Scifi for beginners: Dune by Frank Herbert

Tweet

When Duke Leto is ordered by the emperor to transfer to the planet of Arrakis, both he and Lady Jessica are aware that the Harkonnens won’t easily relinquish their hold on the desert planet, which until recently was in their control. For, whoever rules Arrakis controls the production of the valuable spice that is harvested there. And so Leo and Jessica arrive at their new home on-guard and prepared for an attack.

But when the attack does come, it is geared at their son Paul, and it appears to have been set up by someone within the household. Both Leto and Jessica recognize that there is a traitor amongst them, and various clues point to Jessica as the culprit, a possibility that many of Leto’s supporters are quick to accept due to her background as a Bene Gesserit “witch”.

Meanwhile, Paul, who has the talent for sensing the truth in other’s words and for dreaming about future events, finds himself strangely familiar with Arrakis and it’s ways. And the people of Arrakis begin to suspect that Paul and his mother may be the figures from prophecy that they have been awaiting to lead them into a future of freedom and hope.

Duke Leto and Lady Jessica must navigate within the web of deceit and treachery, as they try to discover who their real enemies are and how to overcome them and Paul finds himself setting off on a path which will forever change him, bringing him closer to the future that he had once dreamed about.

I had started reading Dune with very low expectation of enjoying it, largely due to the fact that I’m not much of a scifi reader and neither the plot summery or the rather dull book cover interested me much. And so I was pleasantly surprised when I was immediately drawn into the story by the interesting characters and engaging narrative style.

The world of Dune is inventive and convincing; particularly in it’s emphasis on the conservation of water. On Dune, water is so precious and scarce that life revolves around it, particularly for the Fremen, who dwell in the harshest areas of the desert. The Fremen even invented garments that recycle all of the body’s liquid, so that not a single drop of sweat would go to waste. I was so consumed by the ideas presented in Dune that I couldn’t help but reconsider the elaborate use of water all around me in my every day life.

And the monstrous man-eating worms, which at first I had thought sounded rather cheesy, were actually a very creative touch.

The characters are well developed and memorable, particularly Paul, who transforms from a playful child to a hardened adult, trying to avoid the dangerous future that he sees himself heading towards. Though I was saddened by the changes this wrought in his relationship with his mother, and the new distance that developed between the two of them as Paul left his childhood behind.

And while Dune is a science fiction book, I didn’t feel myself overwhelmed by complicated futuristic inventions and scientific terminology, which usually throws me off in books of this genre. The characters here have actually reverted back to the use of swords as weapons, due to the danger of using firearms against shields. I have to admit though, that I didn’t get what the shields were. I don’t remember there being any mention of what they are made of or how they work exactly so I just couldn’t picture them in my mind, which irritated me a bit. There were actually a few other things like this, ideas or statement that I never quite understood, but they were infrequent enough that they didn’t get in the way of my enjoyment of the book.

I think Dune is an excellent book that anyone can enjoy. While the science fiction elements are present, they don’t overwhelm the story, making it a book that can be enjoyed by readers of any genre.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Looking for Answers:

As I mentioned above, there were a few matters that I still remained unclear about after finishing the book and I thought some of you who have already read it might have some answers for me.

First of all, a few times references were made to "being human," such as, in the beginning of the book, when the Reverend Mother tells Paul that she is testing him to see if he is human. Well, what were the alternatives?

Second, I thought it was strange that Hawat was so easily tricked when he was supposed to be of such superior intelligence, as one of the top mentats. Anyone else think that is was odd?

Third, I was unclear about how the rest of the residents on Arrakis received water and water their situation was. And if water was so scarce for the Fremens that they had to recycle it all, how could they be drinking coffee?

So if you have any answers for me, I'd love to hear them!