This book came to me as a recommendation from one of my writing instructors. He said it was a must for studying prose and world building, so I added it to my To-Be-Read list and went on with writing. In January, it finally made it to the top of my TBR pile.
I’ll admit, I don’t read nearly as much sci-fi as I do fantasy, but I have to say that I LOVED the world building in this novel. It was on a scale you don’t see with most books. Every description of sand and what it means to live on a desert planet felt tangible.
I found myself drinking a lot of water as I listened to the audiobook; all 21 hours of it. Reading this book actually helped solidify some loose ideas I had for the conclusion of my own novels, too, so I had a win/win.
Then I found out they’d made this book into a movie (I know it came out in 2021, but with little kids, it feels like I live under a rock some days)! The movie was incredible and you can bet, I’ll be watching the second one that just released last week.
Before we dive in to the review, here is a reminder of how I rate my books (these will be on a scale of 1-10, 1 being low, 10 being high):
Plot Structure: How well the story was put together.
Character Development: Level of growth a character achieves and how well the author makes them feel “real.”
Language: Level of swearing, innuendos, verbal abuse, and other triggers.
Violence: Level of fight scenes and gore.
Sexual Content: Level of physical intimacy.
Also, we can’t forget the disclaimers.
Disclaimer 1: The more I write, the more I critique books harder on plot structure and how the various elements work together. Thus my reviews reflect this. However, if you see a book appear on the blog, it’s because I enjoyed reading and thought you, as a fellow bookie, would enjoy it as well. As always, reading is subjective and what resonates with me may not resonate with you. And that’s OK! We’re in this to discover new books that are family appropriate and worth taking the time to read.
Disclaimer 2: This post contains affiliate links. There is no added cost to you, but if you choose to buy this book using the attached link below, I will earn a small commission for recommending it to you.
Let’s see how this book shakes out on my scorecard!
Book Description:
Frank Herbert’s epic masterpiece—a triumph of the imagination and the bestselling science fiction novel of all time.
Set on the desert planet Arrakis, Dune is the story of Paul Atreides—who would become known as Muad’Dib—and of a great family’s ambition to bring to fruition humankind’s most ancient and unattainable dream.
A stunning blend of adventure and mysticism, environmentalism and politics, Dune won the first Nebula Award, shared the Hugo Award, and formed the basis of what is undoubtedly the grandest epic in science fiction.
My Review:
I listened to this novel over the course of about six weeks. At 21 hours, it took a while, and I don’t speed up my books. The version of Dune that I listened to was more of a full-cast audio production. It really added some life to the story as different voices came in and out.
The politics in this novel reminded me of the scheming and subterfuge you find in most epic fantasy, where someone is trying to bring down the ruling house. The themes of succession, self-discovery, and the will to survive were prominent throughout the narrative.
Intrigue and danger lurked around every corner, but our main character, Paul, was well suited to the task. Over the course of the novel, Paul went from an uncertain teen to the leader of a revolution. The character arc of this young man was expertly done. And for once, the movie adaptation was, at least for me, just as good as the book.
Another thing I appreciated about this novel was the level of deep thinking it evoked in the reader. Many of the situations that Paul and his mother, Jessica, faced had no straightforward answers. Yet, you see them adapt and survive many hardships and come out of them stronger than before. There were also many situations that seemed simple at first, but then you saw the full effect of the choices later on and how they affected the entire company.
“Once, men turned their thinking over to machines in the hope that this would set them free. But that only permitted other men with machines to enslave them.”
DUNE
Despite how much I loved this story, there were two things that bothered me. (1) The concept of the selective “breeding” the religious group, the Benny Jesserites, and (2) the high level of prostitution that happens in the background.
Both these elements made sense in the novel, and could be argued to drive the plot forward in some instances, but the methods they used to make this happen were a bit much for me. While we never are taking into a bedroom during any of these situations, it always left a sour taste in my mind.
How I rate this book:
Plot Structure: 10/10; Incredibly put together, this novel had a multi-layered plot with subplots that weaved together the huge cast of characters beautifully. Everything worked together to build a realistic, and diverse world that you truly felt like you were part of it.
Character Development: 10/10; The character arcs were all spot on. Characters grew and adapted to their circumstances in ways that felt earned. No one had an easy time or handouts from the author. Even the villains were several layers deep, adding to the danger the farther you went.
Language: 4/10; There is some swearing in this novel. Barnyard words as my mom always called them, but still present.
Violence: 6/10; This book can get graphic with the gore descriptions at times. I’d say this was a solid PG-13 level.
Sexual Content: 6/10; Prostitution, concubines, multiple wives, were prevalent. While never taking us into the bedroom, there was enough detail or discussion to know what happened.
While I would recommend DUNE to others, it is definitely for an older audience.
If you’re interested in checking out this book, you can find it .
***Before you go, I need to provide a third disclaimer. I have not yet finished this series and cannot say whether or not they are worth reading, nor how much explicit content may be in them. If you choose to read the next books in this series, proceed at your own risk.***
Have you read DUNE? If so, let me know in the comments what you thought. Also, if there are any books you would love to see reviewed here, you can send those recommendations to me through this form.
