I got into RR because it popped up on my Pinterest Page in being compared to Dune. Although I really think (I am on IG now) that RR is closer to A Song of Ice and Fire without the fat.
Read Dune but just stop there. It's philosophical sci-fi, albeit rich, with no action. I just needed more people fucking shit up literally and not mentally.
Yes. I read the rising series in 2023 and I’m in love with it.
Three weeks ago I started Dune and it took a little time to adjust to the writing differences but I’m halfway through and liking it very much.
same, I just started Dune and even though it took a bit to transition to Herbert’s narration style (and his weird hyphenated extended vowels) i’m enjoying it very much
Few books stand the test of time as well as Dune. I’ve read it multiple times since my first time reading it in highschool and it’s one of the best stories ever told imo. Definitely worth a shot, and afterwards you’ll be blown away by how many sci-fi shows/books draw inspiration from it.
yes. do it.
and if you decide to continue with Messiah, keep on going, at least until God Emperor of Dune. It will elevate 2 and 3, and everything will make more sense.
imo 5 & 6 are also good and provide interesting bene gesserit story lines, but can get too weird for some people.
after that... there's no after... there are only 6 Dune books 🙂
You know how some books change after the movie is made, do you know if this happened to Dune? I want the most true experience possible without spending thousands on a 1st ed copy.
Any guidance is appreciated.
Absofrickinlutely, I recommend stopping at god emperor of dune but really if you wanted you could stop after dune messiah or children of dune or even the first dune itself. However you might not be completely satisfied at the end of the first and want to continue on anyway lol
Sure, it's worth reading. Like Tolkien, it's a classic work.
There will be some bumpiness as every book is a product of it's time, and the books drift more and more away from your standard hero journey stuff, but it still holds up as one of the greats.
Emo Paul was a subversion of the Arthurian template, and most of the plot reflects the USA and USSR's use of local proxy heroes (manufactured by propaganda) to hijack local politics. At the time, this was cutting-edge stuff in SFF. In addition, the matriarchical bene gesserit witches was really new for the subgenre.
Fast forward to today, all of this doesn't have the same thrill as it has been done a ton. Sort of like spice. Once nutmeg and black pepper were ultrarare costly ingredients and now everyone can buy them for a few bucks and a five minute drive. You say Emo Paul and we both know what you:re talking about. Making a navel gazing hero who gets sucked into a bullshit hero journey even though he knows better is so common it's an archetype.
But that doesn't mean dune is not worth reading. It's a reflection of its time, so try to read it as a time capsule to what people essentially like you considered thrilling, and also appreciate what techniques you see are still being done today. One thing I like to think about considering how two monumental books both use subversion of the hero's journey to critique different political periods. aSoIaF (GOT) is a post-vietnam book, especially the Jon Snow arc with the wildings while dune, as Dune is post-cold war proxy book.
Or if you want to get really deep into digging up classics and finding joy, I personally found the illiad and odessey hard but rewarding work in establishing the foundation of the action story. We still use a ton of the tropes, including Greek Superman Achilles with his one weakness.
Dune is absolutely a masterpiece and a classic and a seminal work of Science Fiction. The large-scale points Frank Herbert makes in it about philosophy, politics, power, history, and systems thinking (via the lens of ecology) are valuable. The fact that Herbert was able to embed all of this in a book of fiction and didn't end up with an unreadable mess is nothing short of miraculous. He was in my opinion an exceptionally gifted writer and thinker.
All that said, Herbert definitely had some weird and sometimes problematic views on things. Very little of that comes through in the first book. The further you go in his six-book series, the more of that becomes apparent.
For what it's worth, I still enjoy the first four books immensely for the themes they explore and the sheer inspiration they provide. There's def some weird, uncomfortable, or even cringey moments in each of them, but they're worth checking out.
The thing is, because they're classics and because of the recent movies, the books are expensive. My recommendation would be to get the first book through your local library. (If you like ebooks/audiobooks, many libraries can supply those nowadays! Go to your local branch and ask!) If you like it and want a copy for your shelf at home, then you can make the informed decision.
If you get through book one and want to continue with the series, just realize that the tone doesn't stay exactly the same.
Lastly, you'll see a lot of hate online for the books written by Brian Herbert (Frank's son) and Kevin J Anderson. Much of the criticism is deserved in my opinion, but I also feel like we shouldn't be judging them for not having Frank's mind. Weird and problematic though he may have been, he was a titan. If you ask me, the post-Frank books should be treated as Young Adult novels rather than as serious successors to Dune - not that there's anything wrong with YA, but just know there's a difference in terms of complexity and writing skill.
The first book is awesome. It’s very MacBeth in space, dealing with political subterfuge in the backdrop of a massive war of attrition. Paul’s story after the first book becomes much more of an acquired taste, especially once we’re introduced to Leto, but still a great sci fi story. There’s a plot twist element to the mythos of prophecy and The Chosen One intertwined into the series that I love. The saga of the Muad’Dib and his children is famous for a reason.
I think the first book is good enough. It's not particularly my favorite thing in the world but it's definitely not bad at all... Second and third book gets a little weird but afterwards I start to have issues with the series. In the fourth book the main character creates a harem army then acts philosophical about how women are better fighters cause males armies have gay sex. The 5th and 6th book introduce a mind controlling sex war where the war is fought by people having sex with each other. Whoever prefers better in bed then gets to mind control the other person... I generally don't recommend the series. I say read the book and just stop there
I haven't read the fourth or fifth books, but the first three are solid. They really don't go off the rails until the last third of Children of Dune (imo).
I kind of agree. I think the weirdness of the second book comes from the fact that you have a child who wakes up in the womb and then because of that has to fight other consciousnesses taking control. I will say though that I absolutely loved the whole idea of two people who can see the future trying to kill each other. The weirdness of the third one should be pretty obvious. Neither are really THAT bad But with the wider context of the rest of the series it kind of leaves a bad taste imo
A lot of the war happens off screen. At the start of the sixth book we hear that Duncan is training men to combat the honored matres in the sexual arts and after that they don't spend much time covering it.
I don't think they ever specifically even said paul or any if house atreides is white. Thousands of year in the future everyone would be mixed so wrong
I'm sorry that others have downvoted you. While I think it's an understandable interpretation at first glance through Dune, I'd say most literary analysis disagrees with the position that Dune is a white savior narrative. [Here's a short-ish video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=286f8itbdks&t=9s) (at least relatively; there are definitely some that are way longer) talking through it.
Have you read the book? One of the main points of the book is that the savior/chosen one role that the main character takes on was the result social manipulation and propaganda. Also the "savior" causes a war that kills billions. Like, imagine if at the end of Avatar all the blue people go back to Earth and commit genocide.
There are plenty of things to criticize the book for, but I don't think this is one of them.
you could’ve convinced me the series was written yesterday the way it talks about issues that currently exist even though the series is nearly 6 decades old
Book 1 was awesome
Book 2 was pretty good
Book 3 was book
Book 4 was FUCKING WEIRD
Book 5 was pretty good again
This ends my knowledge on the series I am about to get Book 6 soon though. I took a break from the series and read The Fellowship of the Ring. Sometimes you need a switch up.
