Take a photo of a barcode or cover
I'm not a huge sci-fi reader by any stretch of the imagination but this one came very recommended by someone that I highly respect so I decided to give it a go. At first I tried to read the audiobook version of this from the mid-90s and let's just say that lasted exactly one disk. The narrator for that one was so dry and without emotion that I literally almost nodded off (while driving) more than once when I attempted to listen to it. My friend, wanting to see how bad it was, listened to exactly 10 minutes, told me to kill it with fire, and then managed to recommend the Audible version to me which was infinitely better even if funnily enough one of the narrators on there was the same one from the old school version.
Overall it was an enjoyable read. I can see how it has stood the test of time and is still considered a classic in the genre even after 54 years. There is a lot of commentary on political, social, and religious stances that are still true today, and the few bits of humor that it had still made me chuckle without being un-PC. It helped to set the stage for the 'chosen one' trope which is something used endlessly now, even if it it always isn't as well done. I also feel that for it's age it handles the depiction of women better than most of its peers even though that's not without its missteps (more on that later). However it wasn't without its flaws. There were tons of scenes that seemed unnecessary which is true in any book but they're more noticeable in these long epic stories and seem to serve no purpose other than to add filler pagers (I'm looking at you Strange and Norrell). And another positive thing is that the story arch in this novel came to a close. There is still a larger one I'm sure but this one came to an end, even if it did seem a bit anti-climatic.
Paul was the main character but he was unlikable for a good portion of the book. I want to say for at least 50-60% of it. And while most of that can be attributed to being a teenage boy with this huge prophecy hanging over his head and his abilities, not to mention the drama that befall his family in the first 'book', part of that is understandable. The other part is just him being kind of a dick for no other reason than he could (because honestly who's going to tell the Mahdi that he needs to calm the eff down). At the end of the novel he became the type of man he didn't want to be and like the person in his family that no one wanted him to emulate.
Getting back to the comment from above is how women were represented in the novel. Jessica, Paul's mother, was at first illustrated to be this bad ass of all proportions who didn't listen to what the Bene Gesserit told her to do in regards to her union with Leto. She marched to the beat of her own drummer and she knew when to show which facet her personality. When she needed to be demur and defer to Leto as his concubine she did. When she needed to show her teeth and how deadly she could be, she did. The only person she seemed to let belittle her and talk down to her was Paul. Which, as a mom, was hard to swallow because it's one thing to be rude to your mom when they're terrible. When they go against their lifelong training and religious upbringing and doctrine to specifically have you? You might want to bite your tongue in half on that one son. There was this complete flip flop with Chani as well especially towards the end of the book although strength diminishing made more sense with the events of the end of the story (no spoilers).
And let's talk more about the Bene Gesserit who were like a sect of chaotic evil nuns in all they did. They had a lot of power and they had their hands in all the pots but the thing is you never knew what side they were on. And honestly I'm not even sure they did but to be fair it's because there were so many outcomes from all the different prophecies and, much like other prophetic stories, the direction that the paths could have come down to the direction a butterfly's wings went in. They weren't good, they weren't bad, but they had no loyalties at all. Even among themselves it was very much an uneasy alliance all around and if the opportunity came they would take each other, or their offspring, out. But even then, they withered under Paul when he gave his 'angry eyes' and that was a bit of a let down. I would be interested in reading more about them even if they morally gray as all get out, because it's rare in all genres that aren't specifically geared towards women to have an entity such as the Bene Gesserit play such a huge part in all the machinations of the story. And that in and of itself was refreshing.
I would be remiss if I didn't mention that there are other CW/TW with regards to children in the novel but I didn't notice until it was called out to me and then I caught the other references. There was also a brief one to an alluded assault.
I know it seems like I might not have enjoyed the book but I did. I'm glad I listened to it rather than read it because I feel that by reading it there would have been parts I spaced out on, since I did do that with the reading sometimes and had to 'rewind' to catch up. I feel that it will still stand the test of time and people will still be reading and talking about it even in another 50 years. That doesn't mean it's not without flaws but for the most part that is how Paul was presented and acted once he came into his 'powers' and embraced the Mahdi the Fremen thought him to be. He was annoying before that and afterwards became almost insufferable but I also realize this is the first in a series and that his story could have changed over the course of the rest of the series so I won't hold that against him too much.
