Dune - Frank Herbert: The "Magnum Opus" That Did Not Deliver

 


-         Ambitious in scope with its “space opera” canon, depicting the politics and machinations of the royal members, great houses, the Spacing Guild, CHOAM Company, Bene Gesserit cult, all vying for power in the form of spice on a desert planet – Arrakis.

 

-         Unusual structuring: excerpt from some books that Princess Irulan later wrote about Muad'Dib in the beginning of every chapter, appendixes at the end of the book, explaining and expanding “the Dune universe”. 

 

-         Although I enjoyed some of the dialogs, for me personally, the writing is outdated. The author was so fascinated with the eastern mysticism, middle eastern culture plus the inevitable Cold War sentiments, that we can easily trace their signs on the pages of Dune. That’s too obvious and not so creative, in my humble opinion. Some of the examples: the Emperor’s name (Shaddam IV), “jihad”, all fremen on Arrakis looking and behaving like Arabs, the spice and the related mental powers (clearly inspired by yoga and meditation techniques so popular in the West in 70s-80s), “pogrom” (borrowed from Russian meaning an attack on an ethnic group), the name of the most evil antagonist – Vladimir – typical Russian name…

 

-         Continuing with the name issue… Two of the most “mentally gifted” characters are named Paul and Jessica - such very ordinary and boring American names, which nag at me from the very first pages. What is the author hinting at? That the Americans are so exceptional? There are so many exotic names to choose from, one could even invent new unique names (like George Martin so artfully did in Game of Thrones, with the likes of Daenerys, Sansa, Cersei, Arya…) 

 

-         Some of the “mental power” techniques like “the voice”, or “weirding way” of fighting is just plain ridiculous and unbelievable.

 

-         The characters are not well shaped. I cannot fathom the transformation of the young Paul Atreides to Paul Muad'Dib: how, all of a sudden, he became so ruthless and heartless. I know practically nothing about Chani, the girl who meant so much to Paul and was mother of his child; or about Princess Irulan, the second wife who was supposed to know him so well that she later wrote books about Muad'Dib. The character Lord Fenring with his quirky drawl served nothing to the plot.

 

-         Overall, I was not impressed with the book, considering the hype it generated over the years. I’m planning to read following-ups to Dune to see if they are an improvement, but as it was, the world of Dune did not seem very attractive to me. Considering the author’s efforts, plus the sheer scope and length of the book, I would rate it 4/5, but it did not earn its place in my list of favourite sci-fis.

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