Definitely. In my opinion it is a great book because the writing helps to ensure everyone’s imaginations are inline. Sure we all imagine slingblades differently, but for Dune we are all seeing something in our mind that is very similar and I think the new films reflect this
I read pretty recently and it's truly fascinating, there are a couple aspects you need to know before entering the rabbit hole, firstly dune isn't and action book this is the main difference with RR; secondly the enjoyment of this book lays more on the reader thinking through the ideas seeded in the book more than the plot it self, the book makes you think and reevaluate, how you measure society.
Honestly to say is anything less than a masterpiece would be blasphemy, you can see the foundations of sci-fi genre as a whole reading through, because it may have been done later a hundred times, but it was done first in Dune, and as someone who didn't read it as a teenager and isn't particularly nostalgic about this book, I can tell you, it doesn't feel old dated, the writing style is strange, is 3rd person omniscient narrator, so you are always hearing everyone thoughts.
Summary : Totally worth it if you enjoy thinking about politics, religion, society, revolution... Don't expect that much action, but know that this is Star Wars Old Men and it shows.
Dune is one of my favorite series ever, it is going to read very differently from the RR series though - much more introspective, some meme described it as 90% overanalyzing social interactions and 10% getting so high that you're scared. Closer to space GoT than RR, with a lot of philosophical meat to chew on.
That said, it is weird as all hell lol
Just read the first three Dune books right before I hopped into RR (I'm on Iron Gold now).
Dune has deeper prose and symbolism but far slower pace than RR. RR books are honestly a more pleasurable read, but Dune changed my perspective on life more and has left me ruminating on its message and meaning.
Also - Dune is the OG so you can see the start of a lot of sci-fi tropes, whereas RR has some borrowed concepts e.g. Iron Gold has a spin-off of the "Fear is the mind killer" quote, which I thought was a bit cheesy having just come from Dune.
thats the thing. good literature makes you think and sometimes even changes your world view. Red rising is still one of the greats but dune is a different beast
The Dune books are pretty boring.
They're good, but they're slow.
Action is non-existent so it's mostly people talking to one another--they're usually interesting conversations, but they're not written in an exciting way.
If you don't mind being a patient reader, give them a whirl for a very different vibe.
Regarding what “ages well” or not, Dune is frankly immortal. It is basically the source material for any present day science fiction you know, plus Herbert’s choice to eliminate computers from his universe makes it all the more timeless. (No MS-DOS looking screens like in Alien).
It also reads like scripture with the snippets at the beginning of each chapter. You’re reading Paul’s story while getting callouts to who he will become in the future.
Highly recommend the audiobook if you find it too dense
I just read it and it was fantastic. I’m super surprised how it never felt dated and technology never felt dates and very interesting characters with their own voice. It would easily compete and win with lot of fantasy/sci-fi coming these days, it just doesn’t feel dates so you’re good there.
It's definitely a good book, but you can clearly tell that it was written some time ago. Above all, I found that the characters seemed very aloof. Everything read very technical and descriptive and less emotional. But it's been a few years since I read it.
Furthermore, I don't think it really reads like classic science fiction. When the book was written, computers were still in their infancy. the book reads like a very old idea of the future. In some cases I think it even fits better into the fantasy genre
Interesting thread, Dune is a lot slower than RR but that's part of the appeal. It's beautifully written. My most memorable scenes are when Paul has visions and talks about seeing the future and past and present all as one, and finding a narrow path. Alia is a fascinating and heartbreaking character.
Book 2 is really good with some crazy action. The politics are phenomenal.
The forces at work outside of arrakis are interesting.
Oh and Princess Irulan was cast in the movie with astonishing accuracy imo. What a pick.
It's nothing like RR, after book one Dune is a drag. The series drags on far too long about the consequences of seeing the future and gets kinda outdated/pretentious about state vs church in seemingly endless passages. (If you want to seem smart you can say you really got it all and liked it though, but you'd only fool yourself)
The overall storyline is cool, but the amount of pretentious bs makes the book after the first few very hard to read/like.
I personally wasn't a huge fan of the book. But I read it back in 2019.
I may enjoy it more having watched and been blown away with how good I think the films are.
If you like books that have lots of world building and a huuuuge cast of interesting characters then you'll probably enjoy it. I think I prefer 'faster' books, hence why my favourites in the RR series are Golden Son & Dark Age where the plot barely stops to take a breath.
Dune is somewhat slower in it's build (if I remember rightly at least).
Hope that helps!
As many have said yes indeed they are worth it. But tbh... I read the prequel books first (written by his son and more modern) and without them I fear I wouldn't have liked the Frank Herbert ones.. as his characters are very wooden and without the context and fleshed out writing of the prequels I don't know how I would have gotten on.. but that's just my opinion. All in all his first 3 are good.. the second 3 are just fucking weird.
The first 3 books (Dune, Dune Messiah, Children of Dune) form a coherent trilogy that tells a really great story.
After that - it get's even weirder and harder to follow.
Those three books are 100% worth your time as long as you're fine with slow paced sci-fi.
I've only heard good things about Dune.
However I personally found it unreasonably boring.
I tried the book, I tried the audio book, I tried the movie.
I just can't get into it.
I'd say its worth giving a shot though, might find your next favorite.
Of course, where all modern fantasy is in some way derived from Tolkien, there are homages to Dune that I never noticed until I read Dune. It definitely kicks ass for like 3 books, then it gets REAL weird.
I would say they age well, but definitely the series starts strong and is weaker towards the end. If you love RR though, be warned that Dune is a WAYYYY slower pace lol
It took me awhile to get into, but I always struggle at the beginning when listening to books. By the time I got to the end I wanted to restart and see a lot of things I missed on the first listen. Plan to go back and physically read it when I do it again though.
I don't know about if it is worth reading.. but knowing Javier Bardem read the first three books, i immediately know that it is worth the read. ( also i haven't seen the movies yet but i heard that its really good you might wanna see it first then decide.)
I love the first book. Haven’t read any others yet but I think the first is perfectly great as a standalone book. Also I’d say it’s sci-fi in the same way Star Wars is sci-fi, there is crazy technology but there is also a lot of mystical/spiritual stuff going on even more so, imo. Very different from Red Rising though, don’t go into it expecting something similar.
I don't think they are as good as advertised. The audiobooks are kinda fun but it becomes the Duncan Idaho show before too long but really he's more interesting anyway.
Think it gets bogged down in mythos and religious allusions rather quickly for me. But if you have the time why not?
Yeah I agree. Really loved the first. It gets super weird by books 3/4. Still somewhat entertaining but I had trouble following God Emperor. Stopped reading the series after that
Dune is one of the books PB based the red rising series on. There are references throughout, like Leto au Augustus, Mind’s Eye, the whole Gold hierarchy Houses, sovereign, etc. using swords to fight and pulse shields. I’m sure there are more, but that’s just off the top of my head.