Overall it was an enjoyable read. I can see how it has stood the test of time and is still considered a classic in the genre even after 54 years. There is a lot of commentary on political, social, and religious stances that are still true today, and the few bits of humor that it had still made me chuckle without being un-PC. It helped to set the stage for the 'chosen one' trope which is something used endlessly now, even if it it always isn't as well done. I also feel that for it's age it handles the depiction of women better than most of its peers even though that's not without its missteps (more on that later). However it wasn't without its flaws. There were tons of scenes that seemed unnecessary which is true in any book but they're more noticeable in these long epic stories and seem to serve no purpose other than to add filler pagers (I'm looking at you Strange and Norrell). And another positive thing is that the story arch in this novel came to a close. There is still a larger one I'm sure but this one came to an end, even if it did seem a bit anti-climatic.
Paul was the main character but he was unlikable for a good portion of the book. I want to say for at least 50-60% of it. And while most of that can be attributed to being a teenage boy with this huge prophecy hanging over his head and his abilities, not to mention the drama that befall his family in the first 'book', part of that is understandable. The other part is just him being kind of a dick for no other reason than he could (because honestly who's going to tell the Mahdi that he needs to calm the eff down). At the end of the novel he became the type of man he didn't want to be and like the person in his family that no one wanted him to emulate.
Getting back to the comment from above is how women were represented in the novel. Jessica, Paul's mother, was at first illustrated to be this bad ass of all proportions who didn't listen to what the Bene Gesserit told her to do in regards to her union with Leto. She marched to the beat of her own drummer and she knew when to show which facet her personality. When she needed to be demur and defer to Leto as his concubine she did. When she needed to show her teeth and how deadly she could be, she did. The only person she seemed to let belittle her and talk down to her was Paul. Which, as a mom, was hard to swallow because it's one thing to be rude to your mom when they're terrible. When they go against their lifelong training and religious upbringing and doctrine to specifically have you? You might want to bite your tongue in half on that one son. There was this complete flip flop with Chani as well especially towards the end of the book although strength diminishing made more sense with the events of the end of the story (no spoilers).
And let's talk more about the Bene Gesserit who were like a sect of chaotic evil nuns in all they did. They had a lot of power and they had their hands in all the pots but the thing is you never knew what side they were on. And honestly I'm not even sure they did but to be fair it's because there were so many outcomes from all the different prophecies and, much like other prophetic stories, the direction that the paths could have come down to the direction a butterfly's wings went in. They weren't good, they weren't bad, but they had no loyalties at all. Even among themselves it was very much an uneasy alliance all around and if the opportunity came they would take each other, or their offspring, out. But even then, they withered under Paul when he gave his 'angry eyes' and that was a bit of a let down. I would be interested in reading more about them even if they morally gray as all get out, because it's rare in all genres that aren't specifically geared towards women to have an entity such as the Bene Gesserit play such a huge part in all the machinations of the story. And that in and of itself was refreshing.
I would be remiss if I didn't mention that there are other CW/TW with regards to children in the novel but I didn't notice until it was called out to me and then I caught the other references. There was also a brief one to an alluded assault.
I know it seems like I might not have enjoyed the book but I did. I'm glad I listened to it rather than read it because I feel that by reading it there would have been parts I spaced out on, since I did do that with the reading sometimes and had to 'rewind' to catch up. I feel that it will still stand the test of time and people will still be reading and talking about it even in another 50 years. That doesn't mean it's not without flaws but for the most part that is how Paul was presented and acted once he came into his 'powers' and embraced the Mahdi the Fremen thought him to be. He was annoying before that and afterwards became almost insufferable but I also realize this is the first in a series and that his story could have changed over the course of the rest of the series so I won't hold that against him too much.