-By Frank Herbert

Life’s busy so here is my rare update to this blog that I adore.

I wanted to read more in 2024 like everyone else. I made it a new year’s resolution. What I’ve found out about myself is I’d rather read the fiction books than the non-fiction. I’ve enjoyed my stint of autobiography type books for sure, but I needed a change. I craved the feeling I had as a kid, getting lost into a very good book and ignoring the reality I live in.

Dune was exactly what I needed.

I’ll start this off by saying I’ve never seen any of the movies. With the sequel of the movie franchise being released, I felt like I could dive into Frank Herbert’s world that he created in the 60’s with a raw, unfiltered opinion.

This is by far one of my favorite books that I’ve read in my adult life. I loved it from the first chapter. I saw some complaints about the book being “too hard” to read. I think a lot of people don’t understand how to use context clues in reading comprehension in this digital age. This is a science fiction book. It is HEAVILY immersed into the world without a warning. Herbert throws you into it immediately from the first sentence. He adds some indexes in the back that explain some of the lore but also has definitions of words that he uses throughout the story. I found the indexes more helpful after the first 100 pages or so, but that’s after I had my OWN understanding of the story and world.

Don’t be discouraged to start this book. After the first 50 pages I think that the story starts to click.

I won’t spoil the story as it’s better to read it with no context in my opinion.

The plot follows young Paul Atreides, the heir of a Duke father and supernatural mother, as he and his parents inhabit a desert planet called Arrakis. There, they plan to invest in the planet and the planet’s inhabitants, to gain a stake in the royal economy they live in.

That is the vaguest description of the plot but I think you need to just read the book to understand and grasp the concepts of politics, religion, and economy. It’s somewhat intricate, but after reading for a while you definitely get a familiar feel for the words and world you’re in.

This book made me feel so much like a little kid again. I loved the complex world that you’re thrown into. I never wanted to put the book down and at some parts I was screaming and yelling, shocked and laughing. I don’t think the book is over rated in the slightest and my review is unbiased as I had no idea of any of the lore or story. I plan on watching and reviewing both movies, and now that I’ve read the book, I am beyond excited to see it portrayed on the big screen.

Give it a shot.