I tried reading Dune about a million years ago, but couldn’t get into it. I’d since seen the movie and mini series, but I’m finding they come nowhere near the character of the books.
A lot of the characters in *Dune *engage in internal dialogue that would be difficult to express in visual media. Baron Harkonnen for example, is portrayed as a loud disfigured blowhard in the movie, but more elegant and flamboyant in the mini. I didn’t get either personality aspect while reading about him. He’s constantly evaluating everyone he talks to, observing their reactions, thinking about their wants and desires and how he can use that information against them. He’s also not the type to act out in public or put on airs, because that’s a weakness that can be exploited. In addition, he has an entitled aristocratic attitude, and dismisses the Fremen as any kind of threat, because they’re peasants.
Paul Atreides is too unique a character to have somebody not in a similar mold convincingly portray, especially an actor in his mid-teens. He’s like a child genius, not only in facts and calculations, but in military tactics and politics, skills that are earned by experience. His sister Alia is the same way, but it’s because her mother inherited the memories and experiences of the previous Reverend Mother and transmitted them in the womb. I don’t know (yet) if Paul had similar genetic programming, but he is the product of Bene Jesseret planning after all.
Anyhoo, I’m almost finished with the first trilogy, and I’m eventually going to grab the rest of the books. I understand they’re not as popular as the first series, because the hero Paul Atreides isn’t so lovable any more. I think that’s awesome, because it shows that messiah figures don’t always act in everybody’s interest.
You also have to keep in mind the novel was published in 1965. At the time, Arabic culture and ecology were largely unexplored ideas in science fiction.
One unfortunate aspect of the book was that Herbert didn’t like homosexuals (he was born in 1920; he grew up in a different time). So he used hints of homosexuality as a means of identifying the Harkonnens as the villains.
Back in the day, I followed the rule that, once started, you must finish a book. I had to force myself to finish *Dune, *in spite of falling asleep every now and then. If you remained conscious while finishing the book, I salute you.
I read them back in 1977 when the first Star Wars movie came out and a reviewer mentioned the books as possible similar sources. I liked the first one very much but the rest not so much. When the movie came out it ruined the visuals in my head. I tried to reread them again about ten years ago but they are now a tough read for me.
It took me the 3rd or 4th start before I could actually read Dune all the way through, and that was the only book that ever worked like that on me. And after God, Emperor of Dune, my interest sort of faded out. Though I found Brian’s prequels readable.
I was a Dune guy. Read it in my early teens and it just worked for me. It wore its internal dialogue and Big Questions more on its sleeve within an epic narrative vs. Tolkien’s allegory, or Azimov’s fables. Like Philip K. Dick meets Tolstoy.
I agree that Herbert’s universe feels more shaded vs. melodramatic.
Glad you’re enjoying it, Knowed Out - I have read everything and would say the trilogy stands alone as “Dune” in my mind, and the rest I can take or leave.
I read the series when I was in high school. At the time only the first three books were published: Dune, Dune Messiah, and Children of Dune. At the time, readers thought the series was complete. I liked the first two books but wasn’t as happy with the third one.
I tried reading the official fan-fic, but I gave up when I read about an Atreides munching something. An Atreides does not munch; the style was all wrong.
I finished the first series. I felt like the grand finale was a bit rushed, but I am interested in reading about the fallout that’s going to ensue from Emperor Atreides’s rule. The movie actually showed more of the physical effects of spice dependence, showing how the desire for visions for use in space navigation and religious mysticism takes its toll on the body.
In reading Brian’s afterword, I learned that Frank Herbert wanted the books to appeal to different layers of perception, or maybe that was just his excuse for being obtuse.
As Critical said, Frank Herbert wrote more than three books. Frank Herbert wrote the first six books and the outline for a seventh book. His son Brian and co-author Kevin Anderson finished the outline and turned it into two books. They then wrote ten more books and are supposedly going to write an eleventh.
