Frank Herbert's Dune
Where Did I Get This Book?: I was given my first copy of Dune
Why Did I Choose This Book?: If there’s an epic in fiction that addresses a more broad view of the human experience in a setting created entirely around showcasing that esperience, I’ve yet to see it.
The Story’s Strengths: The narrative of Dune as a book is one of it’s best points. There’s a real sense of power in the story right from the first page. Paul Atreides is easily one of the most tragic characters I’ve read, aside from CS Friedman’s Hunter” – who I’ll save for a later review.
The Story’s Weaknesses: Unfortunately much of the weakness in Dune comes from its expansion over the years. Dune itself is a self-sustaining story with no direct need of a subsequent book, but Herbert’s sextet (with Dune Messiah, Children of Dune, God-Emperor of Dune, Heretics of Dune and Chapterhouse Dune following) is a fixed parallax tale. Brian Herbert and his people have done a good job of expanding the universe, but the direction the reader finds in the timeline of the original Dune sextet just doesn’t seem to be there in the remaining books – it’s enhancement of the setting, and in some cases brilliant writing, but it removes a lot of the mystique of the original six.
Why I’m Recommending This Book: Where to begin? Dune is a classic, it’s evocative, powerful and aboe all human. If you get an edition with the extras Herbert wrote – the preface and the afterwords as well as the expanded index and history – you’ll see a bit of the process that went into the book. The Dune series is one of the most intentionally written series of books I’ve ever read, and writing with intention is something I strive for.
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