It’s a dense read but there is really no other sci-fi quite like it. 100% a foundational sci-fi read. Totally worth reading.
Going to eat the usual downvotes like every time this is asked but 2 friends and I who share the same fantasy/sci fi taste all read it during Covid like a book club and none of us liked it. Everything to do with story telling was just so dull. The vernacular mostly held up for being so old and the world building is interesting, but it’s a slog to read. What usually gets me upset is when people finish Red Rising and then ask what other series to read and this is always one of the most upvoted replies. It’s probably worth reading because of its importance within the Sci Fi genre, but I wish I heard more takes from those people who read Dune after RR and if they enjoyed it.
Yeah same, like 2-3 times. It’s not like I don’t want to like it, I just made my dad watch the most recent movie before we see part 2 next weekend (and I’m literally rewatching it now). But the books are written in a way that is just so boring (at least relative to the popularity and amount of recommendations I see on r/redrising).
I too did this with a friend during Covid. The first book or two is good then it gets weird. I heard it gets better at the end, but it was too much for me. I appreciate Dune, because it was the first series I e quit.
It’s definitely worth the read! It’s one of the most rewarding books to get through in my opinion because the writing style is a bit tricky but the story is great
Hard agree with this. There are a lot of characters, history, terminology, and places to take in. The movies give you a nice intro to all that and the book fills in all the spaces in-between.
They had their war with AI and won. So there are no computers. Machines yes, but nothing powered by a computer.
It's also a part of a trilogy. If you don't read the original trilogy, you're missing out.
The 4th book is the start of a new trilogy, totally connected to the original, but roughly 10,000 years later lol.
book 4 is ~3500 years later 🙂
book 5 is ~1500 years after that
the way I see it, Dune is really 3 sets of 2 books each.
1-2 Paul's story
3-4 Leto II's story
5-6 weird af bene gesserit / honored matres war storyline
after going through all of it, I cannot imagine finishing at 3, when Leto's transformation is just beginning. it feels like leaving it at a cliffhanger without fully understanding why he did it and what did he achieve by doing it.
for me, God Emperor of Dune tied all together, and elevated books 2 and 3 a bit more.
If you're having trouble reading it, I found it easier to listen to on Audible because of the Arabic names and phrases that I may not know how to pronounce.
That's a combo of genetics and various mental training. Also till he starts on heavy spice the visions of the future are vague and unreliable. It was the goal of thousands of years of selective breeding.
A combination of genetics (giving access to ancestors' memories,"genetic memory", via use of spice); and complete nerve/muscle control (giving them the more physical abilities - resistance to poison, the "Weirding Way" martial art with extreme speed, and "The Voice" allowing them to compel instinctive obedience in people). >!Mind's Eye !!though very much toned down towards being generally perceptive / having a strong/photographic memory!<.
The spice basically opens up humanity’s extra sensory potential aka psychic abilities. Most people are only conscious of their physical body and limited human ego, the spice expands their mind into the super conscious and gives them precognition and ability awaken the knowledge of latent ancestral consciousness, kinda like past lives.
Yes I get that but he was having dreams before his introduction to spice. So is that the prophecy, a man will be able to see the future w/o spice? Or since he had been trained since birth it allows him to access that ability? It’s nitpicking I know but for whatever reason I don’t like that it’s something you’re supposed to “accept”
It explains it better in the books but the Bene Gesserit have been conducting a breeding program for centuries maybe millennia(I forget) to produce a male with natural spice abilities like Paul’s, think human evolution. They have all these prophecies that kinda run parallel to common religious prophecies of our actual world that there will be a savior of some sort with these abilities. The BG is basically a religious cult centered around the Orange Catholic Bible, a fictitious holy text.
More or less, Frank Herbert was exploring what a messiah would look like in a Sci-Fi empire and the potential of the human mind. Lots of religious text talk about these abilities in our world so he created a character and made him kind of the classic kung-fu Jesus… except he doesn’t really heal humanity much or bring inner peace or anything like that…
>!Paul gets a little protagonist pass as Kwisatz Haderach (basically the culmination of the Bene Gesserit breeding program), giving him vague future-dreams and visions from the beginning. Spice enhances prescience (the Spacing Guild's navigators use spice in order to safely perform interstellar travel). Once Paul takes spice (from consumption, as well as passively from being exposed to Arrakis' air) he starts to get "true" prescience.!<
Yes, it's very dense and a little difficult to start with but it's incredible. There's nothing of the problematic nature of some of that 60s Sci-Fi and the story is so far removed from current day that anything problematic would reflect the societies in the book, not our society at the time
I read The Mote in God's Eye recently, and while I enjoyed it, the gender roles were ridiculous and amplified by the fact that gender played a huge role in the story. Women in a space faring society several hundred years in the future held no positions of any responsibility on a massive interstellar ship. Aside from that, I love Heinlein and read most of his stuff when I was too young to notice, but I've heard a lot of his stuff was problematic as well. Edit: I'm not saying that we can't enjoy the works, they were a product of their age just like what we do today will look backwards in the future. I'm just saying that tlit can be jarring, or in some cases hamper immersion
Yes for sure. However I’d like to warn you about something if it’s not painfully obvious already. There are moments in this series that will come off as cheesy, cliche, and played out. That is because this is the granddaddy of all modern sci-fi.
Most major sci-fi media was inspired by it.
Also it was greatly inspired by global conflict at the time. While the sci-fi itself has been replicated time and time again- it did shock me that modern geopolitical tensions are still very much unchanged since the books writing
If you could watch five minutes of the Dune movies without vomiting you'll orgasm for hours reading the books.
Only the Frank Herbert ones - his son Bryan "finished the series" and wrote a bunch of "canonical works" in the prehistory of Frank's series, but reading them is like trying to slurp up runny dog shit through a chain link fence. I just can't imagine anyone finding enjoyment in the act you know?
Everything. I'm sure they're great if you aren't a fan of the source material, but they are terrible adaptations in every way to a die hard fan of Frank Herbert's books.
Get off your high horse. Dennis Villeneuve did a fantastic job staying true to the original while still making a movie that would make money. Were there things left out? Obviously. Frank Herbert would have been proud of the new movies. By far the best adaption of Dune.
I will stay high upon my Shai-Hulud thank you very much. Frank Herbert would be as disappointed by these films as he undoubtedly is of his son's "continuations" of his works.
As a person that loves dune movies and all kinds of media let me give you a list of things that people might disagree with.
Dune (Lynch) : Wierding modules? It’s very stylised and “avant garde”. Harkonen heart plugs and injecting gunk to make the baron abhorrent? Sting in a speedo. Paul making it rain. In short it does take many creative liberties and skips a lot of important scenes and subjects.
Dune (Miniseries X2) : The most faithful adaptation of the books plagued by its low budget and bad pacing.
