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“Dune�� is probably my husband’s favorite book, and he was so happy that I decided to re-read it so that we could talk about it. We had just watched the absolutely stunning Denis Villeneuve movie (thoughts about that at the end of the review) and we were both geeking out pretty hard about it. It was a pleasure to re-immerse myself in Herbert’s world, and while my previous criticism of the book still holds, I found myself enjoying it so much more this time. Perhaps it is because books like “Dune��, which are so complex and layered, really benefit for re-reading, as you notice things you might have glossed over before, and reconnect with interesting ideas and concepts you had enjoyed the first time around�� I’m very excited to add “Dune Messiah�� and “Children of Dune�� to my short term reading list, as I can’t wait to go back to Arrakis!

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Original review:



My mother is a bonafide, vintage geek girl. I grew up watching “Star Trek�� with her and she used to read me Tolkein as bed-time stories. She had piles of Isaac Asimov and Arthur C. Clarke books all over the place. These days, she obsesses over “Game of Thrones”�� As you can guess, she also loves “Dune��, and she was so excited when the 2000 series finally aired on the Space channel. That was my first exposure to Frank Herbert’s work and it took me a very long time to get around to reading the actual book.

At this point, I think everyone know this is a messianic story, with a pretty classic layout. A prophecy foretold the arrival of a warrior-leader on the desert planet of Arrakis, who would free it’s people and turn the planet into a paradise where no one would ever want for water again. In parallel, the Emperor gives control of the planet to House Atreide: it’s the most valuable planet in the universe, as it is the only source of the precious spice, necessary to space travel: but it is also a white elephant, as it is hostile and House Harkonnen, the devious former rulers, will stop at nothing to get it back. You can already see how that will unfold. The strength of this book is not in the element of surprise, it is in the mind-blowing world-building and characterization. The details of the social structure, history, customs, religion and politics in “Dune�� make it feel incredibly real as your turn the pages. Having seen the series before reading the book, I pictured everyone dressed in elaborate, geometrical costumes and headdresses; I saw monumental architecture with bright colours.

But what I loved the most about “Dune�� is that it is the deconstruction of a messiah. How does it feel to be the person legend has predicted for generations, anxiously anticipated by the oppressed, who will blindly follow you anywhere because they fanatically believe that you will save them? Knowing many will die to fulfil the prophecies and that this blood will ultimately be on your hand, seeing small events and knowing they will one day be told as grandiose moments that had very little to do with what actually happened. That can’t be a comfortable hat to wear and I felt for Paul. I also felt for Jessica, who watched her son transform into something she could have hardly imagined when she decided to disobey the orders of the Bene Gesserit and provide her lover with a son and heir instead of a daughter.

This brings me to how fascinated I was with the amount of control the Bene Gesserit held over the various legends and folk tales, with their Missionaria Protectiva and their breeding program. I wanted to know all about it, read their histories and plans! I think it a very successful world-building when I wish I could live in it and go to the local library to read about it!

That being said, the dryness of the writing was a bit of a turn-off. I was so annoyed every time Hebert felt the need to write “Aahh�� or “Hum�� mid-dialogue, to show me the person speaking was hesitating. I feel like he could have been more evocative without resorting to this weird addition to conversation. I could have also used more lush descriptions, to cement his world in my brain and make it even more alive. But these are really minor qualms: I really enjoyed this book, and I will be reading the sequels.

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Thoughts about the 2021 movie:



I am a huge fan of Denis Villeneuve, and I was so excited when the news that he’d be directing a new adaptation of “Dune�� came out �� and he did not disappoint. The other versions are cool in their own rights, but they have a certain tackiness to their looks that made it hard for me to really buy into the illusion of the movies. This time, the absolute beauty of the photography, the masterful music and the gorgeous costumes and sets blew me away, and I must have muttered “This is so fucking cool!�� a dozen time. The casting is perfect, and I say that as someone who detests Chalamet �� I still kinda want to punch him, but the skinny bastard is so good�� I’m so glad that the second movie is going to happen, because I want this to become the gold standard for sci-fi films.