Book Notes: Dune

Frank Herbert

A random quote

Hawat’s attention was caught by a flash of sun on metal to the south, a ‘thopter plummeting there in a power dive, wings folded flat against its sides, its jets a golden flare against the dark silvery gray of the sky.

Thoughts

Dune is viewed by many to be the first true hand-crafted science fiction universe. Predating Star Wars, The Matrix and Ender’s Game (as the blurb boastfully points out), I was interested to see whether the book still stands tall in a genre that has become much more crowded since its initial publication in 1966.

Dune certainly constructs a living breathing world that spans far beyond the limited scope of its narrative. There is a palpable sense that the universe and characters of Dune existed long before the book begins, and continues to exist long after. Herbert bloats his narrative with exposition, and as the reader you feel more like a mind-reading observer handed just enough scraps of information to follow along. It’s likely you’ll finish Dune still unsure about much of the specifics, and I think these loose ends and unanswered questions contributed to its massive success in the mind-60s.

For me though, Dune was very much a place I feel I didn’t belong. There were no characters that I could really connect with, and in a world so hostile, I was kinda relived when it was all over. Nonetheless, it’s true that Dune’s meticulously detailed universe still rivals that of today’s blockbuster brands, and is undoubtedly a fascinating case-study into the origins of science fiction.

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