Dune - Frank Herbert

Dune has always been one of those influential books I intended to read, but whenever I tried, it seemed like too much nonsensical mumbo jumbo. I have never been the biggest fan of science fiction, and Dune's heavy lexicon is enough to put off most casual readers. Its extensive appendices, maps, and glossary are indicators of a well-padded fantasy world. The likes of Tolkein and Frank Herbert were not content with writing enjoyable stories, they wanted to create entire, coherent universes, complete with new languages, metric systems, and political histories. This time around, I was finally able to penetrate Herbert's world, and once those painful preliminaries were out of the way, I was all in. There are a lot of complex politics to unravel, but the core plot of the story centres around a valuable commodity known as 'spice', or 'melange' which can only be farmed on the inhospitable desert planet Arrakis, which is populated by giant sandworms. Spice is used to fund and enable intergalactic travel, so without it, worlds and economies stagnate. 

Duke Leto Atreides, the head of an influential royal house, is ordered by the Emperor to move to Arrakis and take over mining operations. Young Paul Atreides, the ducal heir, has been having prescient dreams about the planet, whilst his mother, the Lady Jessica, harbours her own secret mission. The previous stewards of Arrakis, the brutal Harkonnens, are rivals of the Atreides and seek to destroy their lineage. Then there are the Fremen, desert dwelling people and natives of Arrakis based on Middle Eastern cultures, who await the coming of a mythical Messiah. Themes of prophecy abound as Herbert delves into the mysticism that characterised sixties science-fiction, along with real world religious parallels. Herbert has created a dazzling array of characters that may take some getting used to, and his political maneuverings can be suitably subtle, requiring a focused mind to adequately follow the plot's many twists. Although I did become heavily invested in the world and greatly enjoyed the book, I have little inclination to read the many sequels, for I hear they become more philosophical and harder to digest.

Rating: 4/5