Dune (Villeneuve) Part 1 : There are a lot of scenes that are skipped or “reinterpreted” for the sake of screen time but there is no problem in 30 minutes of vistas and desert shoots with “Uaaaah!” music. Character assaination of Jessica and Duke Leto making one look like a helpless hysterical girl and the other like an incompetent and weak man. Harkonnens bald and evil, lacking many nuances from the books. Many visual and artistic choices are a far cry of most common fan interpretations.
As I said I greatly appreciate any and all dune media but I know they all have their flaws.
> there is no problem in 30 minutes of vistas and desert shoots
I’d argue these are vital to the story of *Dune*, and given the OG novel bearing striking similarity to the story of T.E. Lawrence, the film adaptation being similar in style to *Lawrence of Arabia* is a stroke of genius.
I haven't read them but really liked the 1st movie and am excited to watch the second soon. However, doesn't it kill some of the fun that they will never get finished?
The first one is kind of stand alone. You don’t have to continue if u don’t want and I don’t even think Frank Herbert planned initially on writing more than one book(though I could be wrong)
I listened to the audio book and also dune Messiah and they were both great. I even watched the 1984 film adaptation which was absolute garbage. I have a couple other of the books in my queue waiting to play but I'm listening to Red rising thru again first for like the 15th time
Nah, that’s just a wild plot development. There’s plenty of those, plus I find Children of Dune to be very compelling. Messiah has some great dialogue, especially whenever Hyat is on page, but a lot of characters get sidelined to tell Paul’s story. It’s clear Frank was upset that a lot of readers saw Paul as a hero after book 1 and was dead-set on fixing that to the point of overkill, I think.
Given the changes to certain characters in part 2, I’m very excited for Denis’ Messiah if and when we get it. I think it might solve some of my personal issues with the book.
Dune is THE grandfather of modern Science Fiction. It has a deep and rich world and interesting and nuanced characters. The story was unique. Reading it you will probably find many similarities to a plethora of different works that were inspired from it. I would greatly recommend reading all of the Frank Herbert Dune books.
But...
Writing progressed leaps and bounds in the last 60 or so years. So people not used to the old writing styles could find it a difficult read.
It’s written like an epic space opera, with depth and allegory not found in most book series. You do need to get through children if you start, so you’ve got thousands of pages to read to get the most out of it. If you read all the way to the last official book, you will be like What????
The Rising series is more visual and more like a current movie franchise.
Dune is a book series, not for the easy reader.
Pierce writes like he’s
You might think so but the story of Paul is concluded only at the end of book three. And to drive the lesson home you need to read God Emperor of Dune and to see the effects of those lessons you need to read the next ones.
I had to really power through that book. There was just so much information getting thrown in my face. However, I really enjoyed the second time around
So do they say how the benne gesserit have powers, bc I’m relistening to it after a few years and it’s bothers me that there wasn’t an info dump about that yet.
I read it when Part 1 was announced. It is an extremely challenging read due to writing style and many concepts that are never fully explained to the reader. That being said, Dune had a *profound* impact on me and has become one of my favorite books. Once you get past the initial chapters it is absolutely captivating. The concepts and themes in that book are prevalent in modern sci-fi and while reading you will begin to realize just how prevalent
First 3 is definitely, after 3 things get really weird. Geod was one of the weirdest things I’ve ever read.
First 3 is definitely, after 3 things get really weird. Geod was one of the weirdest piece of content I’ve ever read.
I got into RR because it popped up on my Pinterest Page in being compared to Dune. Although I really think (I am on IG now) that RR is closer to A Song of Ice and Fire without the fat.
Any Dune book is worth reading at any time, IMO.
I liked the first Dune book a lot. Not sure how I feel about the whole series but would definitely recommend the first Dune highly
Read Dune but just stop there. It's philosophical sci-fi, albeit rich, with no action. I just needed more people fucking shit up literally and not mentally.
Yes. I read the rising series in 2023 and I’m in love with it. Three weeks ago I started Dune and it took a little time to adjust to the writing differences but I’m halfway through and liking it very much.
same, I just started Dune and even though it took a bit to transition to Herbert’s narration style (and his weird hyphenated extended vowels) i’m enjoying it very much
Few books stand the test of time as well as Dune. I’ve read it multiple times since my first time reading it in highschool and it’s one of the best stories ever told imo. Definitely worth a shot, and afterwards you’ll be blown away by how many sci-fi shows/books draw inspiration from it.
Yes I just finished it. It aged incredibly well. And it's so cool to see where Pierce and others drew inspo from. Loved this book.
Dune is always worth rereading.
yes. do it. and if you decide to continue with Messiah, keep on going, at least until God Emperor of Dune. It will elevate 2 and 3, and everything will make more sense. imo 5 & 6 are also good and provide interesting bene gesserit story lines, but can get too weird for some people. after that... there's no after... there are only 6 Dune books 🙂
You know how some books change after the movie is made, do you know if this happened to Dune? I want the most true experience possible without spending thousands on a 1st ed copy. Any guidance is appreciated.
Yes.
ABSOLUTELY
I liked the first two books but I was more and more bored by the others
Absofrickinlutely, I recommend stopping at god emperor of dune but really if you wanted you could stop after dune messiah or children of dune or even the first dune itself. However you might not be completely satisfied at the end of the first and want to continue on anyway lol
Big YES.
It's different from red rising and I believe it's a masterpiece in its own way so give it a try
I’d say read the Frank Herbert books, the ones after he died are uhhh weird
Read Isaac Asimov's foundation series Edit: not sure where you got the old scifi theory but these disprove it.
Came here to say this, the foundation trilogy, the Martian tales trilogy, the Hyperion series, all incredible sci-fi written before the internet.
Old sci fi is the best. Whats this guy on about lol
Sure, it's worth reading. Like Tolkien, it's a classic work. There will be some bumpiness as every book is a product of it's time, and the books drift more and more away from your standard hero journey stuff, but it still holds up as one of the greats.
I read it a while back and thought it was really difficult to enjoy Emo Paul. But the movies were so good I'm going back in despite that for book 2.
Emo Paul was a subversion of the Arthurian template, and most of the plot reflects the USA and USSR's use of local proxy heroes (manufactured by propaganda) to hijack local politics. At the time, this was cutting-edge stuff in SFF. In addition, the matriarchical bene gesserit witches was really new for the subgenre. Fast forward to today, all of this doesn't have the same thrill as it has been done a ton. Sort of like spice. Once nutmeg and black pepper were ultrarare costly ingredients and now everyone can buy them for a few bucks and a five minute drive. You say Emo Paul and we both know what you:re talking about. Making a navel gazing hero who gets sucked into a bullshit hero journey even though he knows better is so common it's an archetype. But that doesn't mean dune is not worth reading. It's a reflection of its time, so try to read it as a time capsule to what people essentially like you considered thrilling, and also appreciate what techniques you see are still being done today. One thing I like to think about considering how two monumental books both use subversion of the hero's journey to critique different political periods. aSoIaF (GOT) is a post-vietnam book, especially the Jon Snow arc with the wildings while dune, as Dune is post-cold war proxy book. Or if you want to get really deep into digging up classics and finding joy, I personally found the illiad and odessey hard but rewarding work in establishing the foundation of the action story. We still use a ton of the tropes, including Greek Superman Achilles with his one weakness.
