Dune - Frank Herbert

Dune by Frank Herbert is easily one of the best books I have ever read. Instead of making Paul’s storyline the primary focus throughout the novel, Herbert carefully built the world around the protagonist. He detailed the motivations behind all the surrounding characters and how Paul’s thoughts and interactions with these characters impacted the larger parties involved in the ultimate conflict. All of these little details were injected into each page, which made it difficult to put the book down as I kept wondering how the events of each chapter would impact the outcome of the story.

“When religion and politics ride the same cart, when that cart is driven by a living holy man (baraka), nothing can stand in their path.” (Appendix II: The Religion of Dune)

When reading Dune, I frequently came back to the thought of how the book was not about Paul. Instead, it was just another chapter in the Bene Gesserit’s long history of controlling the universe. The political dominance of the Bene Gesserit was something to behold in many circumstances throughout the novel. For instance, to fulfill their prophecy of the Kwisatz Haderach, the Bene Gesserit inserted themselves into the lines of the best families and determined when it would be safe to merge the family lines to try to produce the Kwisatz Haderach. Interestingly enough, even the Padishah Emperor, who held the most physical control of the universe, had to succumb to the Bene Gesserit by only having daughters instead of having a son to succeed him as the next emperor.

In addition to their political dominance, the Bene Gesserit imposed their religion on others. First, the Kwisatz Haderach was a prophet in the Bene Gesserit beliefs who, as previously mentioned, defined their political agenda and how they controlled the genetic traits of some families. Additionally, the most notable case of the Bene Gesserit implanting ideas into others was with the Fremen and the idea of the Lisan al Gaib prophet. The moment the Atreides family landed on Arrakis, the Fremen immediately speculated about Paul being their prophet as his situation matched their legend of an outsider arriving with a Bene Gesserit, his mother Lady Jessica. Thus, once Paul and Lady Jessica integrated with the Fremen, they immediately rose to power within the Fremen society because of this belief of Paul being a religious prophet for whom they would do nearly anything. This prophecy became a challenge for Paul as he walked a fine line within the Fremen’s political scene by refusing to collide with some of his strongest allies within the Fremen. Once Paul harnessed political and religious control, he had the power to influence the Bene Gesserit and, ultimately, the Padishah Emperor himself. This progression made Paul’s story so engaging because he had to juggle multiple responsibilities and titles, with each decision impacting himself and those around him.

“The greatest peril to the Giver is the force that takes. The greatest peril to the Taker is the force that gives. It’s as easy to be overwhelmed by giving as by taking.” (Chapter 45).

The other main facet I loved about Dune was how each character was intriguing and unique. I thoroughly enjoyed learning about the backstories of the characters and how they fit into the story. One of my favorite characters to learn about was Dr. Yueh. He was a double-edged sword by playing the role of the traitor and betraying the Atreides household in an attempt to get close enough to Baron Vladimir Harkonnen to kill him. Before the betrayal, Yueh leaked information about his motives, revealing how his hatred for the Baron blinded him to hurt those he cared about in the Atreides family. Yueh was full of contradictions and even indirectly saved Paul and Lady Jessica because they trusted him, and he did not want them to suffer because the Duke was the price for him to fulfill his side of the bargain with the Baron. Yueh was the prime example of a character who was neither good nor bad. Rather, he was in the gray area like so many other characters, who were each equally sophisticated enough to contribute to the advancement of the story. In other words, no character was perfect and made both good and bad decisions that were completely relatable for readers to empathize with, regardless of how evil some characters may have been.

“The mystery of life isn’t a problem to solve, but a reality to experience.” (Chapter 4)

In summary, Dune is a complete masterpiece that cannot go unread. The brilliance of Herbert’s writing does not lie in the events that occur in the story. Instead, it is the things that do not happen that are most significant and allow readers to put together a puzzle that links each character’s thoughts and motivations with the surrounding events. Picking up on these intrinsic details made Dune a fun and rewarding read that I loved. I am certainly excited for what is to come in the other books in the series!