the personal journal of Brent Stewart
A friend recently asked for my opinion on Dune, the siminal work by Frank Herbert. I read Dune about forty years ago, but my overall impression deep and imaginative world-building, an Islamic-inspired setting (still strangely unique in Science Fiction), and the Superman-esque storytelling around the Kwsisatz-Haderach. I was deeply taken in by the setting and characters, but put off by the Deus ex Machina elements of Paul’s abilities.
I have often remarked that a readers’ time and experience can completely re-align a story. For example, I’ve read Stranger in a Strange Land and Ender’s Game several times, decades apart, and walked away with new insights and appreciation each time. There’s an old Buddhist saying that one cannot enter the same river twice - both the river and the person are dynamic and the second dip is a different person and different water. Well, there’s no water on Arrakis and it was the same for me both times.
This reading journal isn’t intended to be a set of reviews, more a record of where I’ve been and some encouragement for you to try some of them. I restrict myself to two questions:
Yes and kinda. This was my uncle Neal’s favorite and I read it and some of the sequels out of my love for him. Reading it was a nice reminder of our time together. Yes - I knew the story, knew where it was going, have seen the films and been reminded of plot, and I still enjoyed reading it and appreciating the world Frank Herbert created. Kinda - I felt that the plot resolved itself in an unsatisfying way. If the spice hand’t affected Paul, it might have had a more interesting conclusion. I’ve read several Frank Herbert books and I enjoy his imagination and writing, but stumble over his plotting sometimes.
If you are a serious student of Science Fiction or even an affecianado, Dune is a touchstone. I think the religious angle could lead to some interesting thoughts and conversations. It’s interesting, for example, the the repulsion of jihad is a part of Paul’s thought process, even thought the book was written well before the big middle-Eastern conflicts of my lifetime. Less committed readers may this a difficult read to enjoy.