dune book reviews

By Frank Herbert

'Dune' is a story with refined literature, excellent characters, and a detailed description of events that makes it incredibly realistic.

About the Book

Article written by Joshua Ehiosun

C2 certified writer.

With the success of ‘Dune,’ Frank Herbert created five sequels for the novel. After his death, his son, Brian Herbert, wrote more of ‘Dune’s’ story by filling the empty spaces left behind in the story of ‘Dune.’ The novel became a franchise so massive that it was called the Duniverse.

‘ Dune ‘ is a book with a great story and an excellent plot. Due to intricate detailing and fluid transitions between dialogues and scenes, ‘Dune’ can retain a grasp on its reader. The story of Paul Atreides was an excellent story that Frank Herbert carved up beautifully. Though Paul was the main character, Frank Herbert tried to retain a wide scope of view and make the reader see a bigger perspective in the novel extending beyond Paul; this made him create an intricate detailing of the characteristics of planets and their organisms.

The interaction of characters with each other is also something that Frank gave his attention to. Frank’s keen sense of detail made him explain scenes with precise measurements, and though this made the book intensely realistic, it also diluted the purpose of some scenes by making the reader focus more on the detail and less on the plot .

‘Dune’ is a book with many characters. From the Emperor to the Baron and Paul Atreides, the novel holds many characters. ‘ Dune’s’ number of characters feels natural because of how vast the story setting is, and to make sure the story grasped the attention of the reader, Frank made many characters on each planet to support both the antagonist and protagonist.

‘Dune’s’ characters were strikingly similar to Arabic and Hebrew culture as most words used by Frank were derivative of both languages. Also, Frank mixed an array of different religions to form the basis of belief for his characters, and things like Jihad of Islamic origin get mentioned in the novel.

The dialogues of ‘Dune’ feel natural even though the literary elements used are unique. Frank Herbert’s craftiness of words made dialogues in ‘Dune’ fluid and captivating. Imbibing ideologies on politics and religion which are two of the main themes , a reader may notice the passion in every word spoken by a character; this remarkable feat achieved by Frank makes a character feel alive.

Writing Style and Conclusion

Though the literature of ‘Dune’ is fundamentally different from traditional books, Frank Herbert used the third-person perspective for writing; this made him create the story in a way that immerses the reader and makes them feel like an omniscient being watching as the entire story unfolds. As for the conclusion, though ‘Dune’ was not Frank’s last book on Paul Atreides’s life, it had a satisfying ending that leaves a lasting impression on the reader.

With its fantastic story, great characters , fluid dialogues, and captivating description of events, ‘Dune’ is a novel worth reading.

Was Dune rated a great book?

Yes, ‘Dune’ has a positive rating of 9.7 out of 10 from the Fantasy book review.

Is Dune by Frank Herbert worth reading?

Yes, ‘Dune’ is a novel worth reading as it talks of consequences and how politics affects ecology.

Is Dune the best sci-fi book?

Winning the Hugo award in 1966 , ‘Dune’ has become an iconic novel in the world of science fiction. It is the most successful sci-fi book to this day and its influence on science fiction is almost unmatched.

Dune Review: Power, Politics, Religion, and Spice

Book Title: Dune

Book Description: 'Dune' follows Paul Atreides' journey on Arrakis, where after his father's death. Paul embarks on a destiny-shaping adventure.

Book Author: Frank Herbert

Book Edition: First Edition

Book Format: Hardcover

Publisher - Organization: Chilton Books

Date published: August 17, 1965

Illustrator: Virginia H. Vogel

ISBN: 978-0-423-17656-7

Number Of Pages: 672

Writing Style
Lasting Effect on Reader

Dune Review

‘Dune’ is a novel that tells the story of young Paul Atreides, whose father gets killed over control of planet Arrakis, the only source of Melange or Spice, a drug-like substance crucial to humanity’s continuation. After the death of his father, Paul and his mother escape into the desert, where Paul’s destiny begins.

Incredibly adventurous story
Great dialogues
Excellent characters

Exquisite vocabulary

Fantastic ending

Use of too much detail

About Joshua Ehiosun

Joshua is an undying lover of literary works. With a keen sense of humor and passion for coining vague ideas into state-of-the-art worded content, he ensures he puts everything he's got into making his work stand out. With his expertise in writing, Joshua works to scrutinize pieces of literature.

Cite This Page

Ehiosun, Joshua " Dune Review ⭐ " Book Analysis , https://bookanalysis.com/frank-herbert/dune/review/ . Accessed 9 April 2024.

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Josh Brolin and Timothée Chalamet in the upcoming film adaptation of Dune

Dune: science fiction’s answer to Lord of the Rings

Frank Herbert’s novel, now adapted for cinema with Timothée Chalamet and Zendaya, is finally getting the recognition it deserves, agree authors including Neil Gaiman and Jeff VanderMeer

I f science fiction has an answer to fantasy’s The Lord of the Rings – JRR Tolkien’s epic saga of the battle to defeat the Dark Lord, Sauron – then Frank Herbert’s Dune has to be a strong contender. Published in 1965, it is the story of the desert planet Arrakis, known as Dune; of the rare and priceless “spice” that can be found there; of the Atreides family, sent to Dune’s dangerous surface to rule; of its native Fremen people, who are capable of surviving in this inhospitable environment. Of the giant sandworms, hundreds of metres long, which hunt beneath the sands, and of Paul Atreides’ reluctant ascent to messianic status. And it is finally getting the mainstream attention it deserves, thanks to Denis Villeneuve’s film adaptation, out in the UK on 21 October.

