“I don’t like sand. It’s coarse and rough and irritating – and it gets everywhere.” – Anakin Skywalker
Dune (Dune #1)
Author: Frank Herbert
Pages: 704
Format: Paperback
Published: June 1, 1965
Publisher: Ace
View on Goodreads
Date Completed: August 28, 2024
My rating: 
Thoughts
I’ve gone a lot of my life without reading this book. I’m not entirely sure why I’ve avoided it. I think in some ways I was intimidated by its fame. It seemed like it would be a hard read. That doesn’t stop me these days…
Also, before I get into things, I should say that the only film based on this book that I’ve seen was the 2021 (part one) film by Denis Villeneuve. But I remember shockingly little from it; I think this is due to the fact that I hadn’t read the book yet. So, I did.
What surprised me the most and right off the bat about this book was how accessible it was. I avoided reading the appendices until after I read the main guts of the novel. Sure, there was some mystery, but that was obviously intended. There were a lot of names and places and terms, but overall it was actually quite easy to follow.
However, and this is probably part of the genius of Frank Herbert, I almost felt like I needed to turn right back to page one and start reading it again as soon as I finished it. I can see why people read and re-read this book. I think the reader would get more and more out of it each time. But you’re not also left with your head laying on the table, tongue hanging out, and drool pooling in your ear. You’re just ready to get into the next one (unless you’ve chosen to reset your bookmark to the beginning).
If I have one gripe about this classic, and ultimately why I reduced my rating, it’s that there are some time jumps in here that are quite jarring. It made Paul’s (really Muad’Dib’s) rise feel too fast. Not that the book needed to be any longer, but the introduction of the characters was great and the pace at which he had to earn the trust of the Fremin seemed good. But then all of a sudden they’re going to battle with Paul-Muad’Dib at the forefront. And the battle itself seemed to go pretty quick. What we got was great, but I almost wanted more!
Overall, I give this book 4.5 stars (4 on Goodreads). Literally as soon as I finished reading it I headed out to Barnes & Noble to get the next couple books. I’ll probably get into Dune Messiah before the end of this year.
