olivia's Reviews > Dune

I don't feel like I can form a proper opinion on this story based off the first book alone. Dune is incredibly dense with very minimal plot and it was only towards the end that I started to get a feel for what Frank Herbert is trying to get at in this saga.

The purpose of this book is to set the stage, introduce the world, characters, and different parties whose interconnected conflicts all revolve around Arrakis (or Dune), or more specifically, the spice melange (a metaphor for oil), which is unique to Dune's landscape.

At its core, I think this is a story about greed and corruption. Although it isn't obvious at the onset, the further into this book you get, the more you realize that none of these characters are being painted as the hero. If anything, this story feels very much like a critique of the manipulative aristocracy. None of these characters are likable (in my opinion) but I think that is the point. At times pretentious and overly complicated, I think the delivery of this story parallels Paul's heightened consciousness really well.

Although there are many things I didn't enjoy about this book, I want to get to the 'aha moment' of this story, where Frank Herbert's intention rings loud and clear. I just don't think I have it in me to dig through the next couple books to find it.