This book was a trek (not star trek), but it was far more human and relatable than I expected. Very thought-provoking with many complex levels to leave generations thinking about it’s themes for decades to come if you’re willing to take the time to understand it.
Summary:
The Atreides family has been called on by the Emperor to rule Arrakis, a harsh desert planet full of riches. But by doing so, they take it from the house’s sworn enemies, the Harkonnens, who are not about to give it up freely. The Baron of the Harkonnens sets out to destroy house Atreides, but Paul Atreides, the young son of the Duke, may yet be able to save his inheritance by becoming the messiah of the Fremen, the native warriors of the desert. Paul must survive treachery, sandworms, and countless battles from others and from within himself. And will his reign bring peace or endless war and jihad to come?
Verdict: 7/10
Really, I need to give credit to my husband and Hans Zimmer for giving me the incentive. Like so many, it takes the possibility of a good film to make us crack a book, my husband in particular. And I wasn’t about to be outread by him, so I delved into the world of Dune out of curiosity and a small amount of hesitation to take on the massive epic.
I’ll admit, I knew next to nothing about Frank Herbert and Dune beyond it being regarded as the first science-fiction novel with a disappointing movie in the 80s (and whose sandworms were the basis of the spoof movie Tremors). I’ve always gravitated more towards the fantasy-side of science fiction. Books about aliens have never appealed to me as much. When I sit down to read, I’d rather latch on to characters than read about a bunch of lizard people battling on some planet in a galaxy far far away. Aliens sounded too, well, alien. They’re fine for movies like Star Wars and Star Trek as I can follow the action a bit, but it’s never been my first pick off the bookshelf. This was a very surprising exception.
I opened the novel expecting far-out, foreign worlds, but what I found was my own... Okay, my own with some sandworms, spice, and galactic travel. But very true to life all the same.
Frank Herbert really drew me in with his people. I wasn’t watching two races of aliens battle it out; I was watching a family consumed by politics try and find their place in a world of constant flux. I saw people trying to find allies, a home, and a leader they could put their faith in. And who doesn’t search for those things. In that sense, I'd recommend it to fans of Game of Thrones.
That’s the simple side. Dune is anything but a simple walk-in the park - it's a trip. Herbert left out no detail, no matter how small, in creating his world. Seriously, I respect the hell out of his dedication and the poetry you find in this novel! But this, combined with the word count, meant there was a lot of new information to take in and characters to memorize while trying to navigate a story based on political deception, prophecies, and futuristic visions.
A daunting task to say the least. I'm a quick reader and this took me a lot longer just because of how much concentration it demanded. Not for the faint of heart.
Luckily my copy had an index or I’d really have been lost. Even with that, I still made my own notes, whereas my husband would read a few chapters and then turn to spark notes to make sure he understood all the nuances of whatever conversation just happened. Herbert does not waste time on explanation - both a gratifying and sometimes confusing choice for the reader.
While there’s still moments that I think I’ll have to reread or rewatch to fully comprehend, I so appreciated all that the author managed to include in here. I mean really, there are dozens of themes and characters that you could study for years. I could go on for a while, but if you want that full conversation, it’s better done in person over a cup of coffee. All in all, a great read if you're ready for the effort.
Of course, our main motivation was the new movie. I managed to get to Book Three just in time for the opening weekend. It does cut off in the middle, which may seem like an odd choice to anyone who hasn’t read it - but really there’s no where else they could have stopped as the last third has a time jump that lands you right in the middle of the action. And trying to cram it all into one film is where so many other adaptions went wrong.
To sum up, there are very a handful movies that look exactly like what I pictured while I was reading it. This is one of the rare few. The casting was perfect! The visualization, outstanding! The inventions were spot on. And it actually helped me grasp the visions better than my first read-through had.
Probably the criticism that you’ll hear most is that the filmmakers didn’t take time to explain much of the action or world (true to the author’s style). They rely on everyone having read the book, something I can side with. As such, readers will love it but solely-cinema-sitters may feel a bit lost. In my opinion, that’s what you get for not reading the book. Maybe it'll cause more to either make friends with readers who can explain it or, better yet, read it themselves. They aren’t likely to be disappointed.
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