Current Events > Dune (the book) is so much better than i expected

(+) Yeah! (+)

Recently got back into reading after not touching a book for years and really enjoying it.

Decided to give the Dune books a try since they are so highly regarded and there's been that deluge of Dune media recently (movies, TV shows, games).

I've never seen anything from Dune, just knew the general premise and have seen the myriad pop culture references (the box in Phantasm, the lyrics in Weapon of Choice by Fatboy Slim). Been avoiding the book since a lot of people compare it to Tolkien and... Its so much more exciting and engaging imo.

Still having difficulty conceptualizing the specific power structures and rules of the world at 160 pages in, but the addition of an accessible glossary and healthy balance of easily understandable terms, light descriptions of people and places, and intrigue and character development this far has made it far less daunting than I expected.

Anyway, probably too early to recommend it but if you've been thinking about it but had similar reservations about the complexity of the language or depth of descriptions just go ahead and give it a try

The first 2 were good. After that it got really weird.

Sariana21 posted...

The first 2 were good. After that it got really weird.

"The water is sex and sexy."

I think I just summed up like half of the series.

I tried reading the first book a year ago. After like 20 pages, Id had enough with all of the names, cities, etc, and stopped reading it. I didnt feel like trying to remember all of the stuff it was throwing at me.

Watched the first 2 movies recently. Thought they were fine - nothing great, but fine - and Im wondering if I should give the books another chance, since I would have an understanding for more of the lore from the beginning. I have a lot of other things on my plate, but Id like to give it another try eventually.

I really like all the mainline books the Duncan stuff aside.

First book is great. The series goes way off the rails after that, but its still entertaining.

The inner monologue by the characters is like 1/2 the book so when that is not done right by the movies, a ton is missed.

DrizztLink posted...

"The water is sex and sexy."

I think I just summed up like half of the series.

I can't WAIT.

The_Popo posted...

I tried reading the first book a year ago. After like 20 pages, Id had enough with all of the names, cities, etc, and stopped reading it. I didnt feel like trying to remember all of the stuff it was throwing at me.

Watched the first 2 movies recently. Thought they were fine - nothing great, but fine - and Im wondering if I should give the books another chance, since I would have an understanding for more of the lore from the beginning. I have a lot of other things on my plate, but Id like to give it another try eventually.

Give it another try imo. I don't know how they compare to the movies. I was also concerned about there being a bunch of lore and backstory but I think the names are manageable and a lot of the stuff tends to get explained sooner or later

I was looking up everything in the glossary initially then realized if I just give it some time they'll probably spell it out for me

Hexenherz posted...

Recently got back into reading after not touching a book for years and really enjoying it.

Decided to give the Dune books a try since they are so highly regarded and there's been that deluge of Dune media recently (movies, TV shows, games).

I've never seen anything from Dune, just knew the general premise and have seen the myriad pop culture references (the box in Phantasm, the lyrics in Weapon of Choice by Fatboy Slim). Been avoiding the book since a lot of people compare it to Tolkien and... Its so much more exciting and engaging imo.

Still having difficulty conceptualizing the specific power structures and rules of the world at 160 pages in, but the addition of an accessible glossary and healthy balance of easily understandable terms, light descriptions of people and places, and intrigue and character development this far has made it far less daunting than I expected.

Anyway, probably too early to recommend it but if you've been thinking about it but had similar reservations about the complexity of the language or depth of descriptions just go ahead and give it a try

I dont believe any of this would be spoilers. There are 4 houses. The main ones that pertain to the series. Are House Arteides and Harkkonen. Before the story starts House Atreides is given rule of Arrakis. The motto whoever controls the spice controls the universe. The spacer guild uses spice to travel long distances. The Bene Gesseriet are "magic users". Think Aes Sedai from Wheel of Time. Thats pretty much the power structure

Dune influenced alot of sci-fi. You have Star Wars for instance.

Yeah the basic structure makes sense but some elements are weird like the Judge of Change and the High Council and some of the finer interpersonal relationships. The more I read the more in focus some of it becomes though.

Things like the Bene Gesserit and Mentats are still mysterious though. Like the BG - Im still confused if they're legitimately using magic or if they just have an exceptionally high EQ to read people and manipulate then with the right words and tone. or the Mentats - do they have special psychic ability or are they just hyper trained in logic and computation?

I love the lore though. Especially with the Bene Gesserit, the idea that they spread all this religious mythology around the universe as a means to build subtle networks and communicate with populations outside the regular channels. But i cant tell still whether they actually believe it since it seems like there's doubt about whether Jessica really believes in this Messiah figure or not.

Finished the first "Book" (first 254 pages or so), stayed up way too late but the end of that section was just so tense I couldn't put it down.

ok I got so excited about this and wanted to share it with my wife I decided to load up the movie.

The 1984 David Lynch movie...

Got about halfway through and we decided to give it up. I hate it - I love Lynch's works, there are great actors in there doing great acting, I like the inclusion of the lines directly from the book, some of the scenes are very dreamy and surreal and I like the tone... but damn, they cut out way too much about what has made the book so intriguing and fascinating to me.

I'm curious if the newer movies do a better job?

Hexenherz posted...

I'm curious if the newer movies do a better job?

Obviously they still had to cut a good bit because stuff doesn't really translate to the screen but a lot of it is right off the page. The extended run time also allows them to include a lot more. And they are absolutely beautiful movies no matter how you feel about the books.

Didn't like the book. Was a chore to get through. Everyone thinks they were smart but none of them made great decisions. It was just a power by numbers win each time. Military tactics were off, the world tried to make sense and regressive sexism was hard to swallow. That ending of the first book made me appreciate the change in the movie.