the Atreides and Harkonnen houses. The protagonist is Paul Atreides, son of duke Leto Atreides, and the antagonist is Baron Harkonnen. The Baron gives Duke Leto control over Arrakis then sets up a plot to kill the family, but only succeeds in killing the Duke and taking over Arrakis while Paul and his mother Jessica escape. They meet the Fremen, a race of people living in the desert, where every ounce of moisture has to be conserved via stillsuits. Paul gains prophetic powers with the spice-based diet he is on as he lives with the Fremen (since spice is very common in the Arrakis desert), and slowly becomes revered as the messiah of Fremen mythology. He organizes guerilla raids against the Harkonnens, and eventually becomes a god-like figure, calling himself Paul Muad'Dib and leading the Fremen. 

The thing I loved most about this book is how intricate and complex the ecosystem on Arrakis was, with nearly every important part connected to the sandworms (or Shai-Hulud, as the Fremen call them). The melange is actually a product of baby sandworm (sandtrout) excrement mixed with water, hardened and dried by the desert condtions on Arrakis. These sandtrout eventually grow to become immense sandworms, and when the massive worms die, more sandtrout would be released into the sand, as a cycle of creation. The sandworms have no direct need for the melange; however they are very territorial, and since melange is only produced in sandworm territory, spice mining operations are quite dangerous. I loved how the interactions of the planetary environment with the outsiders (Duke Leto, etc) are realistic, for example the development of mining equipment that can be easily set down and lifted up (to escape from sandworms), as well as the Fremen technological developments to meet the harsh planetary conditions (such as thumpers, stillsuits, stilltents, and maker hooks). The adaptation of humans and their technology to meet the needs of the environment was realistic and well executed. 

Another aspect of the book I loved was the Bene Gesserit, with their extreme mental acuity and control over others (as well as themselves). They can use the Voice to influence a person by talking in a specific frequency or tone, and are trained to speak multiple languages (which means they can understand what anybody is saying, even if they are speaking in regional dialects). Also they have almost Holmes-like ultra awareness, being able to read multiple body cues that reveal a wealth of information about a person. Although their mystic status and highly religious/political role leads to many people calling them witches, I would personally want this kind of 'super-awareness' ability, as I would be able to amass lots of information on a person and know what they are thinking through their subtle actions. 

Although this book has great worldbuilding and character types, one thing I really felt it could have improved upon was the pacing. The beginning of the story isn't that bad at first, as events occur chronologically and all I had problems with was the background (how the world was structured)-- I had dived into the book with almost no prior knowledge. However, as Paul and Jessica enter and become integrated into Fremen society, massive timeskips occur without the reader knowing about them. These timeskips occurred multiple times, and in both instances I was unable to tell at first if this was an extended vision of Paul or the true reality Paul was living in. I only grasped that a time skip had happened after Paul had interacted with many other people such as Chani and Stilgar in the 'future' (which signified that the 'future' was actually the present, and a time skip had happened). Such moments were confusing and disorienting, and ultimately detracted from the experience as a whole. 

The time skips also felt like a lot of noteworthy things had happened since the previous events, making it feel like I had missed out on a lot of interesting things. Although they were eventually explained (raids against Harkonnens and Chani fleeing to the North with the baby), I remained confused as to what had happened and what I had missed during Paul's time in the sietch with the Fremen. 

All in all, Dune is a wonderful book with an intricate ecosystem as well as an interesting plot, despite having weak points such as the pacing. Although there's of course much more to the book than these three elements(such as the story of conflict over resources, the role of religion, politics, and more), these elements are the ones that stood out to me the most. With the Lego Dune Ornithopter coming out soon (a very exciting prospect) and some product reviews coming out already, it's great to be able to recognize all the characters in Lego form-- and the book leaves you with much to think about philosophically. 

I would recommend this book for grade 7 and up, it contains very intricate and complex political/philosophical material and is hard to fully understand unless you are old enough.

Rating: I would give this a 4/5 - a great book with interesting storyline and amazing ecosystem, but the time skips were very very disorienting.