Dune

Dune by Frank Herbert (1965)

★★★★★

Dune book cover

The book’s edges are sprayed a lovely shade of spice blue. My photo does it no justice.

There’s spoilers, but if you are worried about spoilers on a sixty year old book, honestly that’s on you.

I guess this is a five star book because why not? Perhaps I too am caught up in the mythos of the Kwisatz Haderach, Muad’Dib, Lisan al Gaib, Usul, whatever. The worldbuilding is as immaculate as my cock’s feathers. A little bronzing here and there, nothing more.

It’s cool seeing how cultural osmosis has affected my perception. I read a few wiki pages and watched the first half of the first film. I knew the general idea: Timothy, chosen one, takes over the universe, starts a genocide (bad and stuff), his son Leto II does questionable things as a sandworm for a few thousand years and spawned many hilarious book covers. Herbert’s son Herbert continues the series except it’s awful and Dune fans don’t even consider it canon, a la Cursed Child.

I also have 60.6 hours on Dune: Awakening. Neat game, available on Steam, often 40% off. It’s set in an AU, but they actually paid attention to lore. It’s not just a desert survival/crafting game. I respect that.

Parts I wasn’t expecting:

  • The traitor Doctor Yueh basically voluntells Leto I to commit a murder-suicide. And he does, even though he hates Yueh, because it’s the tactical thing to do.
  • We know the Harkonnens are going to get the Atreides from page sixteen. The book is a good 658 pages.
  • Paul and Chani have A WHOLE SON before Leto & Ghanima. And he was alive, and he was actually named Leto too, and he got killed. He’s introduced so nonchalantly; it seems Paul barely cares if he lives or dies.
  • Irulan begins every chapter with a short passage that may or may not be related.
  • Feyd-Rautha tries unsuccessfully to kill his uncle, and his uncle punishes him by making him kill his favorite guards and all the female concubines (Uncle is mostly gay, so no loss there).

this is cool because it highlights the blindspots from wiki-and-movie stuff.

OTHER COOL STUFF The worldbuilding is the highlight. Ice cold take. Points such as:

Water is a big deal on Arrakis. Timothy is rich and unaffected by this, but the scarcity affects every aspect of life. It’s currency. It’s a luxury to be squandered as a show of wealth. It’s a lens through which everything else on the planet is viewed.

Spice is, gram-for-gram, the most expensive thing in the universe. Consuming a lot of it turns your eyes very blue. You’d assume that would be a sign of wealth! But no, on Arrakis it’s a sign that you’re a brokie rather than a rich guy who can afford off-planet food that’s not infused with the Geriatric spice.

There was a brief mention about different planet timezones. I’ve never thought about it before - you can’t just add/subtract an hour or five. The watches have to tick at completely different rates.

Page 273: “A faint anomaly in the room’s air currents told him there was a secret exit to their right behind the filing cabinets.” The people are special and stuff, not meant to be particularly relatable I think. Later on, his mother has to pass a test by literally stopping time and rearranging molecules to neutralize poison.

The Harkonnens are delightfully evil. Unrepentant oppressors who have it down to a science. I wonder how the inspiration phone book Harkonnens feel? Feyd-Rautha remains my favorite character in the whole franchise. I will not elaborate.

Mid review for a great book. Alright, gotta go.