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Isaac M

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Dune (Dune #1)

by Frank Herbert

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Isaac M said: " It’s hard to overstate the expanse of the universe Frank Herbert created in his masterpiece, Dune. The gushing flows of wealth and power from the Padishah Emperor, the paradise world of Caladan, the restless wastes of Arrakis. The crux of an age lay It’s hard to overstate the expanse of the universe Frank Herbert created in his masterpiece, Dune. The gushing flows of wealth and power from the Padishah Emperor, the paradise world of Caladan, the restless wastes of Arrakis. The crux of an age lays on this desert planet Arrakis, a land of the dying and the sandworms. The Great Houses, the various worlds and civilizations, even the Imperials and the Guild have their eyes turned, gazing at the world from where the spice comes. Hard to follow, harder to parse, this story whisks you through the desert winds on an unforgettable journey through uncertain times.
House Atreides, made up and told primarily from the perspectives of Paul, Duke Leto, and Lady Jessica, who’s been trained in the ways of the Bene Gesserit, take ownership of Arrakis, known more commonly as Dune. It is the only place where melange, the spice, is found. Allowing for future sight and the use of faster-than-light travel, it’s the stuff that connects the human universe, but is additionally lethally addictive. The Harkonnens, hungry to finish a feud and for power, uses an illegal Sardaukar force, the Emperor’s unbeatable army, to drive the Atreides House to near extinction, killing the Duke in the process. The Fremen, the ancient original inhabitants of Dune, take him in, and after showing off his immense skills as a Bene Gesserit trained by his mother and tactical leader, he becomes the leader and religious figurehead of the Fremen people, becoming Paul-Muad’Dib. Paul is determined to stop the jihad he sees in the future, with the powers he’s gained from the spice. In a gamble the size of the universe, he and his Fremen defeat the once thought undefeatable Sardaukar and bringing the Emperor to his knees. Paul, now crowned Emperor, sends out his Fremen forces out to the distant worlds for conversion, starting the jihad he had always feared.
Of course, this is just one small part of the story. It would take me the length of the book, or the series, to describe every bit of lore and aspect of the many religions and peoples and events that’s in this universe. It’s so expansive, this entire universe, it’s really awe-inspiring how much meticulous love went into the world building, or should I say universe building. The saga’s a post-future tale in a second person perspective that brings to light the vastness and strangeness of this world. Its descriptivity is unparalleled in anything else I’ve ever read, only competing and perhaps surpassing another series I highly recommend, Broken Earth by NK Jemisin. The only real complaint I could have is that it’s too vast, too daunting for the average reader. However, with a bit of patience and rereading, you’ll be embraced by an alternate universe almost as real as our own.
Intricate in its word play and blunt about its massive size and scale, this story juggles religion, history, politics, and personal connections outstandingly well. Its seductive allure is well based, and will certainly keep you intrigued and and awestruck at how such a breathtaking universe could be melded together to fit onto each page of this masterpiece. ...more "

Nov 28, 2018 10:03PM · see review