Dune

I wouldn’t call myself the biggest book critic out there, as I am typically a little generous with ranking books on places like Amazon and Goodreads. Usually when I write a review, I love the story and want everyone to know it. I won’t review books I don’t like because I think it’s ridiculous to rip apart an author without offering anything constructive. That being said, I was going through some of my reviews and found one little paragraph about a novel I read a few years back. I was disturbed because it was one of my favorite books ever, but I never reviewed the book. So here is my review of Dune.

There is one word to describe my feelings about Dune: Epic. It is the Epic of epics. I was forced to read this by one of my authors, as he was disgusted that I had never read the story. I am not going to lie. I am not a huge fan of science fiction, and was a little doubtful that I would enjoy the read.

I began to read the book and was captivated by the in-depth storyline, and the concept of genetically creating a superhuman, a messiah. I was very surprised I was enjoying the story, it starts off relatively slow. Ok, not relatively slow, but just plain slow. Nothing was happening but character and storyline development. And I was still reading. Page after page. I usually hate stories that start off slow, but I knew this was different. This was epic. This was a masterpiece.

The story is about Paul Atreides’ transformation from a Duke to the Messiah for the Fremen. After being cast to the deserts of Arrakis with his mother to die, Paul aims to claim back his throne from the Harkonnens and claim stake to the Melange spice that everyone is addicted to. He must learn the Fremen ways to survive. Soon the Fremen suspect he might be the Messiah, long awaited by the tribe, whose arrival is foretold generation after generation. Will he regain what is rightfully his, or die trying?

I won’t give any spoilers but this story is immaculate in its delivery, and is one of the best, if not the best, stories I have ever read. The storyline is deep and intriguing, and I don’t know of a story with better developed characters. Herbert’s creativity is second to none. This story will be read by generations of readers as the greatest science fiction story in history.

My review: At worst it is captivating, at best, it is THE epic of epics.

-Jairus Reddy