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Here is the novel that will be forever considered a triumph of the imagination. Set on the desert planet Arrakis, Dune is the story of the boy Paul Atreides, who would become the mysterious man known as Muad'Dib. He would avenge the traitorous plot against his noble family—and would bring to fruition humankind's most ancient and unattainable dream.
A stunning blend of adventure and mysticism, environmentalism and politics, Dune won the first Nebula Award, shared the Hugo Award, and formed the basis of what it undoubtedly the grandest epic in science fiction.
going4broke2005
Posted Mon Jan 17 00:00:00 EST 2011
This is an excellent book and I would highly recommend it to anyone. My only problem is why is the digital download version twice the price of the paperback edition? You can go into any bookstore and buy this book for $8 for paperback and used bookstore can get it for $2 - $4, yet the digital download is $16. I buy brand new bestsellers for less than that. Don't know what the publisher is thinking here. I know the price is set by the publisher and not B&N because they all are that way so not blaming B&N. The publisher needs to learn something about the cost savings for digital downloads because there is no reason why the digital version should cost twice as much as the paperback version.
29 out of 29 people found this review helpful.
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Posted Mon May 03 00:00:00 EDT 2010
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Great book. Works fine with Nook now after the April 2010 Nook update/patch.
21 out of 22 people found this review helpful.
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Posted Wed Feb 17 00:00:00 EST 2010
As Duke pointed out, the nook has trouble displaying this ebook correctly. A buddy loaned this to me, very cool feature by the way, and I couldn't wait to start reading it. From the opening lines though I noticed that some of the text was cut off on the right side of the page, as if the page justification wasn't quite right. Changing font/size made no difference, the error was always present. Now is the book unreadable? No, far from it, and the book likes fine using the B&N reader software ... but I wanted to check this out on the nook. The whole point of having an ereader is to make the reading experience more convenient, not endure some shoddy version of a favorite title. Whatever the problem is, and I hope it's something minor, FIX IT. Maybe ditching the legacy file format and getting an actual .epub out to the masses would help fix things, who knows. But please, sort this out.
14 out of 19 people found this review helpful.
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Posted Tue Sep 13 00:00:00 EDT 2011
$15.00? Are you kidding me? Buy the paperback for $7.99.
12 out of 16 people found this review helpful.
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Posted Thu Feb 11 00:00:00 EST 2010
This is not a review of the book itself but rather a review of the digital download. Dune (40th Anniversary Edition) has problems on the nook. About 10% of the last letters at the end of a line are cut off. This happens with all font sizes and both fonts.
9 out of 12 people found this review helpful.
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Posted Thu Apr 26 00:00:00 EDT 2012
Charging this much for a digital version should be a crime. What would Herbert say?
7 out of 10 people found this review helpful.
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Posted Wed Sep 29 00:00:00 EDT 2010
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I read Frank Herbert's Dune as a teenager and I just lived in the pages, and it still remains a favorite of mine. This edition is a larger book size than what I had then. As I reread this later edition today, I relive Dune once again. It is an inspiration to see how others adapt to a planet with a difficult environment. The different cultures are presented well. The science fiction concepts are excellent. And, I experience the smell of spices when reading parts of it. This is science fiction at its finest. The writting style is superb--of another world quality. There is much wisdom in Dune, and as a fan of Asian philosophy, I can write that Dune is depth.
6 out of 8 people found this review helpful.
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Posted Fri Nov 13 00:00:00 EST 2009
Frank Herbert did not simply write a great science fiction novel; he created an entire universe of amazing detail that is filled with characters so well developed that they become real enough to be believed -- no matter how very different they are from our own selves. Herbert laid a fabric of many plot lines, intrigues, and twists that the reader might become intractably enmeshed in the worlds of Dune eagerly and anxiously awaiting the next book in the series (as the Dune universe has been lovingly and skillfully continued by Frank's son Brian and his writing partner, Kevin J. Anderson). When I first read Dune back in 1987 I was so strongly attracted that I finished it in a day and a half, and then immediately began reading the remaining four books of the then extant series inside of four days. A rare thing for me.
One should regard Dune as a master classic of scifi on par with any of the great scifi writers: Asimov, Heinlein, etc.
6 out of 6 people found this review helpful.
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Posted Mon Jan 09 00:00:00 EST 2012
This is a novel which transcends the time in which it was written. Not content to be merely a gripping story about a gifted and cursed boy who becomes a man who changes the destiny of humanity, Dune reveals its true value in its portrayal of a deep understanding of our species's past and present using an original, deep, and organic future. Nearly 50 years on, Arrakis and its surrounding politics and religious fervor are as relevant as ever, and Frank Herbert's expertise in crafting a believable world consistent unto itself assures this relevance will not be lost on readers growing up in a different age.
