- Hardcover: 448 pages
- Publisher: Gollancz; New edition edition (16 Dec 1999)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0575068566
- ISBN-13: 978-0575068568
- Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (130 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,320,011 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
Dune
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Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
Originally serialised in Analog during the early 1960s, Dune has sold over 10 million copies, becoming the most successful science fiction novel ever and giving rising to five sequels and a prequel, Prelude to Dune: House Atreides. With Lord of the Rings, 1984 and Catch 22, it is, regardless of whether one normally reads science fiction, a defining novel of the 20th century. Author Frank Herbert always preferred the original magazine illustrations by Hugo Award-winning artist John Schoenherr to those of other artists, and this illustrated edition features 12 colour plates by Schoenherr together with an evocative dust-jacket painting.
Dune is epic space opera, a saga of dynastic rivalry rooted in history and ecology, the story of the planet Arrakis 10 000 years from now, and of the conflicts over possession of Melange, a psycho-mutagenic "spice" vital to maintaining the galactic Imperium. It is the story of Paul Atreides, the man who would become Dune Messiah, and of the giant sand worms which haunt the desert landscapes. More elaborate and complex than preceding SF, Frank Herbert laid the foundations that made Star Wars and Babylon 5 possible. Dan Simmon's Hyperion and David Zindell's Neverness launched even richer, more dazzling and thrilling galactic epics, but Dune retains its premiere place in the collective imagination. Decades after initial publication it is still the benchmark for popular SF, a book everyone should read, if only to know what everyone else is talking about. --Gary S Dalkin
Review
This future space fantasy might start an underground craze. It feeds on the shades of Edgar Rice Burroughs (the Martian series), Aeschylus, Christ and J.R. Tolkien. The novel has a closed system of internal cross-references, and features a glossary, maps and appendices dealing with future religions and ecology. Dune itself is a desert planet where a certain spice liquor is mined in the sands; the spice is a supremely addictive narcotic and control of its distribution means control of the universe. This at a future time when the human race has reached a point of intellectual stagnation. What is needed is a Messiah. That's our hero, called variously Paul, then Muad'Dib (the One Who Points the Way), then Kwisatz Haderach (the space-time Messiah). Paul, who is a member of the House of Atreides (!), suddenly blooms in his middle teens with an ability to read the future and the reader too will be fascinated with the outcome of this projection... With its bug-eyed monsters, one might think Dune was written thirty years ago; it has a fantastically complex schemata and it should interest advanced sci-fi devotees. (Kirkus Reviews)
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
42 of 43 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I know some people who hate the movie and will not touch this book. I know a few who own and love the movie but have never read the book. I have lent DUNE to friends who could get no further than page 20 because it was too "out there" or too difficult, with its array of characters and glossary of made-up terms. But of all the people who have gotten past page 20- I don't know one who doesn't praise it among their absolute favorites. I am no exception.
I love sci-fi but don't read much of it because I prefer fantasy. DUNE feels like a perfect blend of the two. A war of noble houses set in space. Paul Atreides is heir to the duchy- and to say that he is well trained for the job would be an understatement. His father, Duke Leto, is given charge of Arrakis- a hellish desert-world and the sole source of "the spice" which the entire universe needs. A very prestigious assignment, but treachery and peril comes with it. Paul finds himself thrown into the mystery of Dune and its fierce natives, the Fremen. Is he the savior their prophecy speaks of?
I was first blown away by DUNE at the age of 16, and have since considered it "the one to beat". In 8 years, very few books have made me question that judgment: Game of Thrones, Foundation, Lord of the Rings, Ender's Game. I had to reread it to be sure I wasn't just naïve at the time. Was it really THAT great? Absolutely.
18 of 19 people found the following review helpful
Format:Kindle Edition
I've read this book multiple times in the past and so won't comment on just how good the story is.
The low mark reflects problems with formatting on the Kindle version. Repeatedly, almost once per page, I find instances where quotation marks are missing. Speech starts from characters and I find myself not realising that the story has transitioned from description to speech, meaning I end up going back a sentence to get the full context.
Hopefully Amazon will get the publishers to update the Kindle version with corrected formatting.
In conclusion: great real book, not a great electronic book.
