Dune is a masterpiece. I especially love the heavy use of internal dialogues and the complex political scheming. You’re in for a real treat.
BTW, there are four sequels (I think) to Dune. I read three of them. If you end up enjoying Dune, you’ll probably like the next two books - Dune Messiah and Children of Dune. IMHO, they aren’t as strong as the original novel, but they are very good. The fourth book - God Emperor of Dune - was kinda “meh”, IMHO. That’s just my take, though.
BTW2, I think you deserve a ribbon for completing the Simarillion. I love Tolkien, but I just couldn’t get through that one!
Dune is a great book. The sequels weren’t as engrossing to me, although I have read them as well and they aren’t as terrible as I had heard from others.
It’s funny to see that some folks find Dune boring, different strokes and all I guess.
The two authors who were Frank Herbert’s close friends were Jack Vance and Poul Anderson. Eventually try those guys too. They never had a hit like Dune, but then pretty much nobody writing sci-fi/fantasy ever did either.
The Demon Princes or Planet of Adventure by Vance and anything with Anderson’s Polesotechnic League might be good places to start. Good luck with Dune.
FReegards
This may sound nuts, but start by reading the appendix that lists all the various factions and names. Dune is a book that creates an incredibly complex empire (much like Game of Thrones) that needs a score card to follow. It is worth the effort as the first three books of the canon are much like LOTR for sci-fi. The last one I read was God-Emperor of Dune but many of my friends have read all the later works that flesh out the history of the series.
The first three books were written as a trilogy. The second and third books are not sequels but one continuous story which takes place over the span of three books. I have read all the later stories and fan fiction. some are good others not so much but none compare to the original three books in my opinion.
Yes it’s a good book. Hard to get started, but it comes up all the time in fandom. He creates an entire world and society.
I had a t-shirt made that read:
(On the front)
You know you are in trouble when.....
(on the back)
Cthulhu says opps!
The line came from playing the RPG game and in one instance my party was face to face with the horror of Cthulhu and the game master was about to deliver his well planned monologue. Just as he started to speak, he dropped the paper and said “opps”.
First is the best.
The next two are good enough.
Skip the rest.
I read science fiction voraciously in my youth but it’s now been 30 years since I read those books and my memory dims. I would like to reread some of them when I retire.
Dune is one that I would choose to reread. Along with Ringworld, Rendevous with Rama, and the Dragonriders of Pern series.
Try Rayond Feist’s Riftwar Saga starting with Magician: Apprentice if you want to try more Fantasy some time.
I read it when it came out, and the first sequel. I liked it but found it a bit slow moving. Lost interest in the series after that.
I much preferred Asimov’s Foundation trilogy, though I never read the sequels and prequel that he wrote in the 80s and 90s. There were also a number of other novels and short stories that took place in the Foundation “Empire” that he wrote about the same time as the originals that were good.
I also loved Larry Niven’s Known Space books (eg. Ringworld). Also the original Conan stories are great. Robert E. Howard is IMHO one of the best descriptive authors ever, and very underrated. As he was quoted as saying, “I know how to spin a yarn”.
As with any ‘series’, the story line, the character development of all the major players, and the major stages and settings for where the story will be played out take some print space.
Yes, Frank Herbert, when he wrote the novels, did use the allegory of ‘the spice melange’, for oil, so, in the times he wrote the books, it was the contemporary competition of the oil-producing countries, that he used as backdrops, and, of course, the locale of the courting competitors.
In watching the DVD of the 1984 cinematic production of ‘Dune’, and slso owning the set of DVD’s of the production done by the SciFi Channel, the twists left in the pages of the books, seem to creep onto the DVDs of the latter, if you catch them, once you have read the books.
A small hint, from the SciFi DVD: ‘look for T’Pau’ of Spock’s lineage.’
I read Dune back in the day; book was good, but while I read the first two or three follow-ups, after a while it started getting a little tedious - like Frank Herbert just kept rewriting the same book over and over again. I haven’t read any of the follow-ons that were co-authored by Herbert’s son Brian and Kevin J. Anderson.
I prefer the “Foundation” trilogy.
Dune is excellent, it really is an “epic” work of fiction on the scale of Tolkien, with an entire universe and history of its own. So, if you enjoy that level of detail, I don’t think Dune will disappoint you.
The sequel, Dune Messiah, is pretty good as well, but the other books don’t measure up quite as well. There is still interesting stuff in them, but they just done seem to come together as well.
Dune was read about 10 years ago, after seeing the movie.
Enjoyed the read. However subsequent sequels, not so much. Can’t remember the last one read, but it did not hold my interest much and eventually put back on the shelf.
I have failed five times to make it past half way in Dune Messiah, the second book.
"Ceterum censeo 0bama esse delendam."
Garde la Foi, mes amis! Nous nous sommes les sauveurs de la République! Maintenant et Toujours!
(Keep the Faith, my friends! We are the saviors of the Republic! Now and Forever!)
LonePalm, le Républicain du verre cassé (The Broken Glass Republican)
What are your opinions of the novels by Jean M. Auel . . . the Earth’s Children series?
Read the first three - Dune, Dune Messiah and Children of Dune.
Then stop.
What follows is pure garbage.
The first three books are priceless.
I won’t attempt to describe - you have to experience it.
If you are tempted to watch the movies - Don’t.
The first (David Lynch) is a total failure on every level.
The Sci-Fi Channel series is better, but still not up to conveying the subtleties in the novels.
Thus Dune is a grown up kind of science fiction, complicated in ways that are uncommon for the genre. For me, the sequels were inferior.