Arrakis…Dune…Desert planet
Brief summary
You don’t have time to read this and I understand, thanks for the view either way. This post on Dune is is long so I’m going to boil it down to one sentence. There’s no set way to approach something so experiment with different paths. In order to get into Dune, I had to take a different path.
I Love sci-fi
What’s your favourite genre of fictional book?
If your a normie there is a good chance that you like mystery thriller novels. Books like Gone Girl, Harry Potter and Jack Reacher might be right up your avenue.
You don’t want anything too heady because that’s not why you read. You want something that’s easy to read, has a few thrills and maybe a sex scene. I don’t blame you. Life is depressing enough without long-winded, boring books with no hanky panky.
You probably aren’t a big sci-fi fan. It’s nerdy, unrealistic and has no characters. That’s not how I view it but understand your point. I don’t find sci-fi boring because I don’t read it literally.
On a basic level, yes sci-fi is about flying cars and laser guns, but those elements are window dressing. What I find so enjoyable is that underneath the surface sci-fi is an exploration of what it means to be human.
Sci-fi asks, “who are you” and “if everything about you were to change, would you still be you?”. The answer to the question is hard to pin down, and I’m going to butcher it here. “I am a part of the universe, and the universe is part of me”.
A lot of sci-fi ends with the hero transcending. The Matrix ends with Neo realising he is “The one”. Interstellar ends with Cooper outliving his daughter and flying off into space.
In novels, it’s more heavy-handed. Philip K. Dick’s The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch ends with humanity taking on the teeth, eyes, and bionic hand of Palmer Eldritch. Richard Matheson’s I am Legend ends with Richard Neville executed. He lives on in the tales the new vampire civilisation will tell each other.
Delaying the inevitable
There was always one book that I avoided though, and that was Frank Herbert’s Dune. I have many reasons for not wanting to read the book. It was long, I don’t like dessert adventures and that so many people like it must mean that I’ll hate the book. I had many reasons which is the equivalent to no reason.
The real reason and a problem that I have with reading, in general, is that I struggle with comprehension. When I talk to people about books, I’ve read, and we’ll be talking about sections and the person asks me if I’ve read the book. I get embarrassed.
I tend to come up with my own vision in my mind’s eye and don’t like books with too much description. I’m going to come up with whatever I want anyway.
I avoided Dune. It wasn’t until I read in the back of Tools for Titans that the change started. Dune was on several smart people’s top ten list. I knew that I would have to give it a read.
The book still intimidated me. I decided to take the indirect approach.
Dune the movie
I’d seen the Dune movie years ago whenever Channel 4 used to put on cult movies late at night. I wasn’t impressed then but if I was going to read the book I w decided to watch it again as it was available on Prime.
I’m going to talk about the film in general terms.
First of all, it’s beautiful, the production design and costumes are great. It’s nice to look at, and the special effects still hold up today.
Second, the cast is excellent, but the performances are not. There are so many roles in the film and trying to develop them all in two hours would be impossible. Kyle Maclachlan does well in his first film role. Kenneth McMillan stands out because he’s so over the top and appears to be enjoying himself. Everyone else fades into the background.
A more accurate title for the film would be Dune Plot Synopsis. The movie covers the majority of the main action of the novel, but it lacks the spirit.
I understand why this film failed to connect with audiences.
The first three scenes are cinematic dead weight. The first scene is someone explaining to you how the world works. The second scene is about the main planets. This scene is infuriating because this information is never brought up again. The third scene, in essence, is “Watch out for this person” but it goes on forever. The scene is included because it’s the only scene aside from the sandworms to feature a creature. The scene could have been thirty seconds.
For comparison could you imagine if Star Wars: A New Hope began with someone explaining the Force? Then the next scene explained the Empire and rebellion. Would the film have been as successful?
Once Dune’s plot kicks in the film is more enjoyable. It’s not the disaster that everyone thinks it is, but it never rises above being acceptable.
The movie Dune may have failed as a film but as a primer for the book it worked.
