Dune: A Science Fiction Classic

Cover editions of Dune by Frank Herbert

One of the most beautiful science fiction novels I’ve ever read in my life, Frank Herbert’s Dune is a fantastic story that goes beyond worlds and minds, delving into the politics of a chaotic world and the story of the boy Paul Atreides.

Dune is a planet, also called Arrakis, known for its spices and hostile environment. Duke Leto Atreides is to serve as its leader and Paul, his son and the main character of our story, follows him into a world of sand worms, politics and betrayal. Paul, alongside his mother for a lot of the story, explores his confusing universe and everything behind it, taking us along with him. 

Winner of two of the most prestigious science-fiction awards, the Hugo and Nebula awards, it’s also perhaps one of the most influential books of all time, making books and movies like Star Wars and 2001: A Space Odyssey possible, by inspiring its authors and directors; Frank Herbert takes us through a universe he himself created, and shows us transformations in both personal and universal scales, all through the eyes of a single character.

Perhaps one of the most amazing things I personally found about this book and its series, was Herbert’s worldbuilding. Few books I’ve read have included such a masterfully created political and magical universe. A bit confusing at first, as we are introduced to hundreds of different and unfamiliar terms within an impossibly complex universe, but as we are drawn into the story, the mechanics behind this ever-turning machine of a solar system is revealed to us.

We learn of the value of spices, the supernatural women of the Bene Gesserit, the reasons and characters behind Leto Atreides’ sudden rise as Duke to the planet of Arrakis, and with all of this additional information, the story becomes ever more interesting. 

A book I will recommend until the day I die.

If you like Dune, I recommend:

• The Foundation Series by Isaac Asimov 
• Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card
• Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick