6 of 6 members found this review helpful.
“Dune is by far the most influential book in my life. There was a time where I was a little too obsessed with Herbert's work and all I read were his books. Ultimately, I have read the entire original Dune series three times through.
What was initially so compelling to me about this book was the dialogue between all characters as well as the inner dialogue within the characters' thoughts. When some of my favorite characters in the book such as Duncan Idaho or Gurney Halleck would be having an exchange, it would be like watching two of my favorite college professors get into an argument. Two professionals who are experts in their fields of study clashing against each other with all their training and experience. But in between actual lines being said, the reader also gets to read the actual thoughts of the characters as well as their thoughts during moments by themselves. At times it would advance the plot or develop characters. Other times I would get the feeling that Herbert was just using a character's thoughts as an excuse to muse over his own ideas (unrelated or not) on politics, economics, environmentalism, war, religion, etc.
The plot of Dune itself is relatively simple when compared to the behavior of all nation-states and their quest of maintaining territory and acquiring new resources. Some readers believe the spice melange is more akin to the limited resource of water itself more than it is to oil. But most would agree with me that the spice is an example, like oil, of a heavily traded commodity that all industries are ultimately dependent on. And the way Herbert takes a finite resource and suggests the ways it can be controlled, manipulated, or even destroyed is all rather genius.
There will be the critics who desire a way to break free from the hold the spice has on the universe. There will be others who have too much to lose by losing their monopoly on spice production. There will be ideological fundamentalists who have a deeper understanding of the spice and revere the creatures who make the spice possible. There will be seemingly neutral observers with no official governmental affiliation and wait patiently to usurp power from anyone who is too complacent and aloof to hold on to it. These neutrals are pragmatic, non-transparent, and extremely dangerous.
Dune sends my imagination reeling. The scale of Herbert's universe is overwhelming. For first time readers, one may either be instantly ensnared by Dune, or they may become frustrated with it. If you are the latter, I urge you to be patient with this book and give it a chance. It may be one of the most rewarding reading experiences you ever have.
If you're generally into science fiction, this is a definitive science fiction book. If you're into social commentaries stemming from politics, religion, and economics, then you may also enjoy this book. For me, I like it for these reasons but also just because it's this incredibly immersive book with a well established universe with multiple factions. There are no heroes in this book in my opinion. Everyone in the book is merely a greater or lesser evil. Or maybe they all just have motives in the story that can never be simply summarized as good or bad. But this makes it a more dynamic story. It is rarely predictable, albeit sometimes confusing. But Herbert never truly gives all the answers to his readers. This is what has frustrated many of his fans: that there are holes in his story. I like to think of it as how we study history. We do not know all the answers. We have bits and pieces of information and do our best to interpret or contextualize that information.
Dune really gets more complicated (sometimes convoluted) as the sequels progress. But the first book in this series stands alone as a great read. It's a classic, really. Well, I'm not positive what a classic is anymore. All I can say is that Dune is an incredible book and I think you should read it. If you have read it already, I think you should buy me a soda.
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Gregory wrote this review Sunday, March 2 2008.
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