Dune - Frank Herbert - A brief review

Although I was never much interested any kind science fiction novels I came across Dune simply by boredom. I was fed up with current political news and I wanted to immerse myself in something apart from the reality of every day life.

I think I made a good choice by picking up Dune. I finished the book and quickly realised that this is not simply about science fiction but also a reflection of the world we are in.  Dune has themes of politics, corruption , genetics, wars and so on. One does not usually expect such an abundance of heavy theme in a science fiction book but here it was and I enjoyed it immensely.

The first Dune book was written in 1965. From what I gather from the net the book was an instant hit. Dune was followed by a series of following stories however none of them were able to reach the success of the first one. There are many links and blogs dedicated to Dune. The links are below.

Whenever I told my friends that I was reading Dune, a feeling of nostalgia hit them. Many told me that they read the book when they were little. Many of them played the PC- game Dune , which looks like a prequel to any of the C&C games. Nevertheless everyone I know remembers the Dune as a childhood memory which is good but also a reminder that how late I am  = )

A day ago I finished God Emperor: Dune . I liked the book however some of the parts was excruciating to read. The flow of the story was slow. There were too many details which did not seem to make sense but in the end it all came together.  God Emperor may not be the first book to advise to anyone who did not read Dune first. However given the background of II. Leto the story was sad and confusing at the same time. I think i will take a break from Dune by reading a different book and proceed with the series afterwards.  This is not to say this is a bad book but it is a difficult read.

I should also add that Dune borrows Arabic terms and Fremen is loosely based on Arabic people. It could be striking for a Western reader to see some Turkish / Arabic words used in the book but it does not have the same affect on me since I am Turkish and I really know the real meaning of the words and the terms that are used in the book.

I will update this entry with as much as possible.
For now this is it.

Chapterhouse:Dune Goodreads Reviews

Dune Novels

Dune Artwork on Pinterest


Ersin.