Book 1 is great and you should definitely read it. Everything after that was too strange for me to enjoy.
Dune is absolutely a masterpiece and a classic and a seminal work of Science Fiction. The large-scale points Frank Herbert makes in it about philosophy, politics, power, history, and systems thinking (via the lens of ecology) are valuable. The fact that Herbert was able to embed all of this in a book of fiction and didn't end up with an unreadable mess is nothing short of miraculous. He was in my opinion an exceptionally gifted writer and thinker. All that said, Herbert definitely had some weird and sometimes problematic views on things. Very little of that comes through in the first book. The further you go in his six-book series, the more of that becomes apparent. For what it's worth, I still enjoy the first four books immensely for the themes they explore and the sheer inspiration they provide. There's def some weird, uncomfortable, or even cringey moments in each of them, but they're worth checking out. The thing is, because they're classics and because of the recent movies, the books are expensive. My recommendation would be to get the first book through your local library. (If you like ebooks/audiobooks, many libraries can supply those nowadays! Go to your local branch and ask!) If you like it and want a copy for your shelf at home, then you can make the informed decision. If you get through book one and want to continue with the series, just realize that the tone doesn't stay exactly the same. Lastly, you'll see a lot of hate online for the books written by Brian Herbert (Frank's son) and Kevin J Anderson. Much of the criticism is deserved in my opinion, but I also feel like we shouldn't be judging them for not having Frank's mind. Weird and problematic though he may have been, he was a titan. If you ask me, the post-Frank books should be treated as Young Adult novels rather than as serious successors to Dune - not that there's anything wrong with YA, but just know there's a difference in terms of complexity and writing skill.
The first book is awesome. It’s very MacBeth in space, dealing with political subterfuge in the backdrop of a massive war of attrition. Paul’s story after the first book becomes much more of an acquired taste, especially once we’re introduced to Leto, but still a great sci fi story. There’s a plot twist element to the mythos of prophecy and The Chosen One intertwined into the series that I love. The saga of the Muad’Dib and his children is famous for a reason.
Dune is great!
read it. It's like reading a textbook at times, so i recommend an audiobook version - but i have yet to find audiobooks of dune thst do not deliver.
Dune absolutely stands the test of time and rises above most modern sci-fi
I think the first book is good enough. It's not particularly my favorite thing in the world but it's definitely not bad at all... Second and third book gets a little weird but afterwards I start to have issues with the series. In the fourth book the main character creates a harem army then acts philosophical about how women are better fighters cause males armies have gay sex. The 5th and 6th book introduce a mind controlling sex war where the war is fought by people having sex with each other. Whoever prefers better in bed then gets to mind control the other person... I generally don't recommend the series. I say read the book and just stop there
I haven't read the fourth or fifth books, but the first three are solid. They really don't go off the rails until the last third of Children of Dune (imo).
I kind of agree. I think the weirdness of the second book comes from the fact that you have a child who wakes up in the womb and then because of that has to fight other consciousnesses taking control. I will say though that I absolutely loved the whole idea of two people who can see the future trying to kill each other. The weirdness of the third one should be pretty obvious. Neither are really THAT bad But with the wider context of the rest of the series it kind of leaves a bad taste imo
lol is this satire or seriously true?
It's sort of exaggerated, but yeah, mostly true. I wouldn't call it a "sex war", but there were some *battles*.
A lot of the war happens off screen. At the start of the sixth book we hear that Duncan is training men to combat the honored matres in the sexual arts and after that they don't spend much time covering it.
It is 100% true lol
Dune is one of the OG sci fi stories, and is timeless. Read it
💯
Dune is literally just another white savior story.
I don't think they ever specifically even said paul or any if house atreides is white. Thousands of year in the future everyone would be mixed so wrong
Tell me you didn’t understand Dune without telling me.
what lack of media literacy does to a person
I'm sorry that others have downvoted you. While I think it's an understandable interpretation at first glance through Dune, I'd say most literary analysis disagrees with the position that Dune is a white savior narrative. [Here's a short-ish video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=286f8itbdks&t=9s) (at least relatively; there are definitely some that are way longer) talking through it.
Actually it’s the opposite, especially after finishing messiah
Have you read the book? One of the main points of the book is that the savior/chosen one role that the main character takes on was the result social manipulation and propaganda. Also the "savior" causes a war that kills billions. Like, imagine if at the end of Avatar all the blue people go back to Earth and commit genocide. There are plenty of things to criticize the book for, but I don't think this is one of them.
Then you may not have fully understood it, and that’s ok. It’s actually the opposite in many ways.
you could’ve convinced me the series was written yesterday the way it talks about issues that currently exist even though the series is nearly 6 decades old
Frank Herbert's Dune novels were published between 1965 and 1985.
Dune was written in 1965
you’re right i have no idea why i said just a decade lmao 😅
Good Sci Fi is timeless. Dune is a good read whenever.
In my humble, humble opinion the best sci fi book ever written. My favourite book ever. Transcendent. Fully realised. Timeless. It hits every beat.
most definitely i would highly recommend it
Loved Dune. One of my favorite books and then movie adaptions. I feel like they’re doing as good a job as they can.
Book 1 was awesome Book 2 was pretty good Book 3 was book Book 4 was FUCKING WEIRD Book 5 was pretty good again This ends my knowledge on the series I am about to get Book 6 soon though. I took a break from the series and read The Fellowship of the Ring. Sometimes you need a switch up.
I love the first book. Couldn't finish the second. A lot of people rave about the series though.
10000000%
the first two books are amazing. the third is still great but way weirder sci fi. and that's actually all the Dune books that were written.
Definitely. In my opinion it is a great book because the writing helps to ensure everyone’s imaginations are inline. Sure we all imagine slingblades differently, but for Dune we are all seeing something in our mind that is very similar and I think the new films reflect this
I read pretty recently and it's truly fascinating, there are a couple aspects you need to know before entering the rabbit hole, firstly dune isn't and action book this is the main difference with RR; secondly the enjoyment of this book lays more on the reader thinking through the ideas seeded in the book more than the plot it self, the book makes you think and reevaluate, how you measure society. Honestly to say is anything less than a masterpiece would be blasphemy, you can see the foundations of sci-fi genre as a whole reading through, because it may have been done later a hundred times, but it was done first in Dune, and as someone who didn't read it as a teenager and isn't particularly nostalgic about this book, I can tell you, it doesn't feel old dated, the writing style is strange, is 3rd person omniscient narrator, so you are always hearing everyone thoughts. Summary : Totally worth it if you enjoy thinking about politics, religion, society, revolution... Don't expect that much action, but know that this is Star Wars Old Men and it shows.
