Why, hello there. Don't mind me. Just wanted to write a review on the most influential sci-fi book of all time. No biggie. Ehe. 😅
No, but seriously, I just watched the new Dune movie this weekend, then proceeded to reread the book faster than I thought possible. 😋 It ignited the same fire as my first read-through, and I enjoy talking about anything and everything that can stoke my passions.
So let's take on this juggernaut and hope we don't get squished. 😁
Note: All quotations in this article are excerpts from Frank Herbert's "Dune", 1965.
I have no delusions of grandeur by making this review. 😅 In no way do I think I am qualified to talk about a book that essentially created a genre by itself. Consider this review more of a commentary than a critique. 🤔
The recent movie by Denis Villeneuve has revitalized the discussion around Dune ➖ and Dune offers a lot of discussions to be had. Many people have thrown the word "pretentious" at Dune, and while that might be the case I want to pose this question: if something is pretentious on purpose like to highlight a certain theme or topic, is it still pretentious❔ Cause I would argue, no. But words are words and that is neither here nor there.
"*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.*"
So, housekeeping aside, why talk about this behemoth? IMO the narrative behind this masterpiece (which it is, even if it's not perfect (a topic for another time 🙃)) has become diluted with misinformation and attention-seeking. I wanna try to put all of that to rest. Let's take the 'objective-perspective' route (as much as humanly possible) and tackle these "critiques", all the while reinforcing why this book is in the pantheon of greats.
And also why not? I will say though, I want this review to be geared more towards the returning/long-time readers. 📢There will be no spoilers📢 New readers can read and enjoy this piece as I wrote it with everyone in mind. 👀
"*I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain."*
The above quote has been with me for nearly my entire life. 💯
Now imagine if you could take that last sentence and distill it into tangible essence. You then take this newly formed material and place it in a see-through flask. If you put said flask in a cabinet filled with others of the same type, you could not distinguish between any of them.
It is rare for a book to infuse its readers with the same type of awestruck remembrance. Usually, if you like the same book as someone else you share a feeling, a specific scene. Or you both enjoy the writer's voice. Dune is different. Because, when it hits: it's life-changing. 😘
Open any random page and you'll have to get out your sticky notes. Since every sentence of every paragraph in Dune could be a life-changing quote for someone.
It oozes mythology, religion, politics. It blends them all into something akin to religious text (which if we mark its plot is not that far off from what it's trying to do, like an eerie "early copy" of a text yet to be deified).
In short: It does what it sets out to do.
And that, above everything else - above the cultural influence and literary novelty and genre-defining staples - is the most important thing a creative work can accomplish. 😌
*“What do you despise? By this are you truly known.”*
Is it perfect? Hell nah, bruh. 😤 And we will tackle that very topic in our next section. But what if you've read Dune and wholeheartedly disagree with everything I just said?
Well, first off, it's ok not to like something guys. Dune is most certainly not for everyone, and that's ok. It is a very specific type of book and can easily go under/over your head. That's ok. It accomplished what it set out to do. It succeeded. And if the ultimate result does not align with your tastes - that's ok.
Taste is a real thing, people. It doesn't have to be good or bad per se. It's just taste, just different. For instance, I know for a fact that if I so much as smell an olive, any type of olive, I am liable to throw up in disgust. 🤢
Are olives disgusting then?
Actually, yes! They are appalling, and I do not know how anybody eats them. ☠️
*“The mystery of life isn't a problem to solve, but a reality to experience.”*
First of all, there is no such thing as a perfect anything. But no one that is trying to be objective would ever suggest that about Dune, as it has clear and concise issues which we will soon discuss. In fact, let's forget that word exists since it serves no practical purpose in this discussion.
However, IMHO, the word Masterpiece is well within the scope of discussion.
Now you might say "semantics", but I disagree. In the previous section, we talked about how each piece of media caters to a different audience. So just because they did not program something for your system, does not mean it's not comprised of superbly written code. ⌨️
*“Hope clouds observation.”*
I talked about clear and concise issues, let try and tackle those:
- Pacing: 🚨 Because the recent movie is such a faithful adaptation, I love that this problem persisted on the big screen. 😅 Perhaps one who has read the entire saga might argue its pacing is adequate to tell a story of such scope. And since I haven't read all the Dune books (I'm reading the third one right now) I cannot confirm nor deny that. But in this first installment it suffers from establishment syndrome (much like Brandon Sanderson's Way of Kings) so many things need to be set up and a lot of time is spent on descriptions and elaborations on various in-universe core principles. The second half of the book's pacing is also very sporadic and unorganized (for lack of a better word).
- Characterization: 🌓 Many people say Dune's characters are stale and played out. First, they weren't played out at the time of the book's release, for sure. 💯 And I wouldn't call Frank Herbert's characters stale either, they are just poorly defined. I think the characters by themselves more than serve their purpose. I honestly have formed connections with most of them, which is more than I can say of some recent bestsellers. Frank Herbert was simply not the best at giving his characters, well... character. I would go so far as to say that that was the weakest part of his writing.
