Dune by Frank Herbert

Science Fiction, Space Opera, Action, War

Dune is about a duke’s son named Paul. Paul’s father dies and loses his lands—well, an entire planet. The newly minted and exiled duke is determined to reclaim his rightful inheritance.

His father’s killer, a Barron, takes over the planet Dune. He has a massive army and a considerable force. With the emperor’s support, the Barron is a force to be reckoned with. 

It was refreshing to have a common name for our hero. One of my struggles with fantasy and sci-fi are all the made-up names. I feel like authors want to make the names as hard to remember as possible. However, the name Paul seems a bit understated for our galactic hero. I think the author could have found a happy medium.

Paul hooks up with a resistance group called the Freemen. Among them, he attempts to raise an army out of rebels. Will they follow Paul? Will Paul reclaim his birthright?

This book has some Star Wars and Game of Thrones vibes. If you like either of those franchises, there’s a good chance you’ll enjoy Dune. This book will work for you if you’re a sci-fi or fantasy fan. And if you’re a diehard fan of these genres, I’m sure you’ve already read Dune since it is a classic written decades ago.

To me, Dune fell short of the five-star mark. Although I know, many fans would happily rate it as such. This book is a slow build. I just wasn’t gripped.

A lot of this had to do with the writing and the outdated technology. Since it was written so long ago, the technology described seems old-fashioned. For this reason, sci-fi doesn’t tend to age well. I remember my dad telling the original Star Trek used rotating numbers—think old car odometers—because digital hadn’t occurred to them. I’m sure today’s digital numbers will seem entirely obsolete for future generations.

I wasn’t in love with Frank Herbert’s writing style. His prose wasn’t anything to admire. I found myself working through tedious passages and required coffee to keep from falling asleep during the boring parts.

If this was the 1960’s, I definitely could see the great appeal of this book’s technology. I also did end up enjoying the book.

My final award to Dune is four stars. I usually am when it comes to sci-fi and fantasy. Learning the ins and outs of the world and multiple characters usually overwhelms me. But once I settled in, the book became fast-paced and enjoyable.