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I feel like everyone and their cousin has told me to read Frank Herbert’s [b:Dune|44767458|Dune (Dune, #1)|Frank Herbert|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1555447414l/44767458._SY75_.jpg|3634639] by this point, and while I put it off because I was worried it would not live up to the hype, now I can only kick myself for not having read it sooner. What a fantastic book.
“I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.”
First off, Herbert is masterful at world-building; he is for sci-fi what Tolkien is for fantasy. If you enjoy the extended universe of films like Star Wars then you will like Dune, especially once you consider that George Lucas pretty much ripped off a lot from Herbert—just sayin’.
A story of different ruling Houses—the Atreides, Harkonnen, and Corrino—comes to a head on the planet Arrakis. This planet is key in that it produces mélange, or “spice,” a substance that fuels the Known Universe. In addition to fueling travel, mélange is a potent drug that extends life and gifts users with enhanced mental capabilities. It sounds like psychedelic mushrooms that double as petrol, and this kooky McGuffin had me all in.
“There was the sharpened clarity, the inflow of data, the cold precision of his awareness. He sank to the floor, sitting with his back against rock, giving himself up to it. Awareness flowed into that timeless stratum where he could view time, sensing the available paths, the wind of the future… the winds of the past: the one-eyed vision of the past, the one-eyed vision of the present, and the one-eyed vision of the future—all combined in a trinocular vision that permitted him to see time-become-space.”
Also, notable, are the Bene Gesserit, a group of women who have magical powers (basically—space witches), and the Fremen, the native people of Arrakis subjected to imperial rule. All of these different factions are at odds with one another, but these two both believe in a coming messiah. In a book filed with powerful rulers, will the Kwisatz Haderach be the leader long prophesized? Well, if there is any concept that rises as most prominent in this text, it is that one should not place blind faith in a mythical savior.
Such a figure would have obvious appeal in an intergalactic empire filled with cruel uncertainty. The simple notion takes something complex, makes it into something more digestible, and shields a small individual within a larger security. But simple does not mean safe. A human with a kind heart, and a being with multitudes of knowledge, one would think that a savior such as this would have all the answers. But omnipotence does not free a human of dealing with the bullshit of being human. We will always be subject to the context of our time.
“How would you like to live billions upon billions of lives? …There's a fabric of legends for you! Think of all those experiences, the wisdom they'd bring. But wisdom tempers love, doesn't it? And it puts a new shape on hate. How can you tell what's ruthless unless you've plumbed the depths of both cruelty and kindness?”
Overall, this book is such amazing fun. I look forward to reading the other entries in the series; this strange, strange universe is something any nerd could happily get lost in.
Rating: 4.5 stars
“I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.”
First off, Herbert is masterful at world-building; he is for sci-fi what Tolkien is for fantasy. If you enjoy the extended universe of films like Star Wars then you will like Dune, especially once you consider that George Lucas pretty much ripped off a lot from Herbert—just sayin’.
A story of different ruling Houses—the Atreides, Harkonnen, and Corrino—comes to a head on the planet Arrakis. This planet is key in that it produces mélange, or “spice,” a substance that fuels the Known Universe. In addition to fueling travel, mélange is a potent drug that extends life and gifts users with enhanced mental capabilities. It sounds like psychedelic mushrooms that double as petrol, and this kooky McGuffin had me all in.
“There was the sharpened clarity, the inflow of data, the cold precision of his awareness. He sank to the floor, sitting with his back against rock, giving himself up to it. Awareness flowed into that timeless stratum where he could view time, sensing the available paths, the wind of the future… the winds of the past: the one-eyed vision of the past, the one-eyed vision of the present, and the one-eyed vision of the future—all combined in a trinocular vision that permitted him to see time-become-space.”
Also, notable, are the Bene Gesserit, a group of women who have magical powers (basically—space witches), and the Fremen, the native people of Arrakis subjected to imperial rule. All of these different factions are at odds with one another, but these two both believe in a coming messiah. In a book filed with powerful rulers, will the Kwisatz Haderach be the leader long prophesized? Well, if there is any concept that rises as most prominent in this text, it is that one should not place blind faith in a mythical savior.
Such a figure would have obvious appeal in an intergalactic empire filled with cruel uncertainty. The simple notion takes something complex, makes it into something more digestible, and shields a small individual within a larger security. But simple does not mean safe. A human with a kind heart, and a being with multitudes of knowledge, one would think that a savior such as this would have all the answers. But omnipotence does not free a human of dealing with the bullshit of being human. We will always be subject to the context of our time.
“How would you like to live billions upon billions of lives? …There's a fabric of legends for you! Think of all those experiences, the wisdom they'd bring. But wisdom tempers love, doesn't it? And it puts a new shape on hate. How can you tell what's ruthless unless you've plumbed the depths of both cruelty and kindness?”
Overall, this book is such amazing fun. I look forward to reading the other entries in the series; this strange, strange universe is something any nerd could happily get lost in.
Rating: 4.5 stars