Book Journal: Dune

How do you write about reading Dune? Kind of like the experience was running intervals on a treadmill, I guess.

Dune by Frank Herbert

Okay, Dune. I finished it! And I finally read it. Like Tolkien's works, people should read this in a study of how to create well their own complete worlds, and make them unique and ridden with thematic elements--instead of just sloshing together mythical or mystical (or sci-fi) elements to avoid the trappings of real-world adventure. Like Tolkien's works, Dune is not necessarily the best-written thing out there, and can be a real uphill climb to read in certain parts (though admittedly LLtR is more taxing). But jeez, this book is really amazing nonetheless. If you read it carefully you can piece together the thousands of offbeat terms and cultural references to get a semi-accurate historical background to the universe, and if you just read it quickly you can still appreciate the amazing scope of Herbert's detailed and believable universe.

This is only the second sci-fi book I've read--the first being Ender's Game when I was in sixth grade. For me personally, sci-fi works better in movies and television or video games, since you can really throw yourself into a work visually, and all of the convincing writers do to support technological advances can be kind of weighty, especially for casual readers. But Herbert does all that really well, balancing the natural world with the technological, and highlighting other details to make his universe solid and complete, instead of weighing you down with heady descriptions and directions to convince you. He trusts his writing, so you trust him.

The story is long, and Paul may not be the greatest dude around (I actually found Herbert's female characters the most complete and engaging), but the fact that, for once in literature, he is in control of his own destiny is a really cool concept. And those sandworms. Those are cool too. At times I wish Herbert had gone deeper into his ecological themes--he focuses a great deal on the religious aspects, which is highly important and highly engaging--but really, there can't be more complete works than this. Guess I'll have to read more of the genre to find out!

8/10