| Product: |
Dune - Frank Herbert |
| Date: |
22/12/07 (129 review reads) |
| Rating: |
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Advantages: A wonderful read
Disadvantages: The book is long and you need an interest in sci - fi
Frank Herbert was born in 1920 and created one of the most famous novels in the history of science fiction, Dune. He grew up in Washington state in the USA and Frank loved reading as a child reading the stories of H.G. Wells, Jules Verne, and the science fiction of Edgar Rice Burroughs. From a young age he knew he wanted to be an author.
However, Frank was very independent and he wrote what he wanted to write and this meant he inevitably had a hard time making a living, bouncing from job to job and from town to town. In the end, after six years of research and writing, he finished Dune. Unfortunately it was rejected by many publishers before it was finally approved.
Dune is huge in scope and huge in concept. When reading this book you are dropped into the future of an intricately defined interplanetary civilization. Written in in the late 1950s I understand the idea came from a study of sand dunes on the American West Coast.
In Dune the reader meets Paul Atreides, whose adventures demonstrate that natural ability can triumph over ostracism and an extremely hostile environment. Paul is the son of Duke Leto and his concubine Jessica, members of the House of Atreides, who are opposed by the Harkonnes. He undergoes a painful initiation at the hands of a reverend mother, who is member of the Bene Gesserit Sisterhood.
The Harkonnes plot to destroy Paul fails when Jessica helps him escape. Paul is then required to find his true self on the sand planet Arrakis, where the citizens, Fremen, live las nomads in the desert. Arrakis is the sole source of Melange, a spice that is necessary for interstellar travel and grants psychic powers and extends life. Paul takes the Fremen name 'Muad'Dib'.
Paul's destiny and way to power is foretold by the Bene Gesserit Order. He rides a sandworm and drinks the Water of Life, a poisonous but mind-altering drug. As the book progresses Paul makes a metamorphosis into a kind of god.
I found Dune a compelling read and can see why it is considered one of the greatest Science Fiction novels of all time and why it won a Hugo award. Because it is so big in concept the book doesn't really date and the political and religious undertones give it a clever link to reality. This is reinforced by the use of nomads in the desert of Dune that have remarkable similarities to desert dwellers in our own world.
I don't want to give too much away, but I still find the way Frank Herbert deals with the lack of water on Dune wonderful. Designing a suit to prevent the loss of body fluids seems perfectly plausible, but as we all know it is only the stuff of science fiction.
In summary, I recommend this book to anyone with an interest in science fiction. It is a long and enthralling read that takes you completely out of this world.
Summary: A book about living on a planet that is ALL desert.
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