- Indulgent: 🥂 The flimsiest of these three critiques but still perfectly eligible. i think you could say this about most authors and you would be right, so I won't put too much emphasis on it. But the text is very bull-headed in what it tries to say. There are no mincing words in catering to a broader audience. Perhaps the book would have the same message, spirit, gravitas if the writing was more approachable. But meh that's a tough one to say for certain. 🤷♀
The movie reintroduced Dune in the cultural zeitgeist. Hence, many people made some rushed, half-baked criticisms. And while it seemed targeted, I doubt it was with malicious intent - but that doesn't make the critique valid, just agenda-driven most of the time. 😒
*“The mind can go either direction under stress—toward positive or toward negative: on or off. Think of it as a spectrum whose extremes are unconsciousness at the negative end and hyperconsciousness at the positive end. The way the mind will lean under stress is strongly influenced by training.”*
🗯 "Dune follows the White Savior trope!"
💬 I think I hate this particular conversation the most. The gall of some people calling Frank Herbert, or his work, white supremacy propaganda... It disgusts me. Dune is so rich in its detail that if you narrow it down to one thing (in this case, the very thing Herbert is writing against) you are missing the point of the story. Even the halfway opinion is wrong: Frank Herbert grew up in a different time so its ok that his stories have a white savior. ❓❓❓ No. Listen to any interviews by the man and you'll immediately understand how false that notion is. Even if you only go by his works, Dune is ahead of its time in promoting cross-cultural themes and the risk of absolute political power. Boiling it all down to the main character's skin color is lazy, uneducated propaganda. I think I hate this criticism the most because it goes against everything the book is trying to tell you. And it's obviously made by people not interested in the piece. If you are going to do anything, do it right.
I could expand more on this topic, as with others however, it would take too many words. We gotta focus on the highlights and keep trucking.
🗯 "There are no strong female characters."
💬 This one is a definite second on my pet peeve list. Both Lady Jessica and Chani are tasked with more responsibilities than most people see in their lifetime. But no, they are "following" a male lead, hence they are followers, hence Frank Herbert wrote them as stereotypical women. What could you expect from a white male author? I'm not gonna rehash my previous argument - this whole notion that Frank Herbert had *any/ inclinations against his fellow human is outstanding in its ignorance. Dune is a novel written in the '60s and has better written female characters than most authors can achieve today. Does it have faults? Yes. But inclusiveness is not one of them.
“It is so shocking to find out how many people do not believe that they can learn, and how many more believe learning to be difficult.”
🗯 "Dune is a triumph of mediocrity."
💬 I read this one on Rotten Tomatoes. And out of these three I care about it the least. I would see how some normie might think this, but a seasoned watcher of movies? Baffling. You could say the movie was boring - totally understandable, it's half a movie at the end of the day. But to suggest that Denis Villeneuve didn't do some truly groundbreaking stuff to adapt this previously thought unadaptable source material is either looking for clicks or is incompetent at their job. I urge people to research the thought that went into each frame of this movie: how it's set up, what it represents, what it adapts from the books. It's truly an inspiration to any self-proclaimed creative.
*“Greatness is a transitory experience. It is never consistent. It depends in part upon the myth-making imagination of humankind. The person who experiences greatness must have a feeling for the myth he is in. He must reflect what is projected upon him. And he must have a strong sense of the sardonic. This is what uncouples him from belief in his own pretensions. The sardonic is all that permits him to move within himself. Without this quality, even occasional greatness will destroy a man.”*
Let's try and pinpoint all these wonderful things we've said.
Frank Herbert's world-building is second to none. Well maybe second to Tolkein.... or third to Martin... but it's top 3 at least! 😅 No but you could make a case for Dune's world as being the most fleshed-out sci-fi universe out there - few people will disagree with that statement. He gave so much thought to every minutiae that it truly saddens me we didn't experience Herbert's complete vision.
The meaningfulness in his writing. I mentioned this before but it deserves its own little section here. Each sentence is just so rich with meaning. You get up from a Dune reading session and you feel like you could craft NASA's next shuttle. You go outside and think about the properties of all things and how they are interconnected. You are Superman. I have no idea how a man could appear so wise. His intellect is of no concern here, his words' intellect is paramount. If I wrote like him, it would take me a month to write one page. He made it a saga.
The impact of these books... whooahh booyy. You think Star Wars was influential? What about the thing that influenced it? The Space Opera genre owes its legs to Dune. Asimov created the first galactic empire with Foundation, but it was built by Frank Herbert. There's a reason they call Dune the Lord of the Rings of sci-fi. (who calls it that? I don't call it that. do you call it that? 🤷♂)
*“It is impossible to live in the past, difficult to live in the present and a waste to live in the future.”*
Dune is truly in a league of its own. I gave away as few spoilers as possible. As such, I wasn't able to dive into the topics as thoroughly as they deserved. The text became a ramble, and that's the cross I'll have to bear for this article. 😅 My points got across, and that's all I could ask for.
Excuses aside, I hope at least that this piece sparks a productive conversation on what we focus on in art. Never try to implement your agenda when reading /watching /experiencing anything. Take it for what it is. If it's not for you, it's not for you.
It's hard, but try to appreciate things for what they are. That's really the crux of this article. 😁
*“The mind commands the body and it obeys. The mind orders itself and meets resistance.”*
Thanks for reading, beautiful people. 😙 You rock!
Obligatory Shout-out to the 🍕PIZZA🍕 gang, 🤙 gang. 🤙
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Stay safe and keep on reading everyone! 🙌
Return from Dune, by Frank Herbert - REVIEW to Јоцко's Web3 Blog
