Review Detail

Reader reviewed by Paul P. Mealing

I remember DUNE as the first sci-fi book I read, and certainly it was the book that turned me on to Science Fiction. I think it influenced Star Wars: the use of religion, Luke Skywalker's home planet itself, and in the first movie there is even a reference to spice traders by Hans Solo (deliberate or not, I don't know).

David Lynch's movie is probably the best attempt to bring it to screen, yet none of the film versions I've seen have captured the book's depth and scope. Frank Herbert was the first to combine Sci-fi with fantasy elements in this unique way: another forerunner to Lucas's epic saga.

Duke Atreides family forced exile onto a hostile water-starved planet, which led to their unlikely renaissance, made me think of Australia's early colonial history, though our treatment of the indigenous inhabitants could have learned a lot from Paul Muad'Dib's example.

It was published in 1965, yet I don't believe it has dated. Arthur C. Clarke compared it to Lord of the Rings, and I would include them both in my top 10 books of fiction.