Dune (Dune #1) in Book Riot's Read Harder Challenge

Apr 27, 2020 Nick rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: science-fiction, fantasy

When I heard that a new Dune movie was coming out, I figured it was time to re-read the book. A friend turned me on to this amazing audio version, which I highly recommend to anyone who is looking for an engaging and exciting way to read this book. Major kudos to Simon Vance for providing a base narration that carries all the characters between the segments that are narrated with the full cast. This is an exceptional audiobook, and a great way to encounter this book, whether your first time or y When I heard that a new Dune movie was coming out, I figured it was time to re-read the book. A friend turned me on to this amazing audio version, which I highly recommend to anyone who is looking for an engaging and exciting way to read this book. Major kudos to Simon Vance for providing a base narration that carries all the characters between the segments that are narrated with the full cast. This is an exceptional audiobook, and a great way to encounter this book, whether your first time or your fortieth.

This was the first time I had read the book since high school, and I honestly didn't know how I was going to receive it. I'm not one of those people for whom the book had a profound effect. But I certainly remember reading it, and it does stand out for me as a science fiction masterpiece, even with 25+ years' distance from having read it. Another interesting influence on reading it now was having seen the David Lynch movie after reading the book, but not having read the book since. I was honestly surprised at how much the Lynch movie stayed in my mind listening to the book this time through. I always kind of thought that the Lynch movie wasn't very faithful to the book, but with the Lynch movie's imagery in my mind as I listened to the book this time around, I was honestly surprised at how well it hung with the book. I'm not sure I want to go re-watch the Lynch movie (mainly because, I'm sorry, but Sting as Feyd-Rautha?), but I think I need to give it more credit.

Let's start with the good. This is an amazing piece of science fiction. You especially have to admire it when you consider that it was published in 1965. Nothing like this had been done before. There was just nothing like it. I can totally see now where Herbert's influences were coming from, but in 1965 this must have been a totally out-of-left-field stunner. One more piece of the counter-cultural revolution that was spreading across the globe at that point, but still... what a groundbreaker. There would have been no Star Wars without Dune. An entire branch of science fiction-- the Space Opera-- never would have existed without Dune. The idea of science fiction as a genre that could tell us something about environmentalism or cross-cultural tolerance wouldn't have had the traction it ultimately had. Dune may have been looking at the Vietnam war and the post-World War Middle East for its social commentary, but the overarching messages of care for the planet and respect for those different than us became timeless. All of these messages hold up exceedingly well, and are still pertinent today.

But... oh, but. The book is also wholly a product of 1965. And the thing that was most jarring to me on this re-reading was the misogyny. If you haven't read the book through 21st century eyes this may be a surprise to you. After all, weren't the Bene Gesserit a powerful all-female force in the book? Wasn't Jessica an independent actor? A strong woman who shaped the destiny of an entire planet and even her race? Well maybe, especially through the lens of the world of 1965. But now? The women in this story are all secondary to the men and their destinies. Even Chani, a character who when first introduced appears to be fiercely independent and a leader in her own right, ultimately winds up subjugating her own will and desires to Muad’Dib.

Which gets at what bothered me the most about Dune rereading it now. The story is ultimately a “Great Man” story. The Great Man knows that he is destined for greatness, and all of the problems of the story can be solved by him alone. Every challenge in the book is just one more piece of his path to greatness. Even if there is some conflict, you’re never actually in doubt that he will fulfill his destiny. It’s the same issue that permeates Ayn Rand’s books: everyone in the story is just a foil for the Great Man’s journey to fulfill his birthright. No wonder this story appeals to high school boys: you’re destined for greatness if you can just bend others to your indomitable will. And of course the corollary: anyone who tells you otherwise is just standing in your way.

Given the world we find ourselves in now, this sort of story seems not only dated, but fundamentally flawed. We’ve now seen the end result of seeking and lifting up the Great Man as the sole solution to all of our problems. I think it’s really telling that this book came out right at the beginning of the countercultural movement, and greatly influenced a lot of the Boomer generation as they were reaching adulthood. How much of these sorts of narratives ultimately influenced the world of the 1980s and 1990s and the societal problems now that have stemmed from those times? It’s making me want to reread Stranger in a Strange Land through this same lens. That book arguably had an even greater influence on the counterculture, and I’m now questioning whether it really was a story of communal living and enlightenment, or if it was also fundamentally a Great Man story.

These differences are particularly stark in comparison to the Broken Earth series by J.K. Jemisin, another Hugo award winner that I just finished. In that series you have a female, dark-skinned protagonist who plays a significant role in solving the problems of the world, but can only do it with the assistance of her friends and loved ones around her. No wonder the “Sad Puppies” were so torn up by the Hugo going to that series. It undermined everything they believed belonged in the science fiction canon.

Harry Potter is another contemporary contrast, where you have a young man identified early on as “the chosen one,” but at the end of the story we discover that the world’s problems can only be solved by everyone coming together to stand up for what’s right. And in that story there’s an even greater contrast, because Harry and his friends are set up against a Great Man character. Voldemort’s followers demonstrably subjugate their wills to his, and he alone has the vision and the power to create the world they want.

Given the changes that have happened in our society over the last 50+ years, I’m going to be very interested to see how the 2020 movie handles these differences. Obviously there are still people in our society who believe in the Great Man ideal, but I think that culturally we have moved on from it, and it certainly looks like the movie is targeted at a younger audience. If the misogyny and subjugation to the Great Man is too obvious, will the audiences still respond?

I’m not sorry I reread the book. Dune is still a tour de force of science fiction. It’s still a seminal work in the genre. Its message of environmentalism and cultural tolerance is still valuable to hear. But it’s also good to be mindful of the problematic elements of the story, and not make more of it than it is: a groundbreaking work of science fiction and a great adventure story. ...more

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Jan 14, 2010 Erin rated it really liked it

I really enjoyed this book - but I felt like it ended at the end of a chapter rather than at the end of the story. I had not originally planned on reading the other books in the series, but now I feel like I need to in order to find out what happens... which I guess means it's a good book if, having once read the book, I feel the need to continue my relationship with the characters and find out what happens to them. ...more

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Sep 25, 2007 Sarah rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction

I'm not a huge Sci Fi fan, so maybe I missed something, but I thought this book lacked development in its creation of its universe, so some of the "inventions" seemed gratuitious and unnecessary.

The plot is very readable, though, and I enjoyed reading it. Not sure I would really recommend it to anyone except big Sci Fi fans, certainly not on the level of Lord of the Rings or Harry Potter in its mainstream appeal or quality of development. ...more

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