Hi ForeverBookers,
How are you all? I hope you’re well.
I’ve just finished reading Dune by Frank Herbert and it was good. I’m actually quite surprised that I enjoyed it as much as I did! We follow a young boy, Paul at the beginning of the book and we see him grow up throughout the story. What’s different about Dune to your regular book, or at least my regular book is that it’s sci-fi. I don’t read much of that genre, even though I might delve more into it now because I really enjoyed the experience of reading it. It was quite info dumpy but that was to be expected.
3.5 stars (4 stars on Goodreads)!
Dune follows a large cast of characters. Some of those are good and some of those are evil. The chapters are split, I’d say, into those that follow the good characters and those that follow the bad characters. Most of the time we’re following Paul, our main character as he learns the ways of Arrakis, the new world his family and people have moved to. When I say people, I mean the Duke’s people, but Paul is the son of the Duke, so he will become Duke and they will become his people in time, or will they?
The plot wasn’t hard to understand. Some of it was a little tedious to read so I skimmed those parts but other than those it was surprisingly rather easy to digest.
I read Dune for a few readathons. They were:
The Cardcaptor-a-thon - The Sand Card - Read a post apocalyptic book - Dune follows people who need to move from Earth because it’s now, in uninhabitable. It’s set in the year 10,191.
Reading Rivalry - This counted for page points in the end because I didn’t finish it in April when I started it.
Unfortunately, I lost my notes to the first 200 or so pages of Dune so I can’t quote evidence for what I’m saying. I do have quotes for after that point so sorry if this review isn’t very substantial.
Spoilers Below
“You must admit it’d be a way to develop a substantial work force on Arrakis—use the place as a prison planet,” is how the antagonist, Baron Harkonnen wants to use Arrakis to his full advantage.
Arrakis, the planet where the events of Dune unfold is a planet ruled by the Harkonnens. These aren’t nice people, however. Baron Harkonnen is our main antagonist throughout this first book in the Dune series, although he has his subordinates too, Piter and his nephew Feyd Rautha for example. He’s evil and wants to see Duke Leto, Paul’s father and his people wiped from Arrakis. Does he get his way? And how does he try to get his way? You’ll need to read to find out!
While there are evil characters in Dune, there’s also good characters who stand up and fight for the rights of the Arrakeen people. As well as Duke Leto and his people, these are like Stilgar who is a Fremen, a race of being that lives on Arrakis.
“Why would they help us?”
“Maybe they weren’t helping us. Maybe they were just calling a worm.”
“Why?”
Jessica, Paul’s mother is wondering why a group of Arakeen people would help her and her son. At this point in the novel, Duke Leto has been killed by Harkonnens and a sandworm is about to eat Paul and Jessica. The Fremen save them.
“The Emperor cannot be upset about the death of the concubine and the boy,” the Baron said. “They fled into the desert. There was a storm.”
is how the Baron reacts to the news that Paul and Jessica have died, even though we as the reader know they live. He says that the Emperor can’t be upset because the Emperor is also like him, selfish and evil. The Baron is a fat, pompous villain who’s only interest is himself. The Emperor isn’t as involved as the Baron in this first book in the Dune series, so that’s why I called the latter the main antagonist earlier. I believe in the next books the Emperor will become more central to the plot.
“Make it quick, Stil. Get their water and let’s be on our way. We’ve little enough time before dawn.”
Another plot point is the fact that on Arrakis water is really scarce. The Arrakeen people need to recycle their own water to survive. I mainly read fantasy and romance so this was something new. Stilgar’s men want him to get Paul and Jessica’s water and leave them for dead. The Fremen camp is really where both Paul and Jessica find a home, after the death of Duke Leto, Paul’s father. The Fremen take them in and make them one of their own, after some fights. The leader of the Fremen, Stilgar is a good guy and only wants what’s best for his people and that of Jessica and Paul too. Add to this, Chani, a young free spirited girl, the daughter of Kynes, a planetologist that disappeared and is thought to be dead about half way into the book. Is he though? Or will he appear in the later stories? You’ll need to read to find out!
Chani and Paul begin to develop feelings for one another early on, after they meet. I was a little taken aback by the time jumps in Dune, admittedly. First, it seems like we were with them as children and then we skip a few pages and they’re adults or that’s how it seemed to me. I wanted more time with them as children. The plot seemed a little too fast paced toward the end, like the author was rushing to finish the story.
Another evil character that I think will crop up in later books is Count Fenring. We meet him at about two thirds into the story. I think he’ll be more present in the next books too. “Yes, and I can see now why we must have that bloodline,” is what Lady Fenring says to him when she sees just how domineering the Harkonnens are in Arrakis. She plans to get pregnant by a Harkonnen. Who? You’ll need to read to find out!
Overall, I enjoyed Dune. It was slow in some areas but fast in others. There were a few parts that I skim read because they were info dumpy or just not necessary to the overall plot of this book. I’ll watch the movie soon too, to compare the source material to it. The other books, at least the next two are shorter than Dune, so there might not be so much detail involved. I hope that’s the case! I’m not reading them next, anyway. Next I’m reading books for Becca’s Bookopolothon, which starts tonight. I’ll do a dedicated blog post with what I was able to read during it. I might carry it on for the week, instead of just the weekend! We’ll see!
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