Dune

It feels wrong to review this science fiction masterpiece. Most of what sticks out about Dune has already been said: the immaculate worldbuilding, the almost scientific focus on ecology and the mind expanding, almost surreal glimpses into a universe that feels very much familiar and yet so strange and alien. It doesn't need repeating that this is a modern classic. I do have some gripes with this story though. While reading, it seemed to me that Herbert wasn't very much concerned with or interested in the politics that held together his universe and wanted to focus on the ecology of Arrakis. He doesn't care to explain it a lot and the central scheme and subsequent betrayal of the House Atreides by the Harkonnens and the Padishah Emperor seems somewhat convoluted and it's hard to tell what it all serves once you look at the big picture. However, what picks it up for me again are the cultural, spiritual and ecological elements, which are masterfully written and make this story truly special. ...weiterlesen

... proven wrong! Shamefully I must confess that it took me several years to finally read the first book in the Dune series because of the widespread opinion that it is archaic and very difficult to read. Now that I have finished book one, I am most positively absorbed by the story's magnitude and its scope of universe. It is true that the reader is simply thrown into the plot and comes across several terms of which the meaning is unknown at first but the deeper one gets into the story, its characters and their multi-layered schemes and intentions the better the overall-understanding of Dune's Fremen culture, their roots and traditions. Frank Herbert created a sci-fi masterpiece rich in economics, politics, personal interest and love. Without it, universes like Star Wars would be unthinkable and I am thrilled that Dune has not lost its world-wide fascination even up until today. Grab the book and just start to read, you will find yourself sucked into an irresistible adventure. ...weiterlesen