I’ve been meaning to read this book for over a decade, and I finally made it a priority a few weeks ago (mainly cause of the new movie). I found it to be every bit as epic, engrossing, compelling, and confusing as I expected.

As with any good sci-fi epic, there are many layers to this story. But the world building that author Frank Herbert has done is some of the most complex I’ve come across in awhile (a lot of it thanks to the numerous philosophical/sociological musings, ideologies, and histories). This was a SLOW read for me as there was a lot to process and mule over.

That being said, I LOVED it! All of it. Even when it started to wane some around the middle I couldn’t stop reading. Other than the multiple storylines and characters, I really enjoyed the writing. Herbert does a fantastic job of putting you in the mind of various characters, and the way characters would have whole conversations just through facial expressions and body language was very interesting. And of course I enjoyed the spice planet, giant sand worms, mind powers, brutal villains, and all the sci-fi paraphernalia.

After reading DUNE I can see why it would be exceptionally challenging to translate well on the silver screen. I haven’t seen the David Lynch version, but I did go see the recent Denis Villeneuve release. I was a big fan (I’m a fan of all his movies) and I especially loved the sound and cinematography. But I can also see why my wife, who hasn’t read the book, was confused for a lot of the film. It asks the viewer to do a lot of heavy lifting.