Do your own research
I then looked online for as many explainers as I could find. I didn’t want to read this book, so I tried to prepare as much as I could for taking it on. It wasn’t until I watched Thug Notes break down that I found the theme that would hook me in. That theme was the idea of fulfilling the prophecy v being the one prophesied.
Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey because of a prophecy. If Jesus was the Son of God would it matter if he fulfilled the scripture? Did Jesus become the Son of God by fulfilling the scripture?
You’re probably thinking, who cares, what does it matter but this kind of question is my Chicken or egg.
How can I make this more relatable to you? What is the difference between being confident and acting confident?
I don’t consider myself a confident person. I have a lot of doubt struggle with decision making, but I’m told that I’m confident. That is because I act confident. If you find yourself with diminished confidence, take this small step. Stand up straight and take up more space than usual. You’ll give yourself a confidence boost. This has nothing to d
This philosophical Chicken or egg question got me excited to read the book. The book has confusing words, so I downloaded the book on audible first and gave it a listen.
The audible version of Dune is more akin to a radio drama version of the book.
The production is sloppy. There is a narrator, and other actors provide the voices. It’s inconsistent; sometimes the narrator replaces the voices of the actors sometimes not. If anything the poor production made me more determined to read the book.
Dune the book
It turned out that the research paid off. I flew through the book. It’s split into three sections, and the chapters are short. The annoying, confusing words weren’t a challenge.
The book is odd as it is greater than the sum of it’s parts. The plot is basic. It’s a story of revenge. When Avatar came out, everyone called it Dances with Smurfs. Having read Dune, I’m surprised there weren’t more comparisons made. Outsider turns on the system, joins native population. The outsider becomes their leader and finally drives back the invaders.
Worldbuilding is the books strongest feature. You get hints of a larger world. The dialogue is on the nose, and the characters are simple. Whenever you’re dealing with massive concepts, it’s better to keep it simple.
There’s more I want to say about this book, but this post has already run too long.
Let’s sum it up.
Conclusion: The weird in way
Throughout your life, you’re going to have encounters that intimidate you. Could be a book could be a person, something that you have to engage with. You don’t have to use the direct approach.
Think of yourself as the frog in the pot, even though the frog dies in the end.
If you try to jump straight in you may get burned and be put off getting back in. Instead, ease yourself into something, do your research.
If you’re considering reading Dune, which is recommended but doesn’t know where to begin I suggest this overview. It gives away the ending but the ending is such a small part of the journey.
Enjoy.
Did you like that?
Have a great day,
Kieran
Fantastic post. I love how you researched the concepts and prepared yourself to take on such a mammoth of classic sci-fi.
It’s a favourite of mine, though I started with the Legends of Dune trilogy, written by Herbert’s son and K.J.Anderson. Those three novels are more modern and, though lengthy, are easier to read. They show how Herbert’s societies in Dune came to be, through complex characters and realistic events, and tie together all the mind blowing concepts in Dune itself, in a clear way.
I cherish the trilogy, it was my first real introduction to sci-fi and I’ll never go back, I highly recommend you give it a go.
Thank you Rebecca. I’ll definitely consider it. Funny you mention K.J Anderson, my introduction to sci-fi book’s were the Jedi Academy trilogy when I was back in school.
KJ might be the connective tissue of getting people tuned into sci-fi. Thanks for reminding me and I’m glad you liked the post.
Have a great day.
It’s far too easy to divide readers into buckets, whereby whatever genre one is defending automatically is elevated above the schlock of Gone Girl. I do it myself when I think of Dune and the pretensions that people who swear it is the best book ever radiate. Dune is a basic novel on many levels. It is a conventional savior narrative which people write up as if it contains the deepest, most pressing philosophical mysteries. It does not. Reading Dune is the equivalent of watching a 12 hour cooking segment on how to boil an egg. Herbert’s prose is stylistically wooden. He extends the most energy on encyclopedic world-building that, to me anyway, does not justify the investment of time it ask of readers. But to each his own.