Dune

A review/essay(who can say) on the novel Dune by Frank Hebert.

Set in the year 10,191, where civilisation has unlocked interstellar travel and played Settler’s of Catan across the galaxy. A universe where power is distributed between the Imperial house, Landsraad Houses and Spacing Guild; the latter of whom hold the monopoly over interstellar travel.

We follow the tale of House Atreides, led by Duke Leto Atreides charged by the Padishah Emperor with taking over the planet of Arrakis, origin to melange or ‘spice’ which holds astronomical value and so power across the galaxy.

There is nothing better than the quote below to illustrate the perils of such newfound responsibility:

^{_{“A popular man arouses the jealousy of the powerful.”}}

So, it falls on young Paul Atreides to prevent the obliteration of his house, but in seeking new allies he stumbles onto a destiny that is much greater than that of a Dukal title.

Dune manages to embody ecology, politics, religion, and science fiction into this incredibly captivating story. I have seen many reviewers complain about how the plot was ruined by Princess Irulan’s entries that prelude the start of each chapter. However, I think it takes incredible nerve and guts to hand the reader the plot[Paul is the destined Lisan Al Gaib] right at the beginning. Frank had such strong faith in his world-building, political intrigue and exciting characters that he took a gamble and I certainly think it paid off. This certainly doesn’t mean all the mysteries are out in the light, for example, there still stands how the mysterious prophecies of Bene Gesserit and the false religion they planted on the freemen predict the rise of Maud’Dib?

But don’t these cynical reviewers understand that this is what science fiction is all about. Paraphrasing the words of Orson Scott Card, author of Ender’s Game, the genre of science fiction is meant to break free of the realms of what we believe possible; I think the unconventional storytelling of Dune with its shards of irrevocable destiny impaled across its pages shows the truth of his words.

Frank Hebert was clearly an ambitious writer. This is evident in the meticulous world-building; the contrasting philosophies of the different schools; and the Freman language. The universe was so immersive that twenty years onwards, Willis E. McNelly wrote The Dune Encyclopaedia where he fleshed out the biographies of individual characters and explained the various factions.

Frank also recognised how vital religion was in binding communities together; similar to George Orwell’s 1984 where he describes how while monarchies rise and fall, ideas endure. What is religion but a set of ideas combined as in the case of the Freman, the law. Frank creates a world in which religious leaders came together and spent seven years attempting to find common principles across various religious disciplines. They succeeded and created the Orange Catholic Bible with their supreme commandment being:

_{^{“Thou shalt not disfigure the soul”}}

– OC Bible

McNelly also tells us how Frank Hebert birthed the novel when he was tasked with writing an article about a recent experiment conducted by the United States Agricultural Department on the use of poverty grass to stabilise dangerous dunes that were thought to be capable of engulfing entire cities. The article was never completed but the knowledge was not wasted as is evident by the ecological ambitions of Dr Keynes. This is another one of Dune’s great strengths, it manages to imbue science with the mystical air of religion and prophesy.

I found Dune had trouble fleshing out its characters. When Frank switches between characters, it is possible to understand their principles and agendas, however, it is harder to believe in them. The exceptions to these are characters like Gurney Halleck and Baron Vladimir Harkonnen who work, due to their excitement and commitment to their persona. While the dialogue between characters is quite natural, do be prepared to be throttled by the number of quotations derived from either Gurney’s ballads, O.C. Bible or Bene Gesserit proverbs.

Another aspect I didn’t enjoy about Frank’s writing was the prematurely concluded climax. There are two duels within Dune. The first fight sequence was such a spine-tingling thriller where I could smell, taste and feel the buzz of the atmospheric cavern; Never before have I been so intoxicated by a single chapter. However, the latter and arguably more momentous sequence felt a little rushed considering the effort invested in the rise of Na Baron.

Let me be honest, I devoured this book. The more critical parts of my essay required considerable time to conceive of. No author can be perfect, and Frank Hebert is no exception. However, when you do enter the desolate world of Arrakis and the political intrigue surrounding it, you will not care.