Dune

Dune Review

Set in the year 10,191, where civilisation has unlocked interstellar travel and settlements spilled across the galaxy. A universe where power is distributed between the Imperial house, Landsraad Houses and Spacing Guild; the latter of whom control interstellar travel.

We follow the story 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.

“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 allied he stumbles onto a destiny that is much greater than was ever imagined.

Dune manages to embody ecology, politics, religion, and sci- fi into this incredibly captivating and grand 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. But I think it takes incredible nerve and guts to hand the reader the plot climax right because it doesn’t matter that Paul is the destined Lisan Al Gaib. But how does he get there? How do the mysterious prophecies of Bene Gessirit and the fake religion they planted on the freemen predict his rise? Don’t you get it? This isn’t your standard sci- fi story, this is something grander, something with shards of insidious and unchangeable destiny impaled across the pages.

Frank Hebert was an ambitious writer. This is evident in his supreme world building, the contrasting philosophies, and the freeman language. But most impressively his recognition of how religion works. He creates a world in whose religious leaders came together and spent seven years attempting to find common principles across religions. They succeeded and created the Orange Catholic Bible with their supreme commandment being:

“Thou shalt not disfigure the soul”.

Frank has trouble with fleshing out characters. When Frank switches between characters, it is possible to understand their principles and priorities, however, it is harder to believe in them. The exceptions to these are certain characters like Gurney Halleck and the Baron Vladimir Harkonnen. These characters work because of their uniqueness and their 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 inconsistent writing of the action sequences. There are two duels within Dune. The first fight sequence was such a spine-tingling thriller where I could smell, taste and feel the atmosphere of the cavern; I had to read it again as it was unlike anything I had ever read before! Never before have I been that entranced 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 are things I had to dedicate time to consider thinking off. 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.