Frank Herbert
Paperback | Pages: 910 pages Rating: 4.36 | 55892 Users | 241 Reviews
Be Specific About Epithetical Books The Great Dune Trilogy (Dune #1-3)
| Title | : | The Great Dune Trilogy (Dune #1-3) |
| Author | : | Frank Herbert |
| Book Format | : | Paperback |
| Book Edition | : | First Edition |
| Pages | : | Pages: 910 pages |
| Published | : | November 17th 2005 by Gollancz (first published April 1979) |
| Categories | : | Science Fiction. Fiction. Fantasy. Classics |
Commentary To Books The Great Dune Trilogy (Dune #1-3)
Frank Herbert's Dune was in part inspired by his experience working in a research centre in California studying desertification. The realisation of the interrelationship of environment, people and culture coming out of that experience is a key feature of the series. At the centre of the first novel is a desert planet, Arrakis, and the secret desire of its inhabitants to transform it's ecology. It is a great science-fiction novel about systems of power and the role of ecology, although admittedly delivered in an accept it or loath it writing style and with various weird ideas including: Feudalism in space, a stress on lineages in which nonetheless many of the women seem to be mystic-concubines, homosexuality is shorthand for depraved evil, and space Arabs with blue eyes.The sequels are not fascinating unlike the first novel. Full of enthusiasm after reading Dune I read Dune Messiah but it is one of those books that divides the fans from the readers I suppose.
In Children of Dune we see the surface of Arrakis beginning to change as the plans to transform the ecology of the plant are being put into effect, and some of the social implications of those changes beginning to emerge, but the book is not as packed with ideas as Dune. For something similarly ambitious yet more consistent in its delivery (& I lost interest in this series as it ran on and on) I personally prefer Brian Aldiss' Helliconia Trilogy.
The weigh of the ideas is really all placed in the first volume. The Feudal-Federalism of the Space-Empire, the breeding programme to create a Messiah figure who can guide humanity towards an unpredictable future, the land makes the people and the people make the land, the replacement of computers with specialised people. The subsequent books are really just the working through of the ideas set out there. It is all inevitable and the reading as a result is poorer.
Dune perhaps epitomises science-fiction. The willingness to embrace big ideas and show them playing out on a broad canvas married to uneven writing and a a certain 'what-the Hell-ness' as the author lays out their pet sociological/anthropological opinions. The David Lynch film, I feel, captures the oddness of the reading experience quite well and perhaps sets about chopping at the text with a brutality which oddly appropriate. Alternatively it offers a combination of the latter books of the Old Testament with a sensitivity towards the influence of the environment upon man and of man upon the environment. At points this works on its own terms, at others it rather strangles itself with its own pretensions. You have to read it to believe it.
Specify Books Conducive To The Great Dune Trilogy (Dune #1-3)
| Original Title: | The Great Dune Trilogy |
| ISBN: | 0575070706 (ISBN13: 9780575070707) |
| Edition Language: | English |
| Series: | Dune #1-3 |
Rating Epithetical Books The Great Dune Trilogy (Dune #1-3)
Ratings: 4.36 From 55892 Users | 241 ReviewsJudgment Epithetical Books The Great Dune Trilogy (Dune #1-3)
OK - let's cut through the BS.This is - quite simply - the most magnificent Sci-Fi epic ever written. The scope of Asimov's Foundation, the attention to detail and context of Tolkien's LotR, coupled with an unmatched visionary socio-ecological messianic narrative that is scarily relevant today.Anyone who likes Sci-Fi and who hasn't read this needs to get a copy. And read it. Now.Dune is a masterful piece of writing, with a beautifully realised world - the politics, Arrakis itself, the people - all well thought out and plausible. I think what Herbert does well, is although the world and the people are alien, the reader can relate to them. I find too many sci-fi authors are so interested in creating exotic worlds and peoples that they forgo characters readers can relate to and as result, the stories miss that emotional hook. In my opinion, Dune is the strongest of the
My friend warned me: it goes down after the first book. But I couldnt help myself and ordered this trilogy the day after finishing Dune. I was not interested as much in the plot, which can dawdle on forever like so many once-great sci-fi series, but rather in how Frank Herbert continued exploring the big ideas of Dune: the Middle East/Dune parallels, Church-State, climate change, the competing myth creations of Paul vs the BG...Book II (Dune Messiah) is the fall of Paul and Book III (Children of
Quite an epic ride.
A brilliant examination of human politicks and potential. Also an exploration of the dichotomy of destiny and free will as Paul struggles to stem the inevitable tide of events that will rip human society apart. One of the best books ever written.
The 'Lord Of The Rings' of science fiction, I started reading my aunt's battered old copies while stuck in America in the spring and found it absolutely wonderful. Intensely gripping, I enjoyed it so much I went out and bought my own copy of the trilogy. Incredibly dense and rich with detail, these books are totally unputdownable, and the intrigue will keep you turning pages for hours. Loved them so much I named one of my cuddly toys Gurney Halleck :)
To the uninitiated the Dune universe and its characters, plots and intrigues might seem inaccessible. And perhaps that is fair comment. The continuously shifting allegiances, uncovering of secrets and see-sawing fulcrum of power can be intimidating. Accompanied by Herbert's rather staid prose, Dune is not recommended as a primer for the novice or the curious, however, those willing to persist will be rewarded many-fold. That is not to say that Dune is difficult to read - it isn't. Dune is the
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