Dune (Dune #1)

Frank Herbert

Set on the desert planet Arrakis, Dune is the story of the boy Paul Atreides, heir to a noble family tasked with ruling an inhospitable world where the only thing of value is the “spice” melange, a drug capable of extending life and enhancing consciousness. Coveted across the known universe, melange is a prize worth killing for…

When House Atreides is betrayed, the destruction of Paul’s family will set the boy on a journey toward a destiny greater than he could ever have imagined. And as he evolves into the mysterious man known as Muad’Dib, he will bring to fruition humankind’s most ancient and unattainable dream.

-Excerpt taken from Goodreads.

Check Goodreads to see the book’s ratings.

My Opinion

“Fear is the mind killer.”

4 out of 5 stars (4 / 5) I have to say I’m kinda proud of myself for finishing this one! Sometimes those overly hyped books don’t do it for me. With Dune, I was immersed and intrigued by everything going on.

Friends keep telling me they read this in middle school. I do not know how in the world, people read this AND understand it at such a young age. Adult fantasy (fantasy in general) has still only been in my reads for a few years. Covid made me gravitate more towards it for the escape, but with some aspects, I still feel like a newbie. Dune is one of those books that I think I understand but the online summaries were very helpful. Once I started looking, I found many, many resources online that would not only summarize every chapter, but continue on with podcasts and more. I dipped into this at the beginning of the book then at the very end. There is an entire Dune world out there online and I can only imagine what the movie will bring!

Oddly enough, this book was written in the 1960’s. I love that it’s still so popular this many years later. It is based about 20,000 years in the future. People have colonized planets and have spread through the universe. We meet Paul and his mother Jessica and his father the Duke. So much happens as they colonize a new planet. Some are betrayed, and this takes us on a journey of leadership, trust and politics. Sandworms are something new they have to deal with on this planet but instead of being afraid of them, they ride them! WHAT?

I wanted to read this book before the movie came out. I have to say, I hope the movie fills in a few parts for me! I’m also nervous because there is no way the movie can cover everything. I’m excited to see how it all plays out. It definitely doesn’t hurt that Jason Momoa will be playing Duncan Idaho!

The audio was phenomenal. It was done with a full cast with music, background instruments and more. I could not believe the amount of work that went into it, but it showed and it only accentuated the story.

I highly recommend this one to sci fi lovers! Don’t be afraid to check your understanding with those online summaries, it helped me get into the swing of things and I couldn’t recommend them enough.

Content Summary: a handful of minor cursing, killing but no bloody details, addiction. 

**As an Amazon associate I earn from qualifying purchases. 

5 Comments

  1. Great review! I read the original books when I was a teenager, not many years after its release. I didn’t get it then. Since I’ve taken a new interest in Sci-fi, I might read them again.

  2. I have very mixed feelings about this one. I love the message and world but I did not like the writing style.

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