Book Review: Frank Herbert’s “Dune”

Dune by Frank Herbert
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

What can one say about Frank Herbert’s “Dune,” a pillar in the pantheon of Science Fiction? I have read this book several times in my life, beginning as a young man. Last week, I found myself thinking of some passage from the book, and so another reading began.

To read “Dune” is read several books, books within books. One of the reoccurring themes in the novel is the concept of feints within feints, motives underlying motives. I suppose it should come as not surprise, then, that there are many levels to this novel. On the surface, there is a tale of wild adventure, set in a complex feudal system flung far into the future. The inventions of our era have, in the distant past of this tale, wrought havoc, bringing about a new structure. Computers, ‘Thinking Machines,’ have been replaced by special beings trained in these functions. ‘Atomics’ are heirlooms of the great feudal families, not to be used on pain of planetary obliteration. The warfare of this era has become personal, a warfare of edged weapons and poison-wielding assassins.

This story of adventure is the first tale, the presenting story. Young Paul Atreides, heir to a Ducal fief, is cast into a whirling storm of intrigue, feudal struggle, and blood vendetta. This tale is enough to satisfy the reader, a story full of adventure, danger, and struggle. There are heroes and villains, the valiant and the cowardly, the good and the despicable. It is a rollicking saga.

The basic plot-line of the novel carries with it many deeper stories, stories that will reward the thoughtful reader. There are far greater forces at work in Paul Atreides life, forces that are outside of his control, forces put into play long before his birth. Frank Herbert explores the ideas of destiny, predetermination, and the struggles of a young man coming to terms with his destiny. Will he accept the mantel that has been crafted for him, crafted without his consent? Will he fling the mantel away, forging his own destiny? As the story progresses, the layers of destiny and treachery become ever deeper, entwining themselves into the myth of a hostile planet.

An arid and frightening world, the planet Arrakis becomes yet another layer to the novel, an ecological treatise on the nature of human beings and their environment. Using the interplay between characters and the harsh landscape they inhabit, the author weaves a story of the land altering the people, and the people altering the land. Is the environment a product of human action, or is the environment shaping the human action? Could it be both?

Beyond all of this lies the mystery of the nature of myth and religion, human engineering of myth, and the impact of that engineering on the future. The building wave of religion and myth carry the story to a crescendo, standing on the knife-edge of cataclysmic warfare.

Rereading Frank Herbert’s “Dune” was a pleasure. The novel contains everything a reader could want: sweeping adventure, love, parental bonds, loyalty, treachery, suspense, betrayal and revenge. The hero’s journey is clearly mapped, convincing, and captivating. For the thoughtful reader, there is much more, a deeper examination of the nature of society, destiny, and religion. Never far from the thread of the tale is how human beings interact with the ecosystems they inhabit, changing them and being changed by them.

I highly recommend this novel. At the very least, the reader will be rewarded with an adventurous romp. Beneath the adventure lies a deeper examination of what forges destiny and purpose, religion and myth. I believe that many readers will be drawn back to this book, rereading it and treasuring it, as I have done.

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