This book is very complex in such a good way. It has multiple political and cultural systems that are fleshed out and which interact with each other seamlessly- I am amazed by the detail the author went into with the various groups and their relationships. This book feels to me like a masterclass of political commentary while also being rich in world building. The ecological commentary and general focus on how geography and ecology impact peoples and military strategy was fascinating. I am an environmental scientist with a focus in water and the ecological, social, and political importance of water in this book felt incredibly relevant and timely (despite age of the book!)

I expected this book to be slow paced because of how long it is, but it isn’t- it is pretty fast paced, it is just very long. It can also be dense in places where it gets deep into conversations about military strategy and I had a hard time keeping up with all of the characters and political factions/ got a bit bogged down at times, but I think this book would be served well by a reread.

The way the book handles gender is a bit odd and there are very few women in the book, but 1. the Lady Jessica and the Bene Gesserit are really interesting 2. the cultural roles of women are an interesting part of the world building, so I’m kind of okay with it. Feudalism and colonialism are prominent in this book, which gives in a feeling of the ancient coming back in a new way- like it feels familiar and foreign. It is hard to explain.

The only reason this isn’t a 5 star book is because I struggled to keep reading it- the length is intimidating and I didn’t latch onto any of the characters particularly. I wish there could have been more women for me to get excited about. However, for a book written in 1965, I am very impressed with both how much I enjoyed it and by how timeless it turned out to be.