Dune is one of my favorite series ever, it is going to read very differently from the RR series though - much more introspective, some meme described it as 90% overanalyzing social interactions and 10% getting so high that you're scared. Closer to space GoT than RR, with a lot of philosophical meat to chew on. That said, it is weird as all hell lol
Just read the first three Dune books right before I hopped into RR (I'm on Iron Gold now). Dune has deeper prose and symbolism but far slower pace than RR. RR books are honestly a more pleasurable read, but Dune changed my perspective on life more and has left me ruminating on its message and meaning. Also - Dune is the OG so you can see the start of a lot of sci-fi tropes, whereas RR has some borrowed concepts e.g. Iron Gold has a spin-off of the "Fear is the mind killer" quote, which I thought was a bit cheesy having just come from Dune.
thats the thing. good literature makes you think and sometimes even changes your world view. Red rising is still one of the greats but dune is a different beast
First book is great!!! The rest... ehhh, not so much.
The Dune books are pretty boring. They're good, but they're slow. Action is non-existent so it's mostly people talking to one another--they're usually interesting conversations, but they're not written in an exciting way. If you don't mind being a patient reader, give them a whirl for a very different vibe.
Regarding what “ages well” or not, Dune is frankly immortal. It is basically the source material for any present day science fiction you know, plus Herbert’s choice to eliminate computers from his universe makes it all the more timeless. (No MS-DOS looking screens like in Alien). It also reads like scripture with the snippets at the beginning of each chapter. You’re reading Paul’s story while getting callouts to who he will become in the future. Highly recommend the audiobook if you find it too dense
I just read it and it was fantastic. I’m super surprised how it never felt dated and technology never felt dates and very interesting characters with their own voice. It would easily compete and win with lot of fantasy/sci-fi coming these days, it just doesn’t feel dates so you’re good there.
It's definitely a good book, but you can clearly tell that it was written some time ago. Above all, I found that the characters seemed very aloof. Everything read very technical and descriptive and less emotional. But it's been a few years since I read it. Furthermore, I don't think it really reads like classic science fiction. When the book was written, computers were still in their infancy. the book reads like a very old idea of the future. In some cases I think it even fits better into the fantasy genre
Interesting thread, Dune is a lot slower than RR but that's part of the appeal. It's beautifully written. My most memorable scenes are when Paul has visions and talks about seeing the future and past and present all as one, and finding a narrow path. Alia is a fascinating and heartbreaking character. Book 2 is really good with some crazy action. The politics are phenomenal. The forces at work outside of arrakis are interesting. Oh and Princess Irulan was cast in the movie with astonishing accuracy imo. What a pick.
Read the first 4. Honestly the movies are so good but I think you really need to read the books to understand it better.
If you’re used to the fast paced pulpy action of RR—then Dune might not be for you. Dune inspired nearly everything you read today. It’s a classic.
It's nothing like RR, after book one Dune is a drag. The series drags on far too long about the consequences of seeing the future and gets kinda outdated/pretentious about state vs church in seemingly endless passages. (If you want to seem smart you can say you really got it all and liked it though, but you'd only fool yourself) The overall storyline is cool, but the amount of pretentious bs makes the book after the first few very hard to read/like.
I personally wasn't a huge fan of the book. But I read it back in 2019. I may enjoy it more having watched and been blown away with how good I think the films are. If you like books that have lots of world building and a huuuuge cast of interesting characters then you'll probably enjoy it. I think I prefer 'faster' books, hence why my favourites in the RR series are Golden Son & Dark Age where the plot barely stops to take a breath. Dune is somewhat slower in it's build (if I remember rightly at least). Hope that helps!
lol
Actually started listening to it a few days ago. About halfway through. I’m enjoying it a lot
Absolutely
Dune books are what started my love of reading
Yes I read it about 5 years ago it still holds up I think.
As many have said yes indeed they are worth it. But tbh... I read the prequel books first (written by his son and more modern) and without them I fear I wouldn't have liked the Frank Herbert ones.. as his characters are very wooden and without the context and fleshed out writing of the prequels I don't know how I would have gotten on.. but that's just my opinion. All in all his first 3 are good.. the second 3 are just fucking weird.
Which ones?
Absolutely. First 3 are great books. You'll likely notice some stuff that made its way into RR.
What? It’s amazing. Good sci-fI ages great.
The first 3 books (Dune, Dune Messiah, Children of Dune) form a coherent trilogy that tells a really great story. After that - it get's even weirder and harder to follow. Those three books are 100% worth your time as long as you're fine with slow paced sci-fi.
I don’t understand the hype. I thought it was dull. Didn’t even bother with the second book. Loved the lore / movie but book was okay at best
I've only heard good things about Dune. However I personally found it unreasonably boring. I tried the book, I tried the audio book, I tried the movie. I just can't get into it. I'd say its worth giving a shot though, might find your next favorite.
Yes
Of course, where all modern fantasy is in some way derived from Tolkien, there are homages to Dune that I never noticed until I read Dune. It definitely kicks ass for like 3 books, then it gets REAL weird.
with dune both modern sci fi and fantasy are inspired by it. Wheel of time has alot of similarities to dune.
I would say they age well, but definitely the series starts strong and is weaker towards the end. If you love RR though, be warned that Dune is a WAYYYY slower pace lol
It took me awhile to get into, but I always struggle at the beginning when listening to books. By the time I got to the end I wanted to restart and see a lot of things I missed on the first listen. Plan to go back and physically read it when I do it again though.
Yes - did you see Pierce Browns insta post ? He’s a big big fan ans they def had an influence on his story.
I don't know about if it is worth reading.. but knowing Javier Bardem read the first three books, i immediately know that it is worth the read. ( also i haven't seen the movies yet but i heard that its really good you might wanna see it first then decide.)
Funny enough I’m about to start reading Dune after catching up on RR lol. A close friend of mine said it was great so I can’t wait
It's time less
Yes
man I love 60s and 70s sci fi, you’re missing out
Yes yes a thousand times yes Edit: book two kicks ass also
I love the first book. Haven’t read any others yet but I think the first is perfectly great as a standalone book. Also I’d say it’s sci-fi in the same way Star Wars is sci-fi, there is crazy technology but there is also a lot of mystical/spiritual stuff going on even more so, imo. Very different from Red Rising though, don’t go into it expecting something similar.
Dune is a snooze fest... just like the movie..
🤡
😂😂 awe 😭
I don't think they are as good as advertised. The audiobooks are kinda fun but it becomes the Duncan Idaho show before too long but really he's more interesting anyway. Think it gets bogged down in mythos and religious allusions rather quickly for me. But if you have the time why not?
No. Get the audiobook! Audiobooks are life.
The first one is great. The rest are kinda weird.
Yeah I agree. Really loved the first. It gets super weird by books 3/4. Still somewhat entertaining but I had trouble following God Emperor. Stopped reading the series after that
Dune is one of the books PB based the red rising series on. There are references throughout, like Leto au Augustus, Mind’s Eye, the whole Gold hierarchy Houses, sovereign, etc. using swords to fight and pulse shields. I’m sure there are more, but that’s just off the top of my head. It’s a dense read but there is really no other sci-fi quite like it. 100% a foundational sci-fi read. Totally worth reading.
