Dune (Dune Chronicles #1)

Its a classic. Not much more I can add.

Reader reviewed by leebase

Dune -- my favorite book of all time.   Dune is a rich and complex book with religious, political, social themes.   It's sci fi, and there is action -- but it is not Star Trek or Star Wars, it's far deeper and more rich than that.

I wouldn't recommend this book until high school and for advanced readers with a bent for sci fi or books that provoke thought.   This is no "Harry Potter" that is merely long.   Frank Herbet creates a whole universe filled with wonder, power, intrigue.  

Paul Atriedes is the main character, a boy who is the result of hundreds of generations of a secret breeding project designed to create a "Kwisacs Haderac" -- someone who can see into the future.   But Paul arrives earlier than expected and falls outside the control of the "Bene Geserrets" the society of women that know all the past but not the future.

This book is about character, honor and so much more.  Originally designed as a trilogy, it has sense spanned into a whole series of books in the "Duniverse".

Reader reviewed by Maggie

I thought the book Dune, by Frank Herbert, was one of the best science fiction books I've ever read (and trust me-I'm a sci-fi/fantasy junkie). This book is about a boy named Paul, or Paul Atreides to be exact. Paul is 15 years old and small for his age at the beginning of the book, but it spans several years.

Paul is the son of the Duke Leto Atreides, duke of Caladan. However, the emperor transfers their fief to Arrakis, a desert planet rich in the drug called 'spice'. This appears to be a victory for the Atreides, but everyone knows better. It is actually a trap devised by the evil House Harkonnen, who have an old grudge against the Atreides. The emperor goes along with the plan because he wants the Atreides, along with their dangerous and sizable military force, eliminated.

So, the Duke is betrayed and killed -- by whom I'll leave you to find out.

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.

Reader reviewed by breathemoonlite

Ok, so maybe you have seen this Sci-Fi Classic on video. The book blows the film right out of the sand! The detail is so intense it will blow your mind. Follow the adventures of this brave off-worlder family as they try to survive not only the deadly planet, but their arch-rivals the Harkonins.
Dune, desert planet, the spice, Muah-Dib, all come to life in this epic.

Reader reviewed by Robbert-Jan

The first book of the series, this book surprised me with many very original ideas. I especially like the different schools (Guild, Bene Gesserit, Mentat), the taboo on thinking machines and of course the spice and the neverending striving of the different factions to lay their hands on it. Frank Herbert is a very innovative sf writer, imo.

Reader reviewed by Anthony Davidson

Dune is, in my opinion, truly a masterpiece... it exemplifies the limitless possibilities of the human imagination, and it is more than merely a typical science fiction novel. I've read it nearly a half a dozen times since I first picked it up a year and a half ago, and there's always some new aspect, some new point of view that I had never seen before.

Herbert expanded the science fiction boundaries to more than just a time or a place, more than just cool wristwatch gadgets and advanced supercomputers; the Atreides and the Harkonnens illustrate a depth of plot that may never again be matched.

He was able to create an entire working universe, complete in detail and theory, that so immerses the reader in political, religious, and ecological intrigue that it is possible to feel more an active participant than a distant observer. Without the slightest amount of hesitation, I would proclaim that Dune is the greatest work of fiction to ever be conceived, and anyone who has not read it should do so immediately.