While Dune is one of the best science fiction novels ever written, it would be a disservice to classify it only as such. Indeed, Dune, like other great works of fiction, uses a skillfully constructed setting to tell a story any reader would benefit from. The science fiction trappings serve as exciting window dressing for the main attraction: a profound look into the histories and natures of societies, of self-righteousness, of decadence, of religious fanatacism, and of people who wield such things as weapons.
Herbert's classic is a must read for anyone who wants to read one of the best books ever written about power and influence by and via large masses of humanity.
5 out of 6 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.I'm going on the record to say that this is my favorite book of all time. It's scope is beyond description. I read it once a year and I guess I've read it about a dozen times. I even love the so-so movies that have been made based on the book. I never get tired of the characters and just the entire universe in general. I'm even listening to the new audio version of the book which is a great production.<BR/><BR/>- Robert
4 out of 4 people found this review helpful.
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Posted Sun Mar 11 00:00:00 EST 2001
I read 'Dune' when it first came out in the early 70's and I can truly say that the work changed my life. The door to the world of Science Fiction had already been cracked open for my by the juvenile-oriented works of Robert Heinlein and Isaac Asimov. 'Dune' blew that door right off its hinges. As I look back over 30 years of dedicated Sci-Fi reading, there are other books that stand with Dune as works head and shoulders above the general milieu of the genre, but those are measured by their ability to reach as high as Dune itself. If you read only one science fiction novel in your life, make it Dune.
3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.
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Posted Wed Sep 14 00:00:00 EDT 2011
The book "DUNE", by Frank Herbert is a science fiction novel. Dune was originally published in 1965 with 537 pages, and won the Nebula Award and the Hugo Award in the following year. Dune is a science fiction novel which started a saga and many spin-offs. In this review, I will give a brief summary and an evaluation of the author and book. I believe Frank Herman has created a truly unique book. The writing is very powerful, although the author created words, so some people may find it hard to remember certain concepts of the book. Dune makes reference to Islamic and Arabic words, like Fedaykin and in real life Feday'yin. Dune also has the concepts of Zen paradoxes, religion, ecology. I myself found the book very interesting and powerful. I would definitely recommend it to others, as even today it is still a unique book, and for ten dollars, it is definitely worth it.
Dune takes place in the far future where humans have colonized countless planets throughout the universe, with various royal houses all led by the Emperor Shaddam Corrino IV. Technology has become extremely advanced, although computers and artificial intelligence are prohibited, because of an incident prior to the book. Because of lack of A.I, humans called Mentats have highly developed minds to perform the functions of these machines. Besides the royal houses and the emperor, there are three other major groups. The Space Guild who makes space travel possible through the use of Navigators, humans mutated by excessive and huge amounts of mélange, but they are also addicted to the mélange, a powerful spice with special properties. Also, is the shadowy matriarchy known as the Bene Gesserit, whose goal is to keep the Human Race alive while advancing it. They also rely on mélange for their powers, but also become addicted. Lastly, is the CHOAM Corporation, who is the base of the economy, with shares and directorships which determine a royal house's income and financial leverage. In Dune, everyone wants control of the desert world of Arrakis, because it is the only source of the most valuable thing in the universe: the spice Melange. It is the most valuable substance because of its uses to everyone: the Space Guild needs it for Navigators, the Bene Gesserit need it for their powers, and the royal houses and CHOAM want it for its huge financial gain. The story centers around Paul Altreides, heir to the Altreides royal house. The Altreides and the Harkonnens, another royal house, have a long lasting feud. Altreides' military is starting to rival the Emperor's, and so gives him Arrakis, as part of a Harkonnen plot to the Altreides.
I found Dune very enjoyable and well worth my money. If you liked Dune, then you should also check out the other books in the series, Dune Messiah, Children of Dune, God Emperor of Dune, Heretics of Dune, and Chapterhouse: Dune. I definitely recommend buying the book or finding it in your local library.
2 out of 3 people found this review helpful.
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Posted Fri Sep 09 00:00:00 EDT 2011
I've had this version of Dune since it first became available, and at that time the ebook was plagued with formatting errors. I just wanted to chime in and let any interested parties know that these problems have long been remedied. There are no longer "cut off" lines of text and the introductory bits of each chapter are properly formatted and aligned. So if you're already a fan, buy this.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
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Posted Sun Jul 17 00:00:00 EDT 2011
I first read this book in middle school almost 17 years ago & it still grabs hold of you!!
