Dune
by Frank Herbert
science fiction
copyright 1965
read (yet again) in October 2017
rated 9/10: really, really good... but...
Dune. What can I say? One of the great science fiction sagas? Action, intrigue, heroism and deepest betrayal. Entire conversations conveyed in the raising of an eyebrow or the humming of a dandy.
It's the sort of book which needs to be read in its entirety, to follow the moods and complexities of the plot. Then read again, to figure out what all that was about. And yes, I have read Dune at least three times. And this time I may have understood most of it.
I have also read, in 2006, Dune Messiah. And it is rubbish. As I remember... a solid lump of predestination. The hero may be blind but he sees the future so clearly that he can move freely. And he's bulletproof. When I read Messiah I thought, Rubbish. Still, the series continued, so what would I know :-)
Dune, however, is really, really good. But...
The hero is supported by "death commandos", mad killers who will throw themselves on the enemies' knives just so the commando behind can get a clear shot. Men, women and children happily charge to their own deaths so that the fighters behind can get closer to the action.
Oh, wait, no. Women and children -- who are vicious fighters -- will sacrifice themselves so that the men -- the really serious vicious fighters -- can get closer to the action. There are strong signs of separate roles for men and women. The book was published in 1965, after all.
These vicious fighters are clearly based on desert-dwelling Arabs. They wear flowing robes, live in the desert, pop out of the desert just long enough to slaughter, without mercy, anyone that the desert-dwellers have decided is an enemy. They have carried their hatred-of-everyone-else for centuries.
For some reason this stereotype in no longer as enjoyable as it was in 1965.
Then there's the galactic empire. Ruled by an emperor with absolute power. Broken into "houses", each ruled over by someone with absolute power within their own house. Violence, torture, sadism, slavery, all part of the lifestyle.
The Dune hero sees a future of absolute chaos, with his own death commandos likely to storm forth to bring fear, chaos and destruction across the entire empire. All in the hero's name -- whether he's dead or alive. The hero dedicates himself to preventing this chaos.
The hero also has the means to utterly destroy all inter-planetary travel. He uses that as a threat but manages to not use it.
Well, sorry, but why? Or why not?
What I mean is: The Dune empire is -- as far as I can tell -- evil. Destroy it? Who would miss it. Other than the sadistic, murdering, slave-owning masters, that is. Cut off one planet from another? What an excellent idea. Central dictatorship is not working. Why not let each planet develop -- freely -- its own culture? It may be better... or worse... But no, it's hard to imagine that any planetary culture could be worse than the galactic empire on Dune.
Dune is a great story. Very enjoyable. I just wish that the hero was fighting for something better than a slightly improved version of his current, vicious dystopia.
23feb24: Actually... having just re-read the book...
Everyone *else* wants Paul to lead the murderous Fremen to Jihad, to pillage, slaughter and rape across the universe. This will remove the threat of human stagnation...
And Paul does everything he can do to *not* start the jihad. So, good on him. He's a true hero.
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Dune
by Frank Herbert
science fiction (fantasy), dystopia
copyright 1966
re-read December 2021
rated 7/10: well worth reading
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I've read this book before. Years ago. Several times...
Which means that this time it almost made sense :-) So, from my latest reading, some points:
A Dune movie has just been released. It's probably spectacular. I can't imagine that it covers even a fraction of the book.
For one thing: there is a lot of internal dialogue and explanation.
Then there are the Fremen: obviously based on desert-dwelling Arabs. The Fremen are homicidal maniacs. Would the director dare link these maniacs to Arabs? Oh no, says the director, today's Arabs are just like "us"... Problem avoided, book "re-imagined". I wonder if the Fremen still live in a desert?!
So, the book:
It is dystopian. It presents a future world of violence, cruelty and abuse of power. It makes for a good book. It would make for a terrible reality.
There is an organisation which has spent hundreds of years practising eugenics. Their aim is to breed a single person who will... after these centuries of careful breeding... who will start a universal war. With the sole aim of forcing an uncontrolled and random mixing of human genes.
I wonder why they didn't just let humanity do its own mixing.
Not to worry... it's a good book... set in a miserable dystopia.
The Fremen, for example, hate everyone who is not Fremen.
Every day they take time to chant their standard litany of hatred. "They" forced us away from wherever, "they" drove us away from..., "they used us as slaves... and so on.
The suffering was on a series of planets. "They" are not named... the daily litany is simply a reminder to hate everyone. With implications of revenge... against everyone. It's a miserable life and someone (else) is going to pay for it.
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The book ends well. With loose ends tied up and plenty of opportunity for further books...
I read the next Dune book and it was nonsense. The hero's superpowers were ridiculous...
Speaking of which: The hero gains access to racial memories of the past. This -- plus the ability to calculate probabilities -- allows him to see the future... eh? He even sees his sister, who has planted herself in his internal vision of the future... Good grief!
It all makes for an enjoyable book. Science fiction. Edging into fantasy, in a dystopian universe.
It's complicated in the book. I expect that a lot was glossed over in the movie :-)
I hope to see the movie. I avoid the books which continue the Dune story.
Dr Nick Lethbridge / Consulting Dexitroboper
... Agamedes Consulting / Problems ? Solved
===Stay cool but stop at frostbite" ... per Ginger Meggs
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==== Dr Nick Lethbridge / Consulting Dexitroboper & Flaneur
Agamedes Consulting / Problems ? Solved
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"Give a man an inch and he'll think he's a ruler" … Agent 86
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Now much more than a clever name for a holiday journal:
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