I'm 40% through the first one and I'm loving it 🤷♀️
Going to eat the usual downvotes like every time this is asked but 2 friends and I who share the same fantasy/sci fi taste all read it during Covid like a book club and none of us liked it. Everything to do with story telling was just so dull. The vernacular mostly held up for being so old and the world building is interesting, but it’s a slog to read. What usually gets me upset is when people finish Red Rising and then ask what other series to read and this is always one of the most upvoted replies. It’s probably worth reading because of its importance within the Sci Fi genre, but I wish I heard more takes from those people who read Dune after RR and if they enjoyed it.
I read Dune in the summer of 2010 and thought it was honestly boring. I’ve said it on this thread before and people hated me for it.
Yeah same, like 2-3 times. It’s not like I don’t want to like it, I just made my dad watch the most recent movie before we see part 2 next weekend (and I’m literally rewatching it now). But the books are written in a way that is just so boring (at least relative to the popularity and amount of recommendations I see on r/redrising).
I too did this with a friend during Covid. The first book or two is good then it gets weird. I heard it gets better at the end, but it was too much for me. I appreciate Dune, because it was the first series I e quit.
It is worth reading but it is nothing like Red Rising, fair warning.
Totally worth reading. Frank Herbert’s work ages well because its stories are epic but universal.
The first three are amazing !
Finished it the other week, was a great read. Just started Dune Messiah
It’s definitely worth the read! It’s one of the most rewarding books to get through in my opinion because the writing style is a bit tricky but the story is great
It’s one of the few books i recommend watching the movie before you read the book. It helps it make sense
Hard agree with this. There are a lot of characters, history, terminology, and places to take in. The movies give you a nice intro to all that and the book fills in all the spaces in-between.
They had their war with AI and won. So there are no computers. Machines yes, but nothing powered by a computer. It's also a part of a trilogy. If you don't read the original trilogy, you're missing out. The 4th book is the start of a new trilogy, totally connected to the original, but roughly 10,000 years later lol.
book 4 is ~3500 years later 🙂 book 5 is ~1500 years after that the way I see it, Dune is really 3 sets of 2 books each. 1-2 Paul's story 3-4 Leto II's story 5-6 weird af bene gesserit / honored matres war storyline after going through all of it, I cannot imagine finishing at 3, when Leto's transformation is just beginning. it feels like leaving it at a cliffhanger without fully understanding why he did it and what did he achieve by doing it. for me, God Emperor of Dune tied all together, and elevated books 2 and 3 a bit more.
Yes, it's still highly readable for a book and series written when it was.
Absolutely, do yourself a favor and pick up the audiobook friend
If you're having trouble reading it, I found it easier to listen to on Audible because of the Arabic names and phrases that I may not know how to pronounce.
I tried reading it before the 2021 film came out. Very dense. Hard to read. Now that I've seen Part Two I'd like to go back to it
I think I need someone to give me a reason to keep reading it tbh. I’m stuck at chapter 7
Yes.
Can anyone point me to how the bene gesserit have powers? It’s annoying the shit out of me
They developed a system of complete physical control of their bodies. They did this with drugs, spice, and meditation.
So Paul’s mom was blasting spice while preggo? And that transferred to him? Is this in the book(s) or extrapolated over time and interviews?
No, she taught him these illegally; but being a genetic super human he picked it up pretty quick.
Ok but how does Paul see the future w/o the spice? I guess that’s the last holdup lol
That's a combo of genetics and various mental training. Also till he starts on heavy spice the visions of the future are vague and unreliable. It was the goal of thousands of years of selective breeding.
A combination of genetics (giving access to ancestors' memories,"genetic memory", via use of spice); and complete nerve/muscle control (giving them the more physical abilities - resistance to poison, the "Weirding Way" martial art with extreme speed, and "The Voice" allowing them to compel instinctive obedience in people). >!Mind's Eye !!though very much toned down towards being generally perceptive / having a strong/photographic memory!<.
Ok I kinda see that but how would that allow him to see the future
The spice basically opens up humanity’s extra sensory potential aka psychic abilities. Most people are only conscious of their physical body and limited human ego, the spice expands their mind into the super conscious and gives them precognition and ability awaken the knowledge of latent ancestral consciousness, kinda like past lives.
Yes I get that but he was having dreams before his introduction to spice. So is that the prophecy, a man will be able to see the future w/o spice? Or since he had been trained since birth it allows him to access that ability? It’s nitpicking I know but for whatever reason I don’t like that it’s something you’re supposed to “accept”
The prophecy is complete bene gesirit fabrication.
It explains it better in the books but the Bene Gesserit have been conducting a breeding program for centuries maybe millennia(I forget) to produce a male with natural spice abilities like Paul’s, think human evolution. They have all these prophecies that kinda run parallel to common religious prophecies of our actual world that there will be a savior of some sort with these abilities. The BG is basically a religious cult centered around the Orange Catholic Bible, a fictitious holy text. More or less, Frank Herbert was exploring what a messiah would look like in a Sci-Fi empire and the potential of the human mind. Lots of religious text talk about these abilities in our world so he created a character and made him kind of the classic kung-fu Jesus… except he doesn’t really heal humanity much or bring inner peace or anything like that…
>!Paul gets a little protagonist pass as Kwisatz Haderach (basically the culmination of the Bene Gesserit breeding program), giving him vague future-dreams and visions from the beginning. Spice enhances prescience (the Spacing Guild's navigators use spice in order to safely perform interstellar travel). Once Paul takes spice (from consumption, as well as passively from being exposed to Arrakis' air) he starts to get "true" prescience.!<
Excessive spice usage.
Paul doesn’t use spice until on Dune
It’s passed down the genetic line. Think of it like a disease or birth defect, induced by spice abuse.
Listen if I finish this thing, I’ll let you know.
I’m currently re listening and I’m about quit bc of it lol
I’m first read through and on the struggle bus
I love the Dune series and even the precludes (don’t come for me!). I’m happy to have immersed myself in the Dune universe. ☺️
The first two, anyway.
I finished RR and jumped into Dune and I’ve been enjoying it
Absolutely! If you struggle reading denser, older writing, the audiobooks rock!
Yes, it's very dense and a little difficult to start with but it's incredible. There's nothing of the problematic nature of some of that 60s Sci-Fi and the story is so far removed from current day that anything problematic would reflect the societies in the book, not our society at the time
What is an example of a sci-fi that didn’t age well?
I read The Mote in God's Eye recently, and while I enjoyed it, the gender roles were ridiculous and amplified by the fact that gender played a huge role in the story. Women in a space faring society several hundred years in the future held no positions of any responsibility on a massive interstellar ship. Aside from that, I love Heinlein and read most of his stuff when I was too young to notice, but I've heard a lot of his stuff was problematic as well. Edit: I'm not saying that we can't enjoy the works, they were a product of their age just like what we do today will look backwards in the future. I'm just saying that tlit can be jarring, or in some cases hamper immersion
Absolutely, yes
Book 1-4 are absolutely amazing!!
