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Dune
by Frank Herbert



More information on the radar plot criteria

This radar plot is meant to give a graphical representation of the book in question. For a better idea of what each spoke means, see the table below. Also, keep in mind that higher numbers are not necessarily better. Depending on your taste, a 0 may be just as appealing as a 10 (or a 5, etc) in a particular category. (Click to close)


Category 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0
Maturity 18+ 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8
Violence Excessive Violence Violent acts (no blood-gore) No Violence
Action Constant Action Even mix of action-drama No Action
Epic Lord of the Rings Epic Large scope, less detailed Limited scope
World Completely unique Half real/half unique Set in our world
Realism Focus outside the realm of accepted science Focus evenly split between explainable-unexplainable Nothing unexplainable - not the focus
Modernity Present Day (or beyond) 1980-1999 1960-1979 1930-1959 1870-1929 1800-1869 1700-1799 1400-1699 200-1399 (1000)-199 Ancient
Humor Laugh out loud throughout Funny (but not primary focus) Intentionally not funny

Paul Atreides, the son of Duke Leto and his concubine Jessica, passes the test given by a Reverand Mother (thanks to Jessica’s Bene Gesserit training) and is thus declared human. The Atreides family has been given rule over the planet Arrakis, or Dune, as a political move by the Harkonnens, their arch rivals. Soon after arriving, the Harkonnens leverage a traitor (Dr. Yueh) to kill the Duke and allow the Emperor’s soldiers (Sardaukars) into the household. Paul and his mother (who is pregnant with a girl) flee into the deep desert to escape the slaughter. Duncan Idaho gives his life to buy time for Jessica and Paul to escape. Gurney Halleck and Thufir Hawat survive, with Gurney joining a band of smugglers and Hawat being forced into servitude as Baron Harkonnen’s mentat. Liet Kynes, the leader of the Fremen tells Paul and Jessica to find the Fremen, but he is also captured and killed in the process.


The deep desert of Dune is occupied by huge sand worms that devour anything they find on the sand. However, as Paul and Jessica soon learn, it is possible to avoid a worm by moving through the desert making only the natural sounds of the desert. As they escape a worm, they stumble upon a band of Fremen, led by Stilgar (Kynes’s brother). Paul disarms a Fremen, and Jessica overpowers Stilgar, buying enough time to explain who they are. The Fremen begin to think that Paul may be the Lisan-al-Gaib (a prophet out of legend). Jamis, the man Paul disarmed, challenges him to single combat, and Paul kills him, inheriting his water and his family (a wife and two children). Paul becomes a Fremen and is now known as Usul or Muad’Dib.


Paul and Jessica arrive at Tabr Sietch where Paul eats something filled with the spice (mélange). It causes him to enter a state of prescience, and he learns that his status as a prophet among the Fremen could lead to a Jihad across the universe. He also realizes that Chani, Kynes’s daughter, is destined to be his lover and the mother of his children. Jessica is given the Water of Life (water that has been tainted by a Maker (worm) that is drowned). It is poison, but she is able to convert it so that the entire sietch can consume it safely. By doing so she establishes herself as a Reverand Mother, and obtains the memories of all the Reverand Mothers before her. During the process, however, her unborn daughter also obtains these same memories and powers. While in the sietch Paul and Jessica also learn that the Fremen have been working in secret to convert the desert of Arrakis to a place full of water and life. They have millions of liters of water stored until there is enough to make the conversion possible.


Years pass and Paul has established himself as a leader among the Fremen, and he and Chani have had a baby boy. Paul is tested again, this time with the task of riding a wild Maker. He passes the test, but soon after his men come across a ‘thopter. They ambush it, only to discover that Gurney Halleck is among them. He joins Paul. These events spur Paul to stake his claim as Duke and rightful ruler of Arrakis. They soon plan an attack against the Harkonnens. Sensing the impending conflict, the Emporer, all the major Houses, and the Harkonnens travel to Arrakis to lay claim to what spoils of war they can. Paul and the Fremen, however, attack under the cover of a storm, completely decimating the Emperor’s Sardaukar forces. Unfortunately, Alia (Paul’s younger sister) is captured and his son Leto is killed.


The Emperor brings Alia in for questioning, but she kills the Baron (her grandfather through Jessica) and escapes just as the battle begins. The Emperor and his entourage are brought before Paul. The Baron’s nephew challenges Paul to single combat. Paul accepts and kills him, despite the poison on his opponent’s blade. Thufir Hawat is also there, but he kills himself rather than betray the Atreides family (as the Emperor commanded him to). Finally, Paul outmaneuvers the Emperor, who agrees to let Paul marry his daughter (Irulan) in order to let Paul become the Emperor. The book ends with Jessica comforting Chani with the knowledge that, while Paul may be married to Irulan in name, history will remember her as Paul’s wife.




This is actually the second time I’ve read Dune, the first being several years ago in college. While I still enjoyed it, I remember enjoying it more the first time than I did this time. I’m not sure if it’s that my tastes have changed significantly, or if I’m simply reading with a more critical eye now that I know I’ll be discussing a book afterwards. Either way, Dune is an enjoyable, clever book that I find lacks the subtlety it would require to make it a nearly flawless work of fiction.


My primary criticism, and the reason I say it lacks subtlety, is Herbert’s use of the inner monologue that characters have to convey information, emotions, and motives. Throughout the book, we are privy to the inner dialogue of various characters. Literally, we are able to read their thoughts. While this is useful, as we are able to see exactly what the character is thinking at a critical moment, it struck me as a cheap way for Herbert to get important information across to the reader. This is especially disappointing because, otherwise, Dune is a masterpiece. In fact, within the book itself we see Herbert revealing information more subtly than we do here.


At the start of each chapter is an excerpt from one of the many books Princess Irulan will ultimately write about Paul. It’s ironic because, while our glimpses into the thoughts of the characters are a heavy-handed technique to provide information, the pre-chapter excerpts are a lesson in subtlety. How can Herbert execute one aspect so perfectly, and another so poorly? It’s another situation (like Fall of Hyperion’s perspective changes vs. East of Eden’s) where one thing is done so well that it only serves to highlight the mistakes. Speaking of these pre-chapter interludes, I imagine this is where Orson Scott Card got the idea for his Ender books? Even if it is, I don’t think that detracts from the Ender works since they are still executed well.

The last thing I want to mention is the sections where Paul and his mother must deal with the issues of prescience and multiple consciousnesses. While most of the book is well-written, these sections really shine. Considering this is an extremely difficult concept to understand, the fact that Herbert not only writes it so I can follow what he’s saying, but that he does so with enough clarity to bring it to life vividly in my mind is impressive. In fact, I get the feeling that this is really the story that Herbert wanted to tell, and everything else is there just to give us a context for this subject. Granted, it’s easy to say this with the foreknowledge that genetic memory becomes a crucial component of the rest of the series, I think the skill with which Herbert writes these parts only reinforces how important they were to him.


Dune is understandably considered one of science fiction’s great masterpieces. It is a well-written, entertaining book with a unique concept that is thoroughly realized. However, considering its flaws, such as the heavy-handed approach of reading each character’s thoughts, it is also understandable why it is not often considered a masterpiece of fiction as a whole.


Small aside - I remember thinking in college that there was a connection between Dune (or perhaps the series as a whole) and Plato’s Republic. I haven’t read the Republic in years, but I wonder if that connection is still valid?



“Deep in the human unconscious is a pervasive need for a logical universe that makes sense. But the real universe is always one step beyond logic” (373).



14 - Some violence, references to sex, but nothing explicit



Yes


Read ID (use for comment below): 33



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