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.It's been a good 20 years since I've read Dune. I've been introducing my 10-year old to science fiction and thought I'd see if he was ready for Herbert's classic. I'd forgotten the intensity of the story-telling. Herbert's language is big and bold and you get a sense of the poetry his son writes that Frank H. used when crafting this SciFi classic. There is no levity in the story. All aspects of the plot are deep and weighty and dramatic.
I found myself realizing how the core plot can be found in many an epic tale - Kings and Queens battling over power and treasure. The setting is science fiction, but there's a significant fantasy component baked into the prophetic and magical powers of the two lead characters: Paul and his mother Jessica.
This story is placed in a space-traveling future on a planet called Dune...as desolate, dry and remote as the name sounds. The Atreides family is in a generations-long battle with the Harkonnen family. Both are embroiled in the treacherous manipulations of the Imperial Emperor, the all-female religion-building Bene Gesserit, and the space traveling monopoly holding Guild.
Herbert has built an imaginative, vast and realistic Universe. It's clear from this debut novel in a series whose publications stretch over 40 years, that Herbert put a tremendous amount of thought and effort into layering on the flesh of his world's history, past, and future. And all aspects are based in bits and pieces of our own histories, religions and cultures. And this doesn't even cover the very clear and obvious ecological message wrapped around the true central figure of the book - Planet Dune. The metaphysical philosophizing works well within the royal dramas and intrigues.
This edition contains an afterward written by Herbert's son Brian who's carried on the Dune tradition with a series of books published over the last several years placed in the Dune universe along various timelines relative to Dune.
Stay away from the movies, but absolutely jump (back) into this book. At about 500 pages, it's still a fast and exciting read.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.This is one of those classic sci-fi books that I picked up second hand at a beach shop and it has become one of my favorites! The story is epic that details a planet in turmoil due to its' severe environment and inhabitants. The political intrigue is complex and timeless. This story is wonderful for indepth conversations on religion, politics, and story telling. Dune becomes real and continues throughout the saga in Herbert's sequels. You will so enjoy this tale!
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
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Posted Wed May 06 00:00:00 EDT 2009
i had loaned my original copy of this fine book, and had to get a replacement to keep my full set complete. this is my fourth time rereading this set. there's no equal, and im not normally a science fiction reader.
2 out of 3 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.When I was in my early 20's (30 years ago) I read both The Lord of the Rings and Dune. I spent many subsequent years trying to recapture the magic of those two novels, with no success. Like LoTR, Dune is so far beyond anything that's ever been written in its genre that there in no comparison. And to think it was written in the 60's is absolutely mind-boggling. It was decades ahead of its time. You're lucky if you get one like this per century, and Dune is the one.<BR/><BR/>Recently I listened to the audio version, which is superb. And I realized how much of the novel I was unable to grasp back then, how deep the themes are and how amazing the premise is. If you've read it already, give the audio a try, you'll be riveted.
2 out of 3 people found this review helpful.
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Posted Mon Nov 28 00:00:00 EST 2011
i read this book for a final essay and it was an excrutiating experience. the plot is hard to follow and i felt like i missed a big chunk of story. there was less action then i hoped for and the extra languge was terrible, i had to look in the dictionary in the back just to figure out what the sentance was saying. i would not recomend this book to anyone, unless you like boring, slow, uncomprihensible, worthless books.
1 out of 21 people found this review helpful.
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Posted Fri Nov 23 00:00:00 EST 2007
I was disappointed with this novel since despite some prophetic qualities in the description of Herbert's Dune milieau the writing was colorless, lacking in irony and his use of internal Dune vernacular tiresome and confusing. The action is limited and the story is carried mostly by dialogue or soliquey. The baron is the most ironic and colorful character and we don't see much of him after the 1st third or so. I will admit Herberts influence on some of the scifi that came later but his writing as the dessicated planet he tries to describe. Paul's growth as a character seemed far from convincing. The one irony I found interesting is that the Bene gerserit (or whatever they were called). I have not read any of the other Dune novels, nor played any game spin-offs so I am judging this on its own merits.
1 out of 12 people found this review helpful.
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Overview
Here is the novel that will be forever considered a triumph of the imagination. Set on the desert planet Arrakis, Dune is the story of the boy Paul Atreides, who would become the mysterious man known as Muad'Dib. He would avenge the traitorous plot against his noble family—and would bring to fruition humankind's most ancient and unattainable dream.
A stunning blend of adventure and mysticism, environmentalism and politics, Dune won the first Nebula Award, shared the Hugo Award, ...