The low mark reflects problems with formatting on the Kindle version. Repeatedly, almost once per page, I find instances where quotation marks are missing. Speech starts from characters and I find myself not realising that the story has transitioned from description to speech, meaning I end up going back a sentence to get the full context.
Hopefully Amazon will get the publishers to update the Kindle version with corrected formatting.
In conclusion: great real book, not a great electronic book.
17 of 18 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I read Dune when I was twelve and I continue to revisit it as its lessons remain as potent today as yesterday.
In my mind it remains the greatest single science-fiction novel ever written, not simply due to the quality, depth and cadence of the writing, but also because of the universe Frank Herbert wrought, so real that it is more real than the world we live in. If there ever was a contender for a SF novel worthy of the Nobel Award then surely this must rank high.
There is a certain timelessness to this Science Fiction eco-religio-political classic that defies interpretation and continues to capitivate and tantalise. There is a brooding quality that erodes limits and barriers. It emphasises certain realities, but continues to hint at even greater depths and mysteries.
Dune was turned down by twenty or so publishers before it was finally accepted and even then, grudgingly...there perhaps lies hope for writers who achieve only rejection instead of recognition. Publishers are businessmen: don't expect them to fund art for art's sake.
Finally, in today's world of eco-nightmare and addiction to petroleum, the nature, shape and influence of "spice melange" has a message for us today. There lies the secret of a timeless classic - it answers questions of the day in perpetuity.
In my mind it remains the greatest single science-fiction novel ever written, not simply due to the quality, depth and cadence of the writing, but also because of the universe Frank Herbert wrought, so real that it is more real than the world we live in. If there ever was a contender for a SF novel worthy of the Nobel Award then surely this must rank high.
There is a certain timelessness to this Science Fiction eco-religio-political classic that defies interpretation and continues to capitivate and tantalise. There is a brooding quality that erodes limits and barriers. It emphasises certain realities, but continues to hint at even greater depths and mysteries.
Dune was turned down by twenty or so publishers before it was finally accepted and even then, grudgingly...there perhaps lies hope for writers who achieve only rejection instead of recognition. Publishers are businessmen: don't expect them to fund art for art's sake.
Finally, in today's world of eco-nightmare and addiction to petroleum, the nature, shape and influence of "spice melange" has a message for us today. There lies the secret of a timeless classic - it answers questions of the day in perpetuity.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Amazing!
Dune is unbeatable. I can't rate it highly enough! It takes a while to get into, and perhaps more than one read to fully appreciate. Go for it though! Read more
Published 1 month ago by Trevor Daniels
excellent - even though I am not finished
I must admit - I am not a Science Fiction fan, and was warned off this book by a friend of mine, but I have seen the David Lynch movie, and the mini series of Dune and thought it... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Shaun
One of my all-time favorites
Dune was initially published in 1965, but it is a real sci-fi classic. Every fan of science fiction should read it. It started it all. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Sadie Forsythe
A work of genius. Simply brilliant (both trilogies).
Dune is some of the finest Sci-Fi ever written. It is one the sets the mark, and very few of the more recent works even come close to matching the epic scale of this series. Read more
Published 2 months ago by John
Be careful, this is not the original novel, rather the screenplay of...
Bought this on Kindle as its one of my favourite novels /series of novels, only to find that this is not the version you would find in paperback, rather its almost the screenplay... Read more
Published 3 months ago by Vaila Spencer
A science fiction masterpiece
`Dune' stands out as not just one of the best science fiction novels written, but one of the best novels period. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Gavin J. Carr
it was ok, but maybe overrated
OK, so i read this book after watching the film. Any film i have watched that is an adaptation of a book never seems to do the book justice, and DUNE is no exception. Read more
Published 6 months ago by mrgeebaby
Personal favourite
This book has been the most influential book that I've ever read. I was so absorbed by the computer games and the film as a child that I sometimes lived in this world in my... Read more
Published 6 months ago by Edward A. Thomson
Wonderful book; kindle edition a bit of a let-down
This book is as wonderful as ever, and for the most part the kindle version is great. It has quite a lot of typos in, though, many of which read like OCR errors - Yueh written... Read more
Published 7 months ago by S. D. Barnett-cormack
Dune
The novel patchworks a complicated social political landscape with thefufilling of a messianic prophercy, these two threads combine and are interwoven as a power struggle between... Read more
Published 7 months ago by J. M. Poulain
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