I have enjoyed Dune. It is a remarkeable book and less ham handed, and more morally ambiguous, than this tripe sounds. I did not associate the attempt to create the Maud Dib with Nietzsche’s idea of the superman before reading this though . . . the nature of the Maud Dib is so fantastic. That said Dune is a “buyer beware” sort of book in terms of its effect on your thinking; particularly for the young. Sci-Fi has a basic humanist, “man can solve all problems,” ethos at its core. “Dune” is actually outside of this pollyanna type tradition in my opinion, even with the traditional sci-fi superman protaganist. In that sense most sci-fi leans to Nietzsche like forms . . . as do westerns . . . as do . . .
I was twelve when I read Dune and I remember disliking the hell out everybody in it. The elitism of this future galaxy was revolting. There was no doubt as to what little, ordinary folks like myself could expect in such a world.
Dune is indeed a remarkable book. Read it first while quite young and it made a great impression on me.
Unlike many other speculative fiction worlds, though, I never felt the least desire to live in or even visit the world of Dune.
Oddly, I’ve never been able to get far in the sequels.