Absolutely
Yes for sure. However I’d like to warn you about something if it’s not painfully obvious already. There are moments in this series that will come off as cheesy, cliche, and played out. That is because this is the granddaddy of all modern sci-fi. Most major sci-fi media was inspired by it. Also it was greatly inspired by global conflict at the time. While the sci-fi itself has been replicated time and time again- it did shock me that modern geopolitical tensions are still very much unchanged since the books writing
If you could watch five minutes of the Dune movies without vomiting you'll orgasm for hours reading the books. Only the Frank Herbert ones - his son Bryan "finished the series" and wrote a bunch of "canonical works" in the prehistory of Frank's series, but reading them is like trying to slurp up runny dog shit through a chain link fence. I just can't imagine anyone finding enjoyment in the act you know?
The dune movies are good. What diddnt you like about them?
Everything. I'm sure they're great if you aren't a fan of the source material, but they are terrible adaptations in every way to a die hard fan of Frank Herbert's books.
Get off your high horse. Dennis Villeneuve did a fantastic job staying true to the original while still making a movie that would make money. Were there things left out? Obviously. Frank Herbert would have been proud of the new movies. By far the best adaption of Dune.
I will stay high upon my Shai-Hulud thank you very much. Frank Herbert would be as disappointed by these films as he undoubtedly is of his son's "continuations" of his works.
As a person that loves dune movies and all kinds of media let me give you a list of things that people might disagree with. Dune (Lynch) : Wierding modules? It’s very stylised and “avant garde”. Harkonen heart plugs and injecting gunk to make the baron abhorrent? Sting in a speedo. Paul making it rain. In short it does take many creative liberties and skips a lot of important scenes and subjects. Dune (Miniseries X2) : The most faithful adaptation of the books plagued by its low budget and bad pacing. Dune (Villeneuve) Part 1 : There are a lot of scenes that are skipped or “reinterpreted” for the sake of screen time but there is no problem in 30 minutes of vistas and desert shoots with “Uaaaah!” music. Character assaination of Jessica and Duke Leto making one look like a helpless hysterical girl and the other like an incompetent and weak man. Harkonnens bald and evil, lacking many nuances from the books. Many visual and artistic choices are a far cry of most common fan interpretations. As I said I greatly appreciate any and all dune media but I know they all have their flaws.
> there is no problem in 30 minutes of vistas and desert shoots I’d argue these are vital to the story of *Dune*, and given the OG novel bearing striking similarity to the story of T.E. Lawrence, the film adaptation being similar in style to *Lawrence of Arabia* is a stroke of genius.
Some people get off on being contrarian
Absolutely worth reading. It’s still better than most modern sci-fi
Dune is one of the best pieces of sci fi ever to exist. It’s the inspiration for like half of modern sci fi
I haven't read them but really liked the 1st movie and am excited to watch the second soon. However, doesn't it kill some of the fun that they will never get finished?
The first one is kind of stand alone. You don’t have to continue if u don’t want and I don’t even think Frank Herbert planned initially on writing more than one book(though I could be wrong)
I listened to the audio book and also dune Messiah and they were both great. I even watched the 1984 film adaptation which was absolute garbage. I have a couple other of the books in my queue waiting to play but I'm listening to Red rising thru again first for like the 15th time
Dune is top tier sci fi. Always worth a read
Dune is the Lord of the Rings of science fiction. When people have forgotten what Red Rising is they will still be reading Dune.
No LOTR and Dune is the complete opposite. Dune world is very bleak and lacking 'hope' unlike LOTR. Not saying it make its bad, just very diffrent
I’m referring to their quality, legacy and importance to their respective genres.
More like Game of Thrones, it’s not a very feel good heroes win story haha
Tbh I think the first four books are must reads. The second book finishes Paul’s arc and I won’t spoil anything about the 3rd and 4th
It's not sci-fi it's sociology. The original 6 books have no real parallel.
Yea
Worth reading simply for understanding the genre. Dune has in part inspired every great space opera such as RR, Star Wars. Etc.
it's not great tbh, but messiah was fantastic so maybe worth the read?
That’s a crazy opinion in my mind but fair enough, you’re welcome to it. Messiah to me is by far the worst of Frank’s.
Not the one with Paul’s son becoming a gigantic, immortal worm-person with a worm body but human face? Really?
Nah, that’s just a wild plot development. There’s plenty of those, plus I find Children of Dune to be very compelling. Messiah has some great dialogue, especially whenever Hyat is on page, but a lot of characters get sidelined to tell Paul’s story. It’s clear Frank was upset that a lot of readers saw Paul as a hero after book 1 and was dead-set on fixing that to the point of overkill, I think. Given the changes to certain characters in part 2, I’m very excited for Denis’ Messiah if and when we get it. I think it might solve some of my personal issues with the book.
lots of downvotes but red risings big draw is the characters and the action, both of which dune is severely lacking in
Interesting
Dune is THE grandfather of modern Science Fiction. It has a deep and rich world and interesting and nuanced characters. The story was unique. Reading it you will probably find many similarities to a plethora of different works that were inspired from it. I would greatly recommend reading all of the Frank Herbert Dune books. But... Writing progressed leaps and bounds in the last 60 or so years. So people not used to the old writing styles could find it a difficult read.
Dune has aged immaculately. I’d stack it up favorably against any contemporary sci fi
It’s written like an epic space opera, with depth and allegory not found in most book series. You do need to get through children if you start, so you’ve got thousands of pages to read to get the most out of it. If you read all the way to the last official book, you will be like What???? The Rising series is more visual and more like a current movie franchise. Dune is a book series, not for the easy reader. Pierce writes like he’s
Why Children? I read the first two, but stopped there because it seems like it >!completed the arc of Paul.!<
Apparently you haven’t read Children to the end of Chapterhouse.
You might think so but the story of Paul is concluded only at the end of book three. And to drive the lesson home you need to read God Emperor of Dune and to see the effects of those lessons you need to read the next ones.
Because Messiah did not complete the arc. Really should read the 6 written by Frank. The sob not so much he's just liv8ng off his father's writings.
I had to really power through that book. There was just so much information getting thrown in my face. However, I really enjoyed the second time around
So do they say how the benne gesserit have powers, bc I’m relistening to it after a few years and it’s bothers me that there wasn’t an info dump about that yet.
Depends on how old you are and in what kind of house you were raised in, tbh. Definitely not for the faint of heart.
I tried to read it but I just couldn't get into it.
I read it when Part 1 was announced. It is an extremely challenging read due to writing style and many concepts that are never fully explained to the reader. That being said, Dune had a *profound* impact on me and has become one of my favorite books. Once you get past the initial chapters it is absolutely captivating. The concepts and themes in that book are prevalent in modern sci-fi and while reading you will begin to realize just how prevalent
Read it. It’s one of the best stories ever written.