I first read Dune when I was 18. It left behind deep, haunting memories: Paul Atreides chanting the Litany against Fear as his humanity is tested by the Gom Jabbar; the first appearance of a sandworm, vast and magnificent; the complexity of Paul’s rise to become the Bene Gesserit’s Kwisatz Haderach, the Fremen’s Mahdi (like much of the Fremen’s culture, the word is lifted from the vocabulary of Islam). As one character puts it: “No more terrible disaster could befall your people than for them to fall into the hands of a Hero.”

Director Denis Villeneuve, whose adaptation hits cinemas later this month – is the fourth attempt, after Alejandro Jodorowsky’s plans came to nothing, David Lynch disowned his 1984 version starring Kyle MacLachlan and Sting, and a television miniseries. “There are deep pleasures when there are images that you’re able to achieve that are close to what you had in mind as a teenager,” Villeneuve has said.

“I read it the first time when I was 11 or so,” says Kevin Anderson, the bestselling author who, together with Herbert’s son Brian, has continued the Dune series after his father’s death. “I had read all of HG Wells and Edgar Rice Burroughs and Andre Norton and Ray Bradbury and all these great classic science fiction books, but Dune is something above and beyond those. When I read it, I just felt so immersed in the world that everything felt real. He had come up with not just a desert planet with sandworms, he had the full ecology worked out, all of the culture, even the language and the religion of the people and the giant galactic politics and how there are wheels within wheels and everything fits together.”

Herbert’s first inspiration for Dune came in 1957, when he went to research a magazine article about a research project in Oregon to stabilise sand dunes. The article, They Stopped the Moving Sands, was never published, but a letter he sent to his agent, published in The Road to Dune, shows how fascinated he was: “Sand dunes pushed by steady winds build up in waves analogous to ocean waves except they may move 20 feet a year instead of 20 feet a second. These waves can be every bit as devastating as a tidal wive in property damage … and they’ve even caused deaths. They drown out forests, kill game cover, destroy lakes, fill harbours.”

Herbert would toy with the idea of a desert planet for the next five years, spending time in a desert as part of his research, plotting a short adventure novel, Spice Planet , but putting it aside for what would become Dune. He sent an early draft to his agent in 1963, and the story was published in serial form in John W Campbell’s Analog magazine that year. It was rejected by publishers more than 20 times in book form, one citing “bursts of melodrama”, another that “nobody can seem to get through the first 100 pages … without being confused and irritated”. A comment from one rejecting editor, that “it is just possible that we may be making the mistake of the decade in declining Dune by Frank Herbert”, would prove as prophetic as one of Paul’s own visions, as would another’s remark that he would turn it down despite the fact that “it is the sort of writing that might attract a cult and go on for ever”.

“For good or ill, Frank wrote a book that was at the time unpublishable. If you’re a business person advising Frank, you would say don’t write Dune, nobody will publish this book this long, with this much culture and background,” says Anderson. “But we’re glad that he didn’t listen to anybody, he just wrote his own book and it’s certainly one of the greatest science fiction novels of all time.”

In the end, Chilton Books, better known for auto repair manuals, picked it up in 1965. It won a Nebula for the best science fiction novel of 1965, but sales weren’t stellar at first, despite the quote from Arthur C Clarke emblazoned on its cover: “I know nothing comparable to it except The Lord of the Rings.”

“It wasn’t perceived as an instant classic; publishers saw this big book on ecological themes as rather peculiar, a sort of Lawrence of Arabia in the stars,” says American Gods author Neil Gaiman . “It worked but it hit slowly – it wasn’t like [Robert Heinlein’s 1961 novel] Stranger in a Strange Land, which came out and caught fire, was utterly of its zeitgeist. In a lot of ways the things that took Dune into the zeitgeist were 70s things, the understanding of and passion for ecology, the idea of people’s place in the world.”

By 1967, sales were picking up, and Herbert was working on a sequel by 1968. Dune Messiah would see Paul as emperor, presiding over a bloody jihad through the stars that eventually kills 60 billion people.

G aiman describes science fiction as “a conversation with the last round of what went before”. What Herbert brought to the conversation was ecology – as well as what Gaiman calls “giant multigenerational soap opera”.

“I’d say there’s Dune DNA in Game of Thrones, in the willingness to kill your characters, that feeling of the grand sweep of realpolitik and how it affects human beings”, says Gaiman.

Jeff VanderMeer agrees. “It definitely has been very influential, and I think there’s something very surreal about the navigators and the way the Dust is used, and then the absolute spectacle of the sandworms, whether it makes any ecological sense or not. That kind of thing really sticks with you on a wide canvas.”

Side note: according to Brian Herbert’s biography of his father, Dreamer of Dune, when Frank saw Star Wars he “picked out 16 points of what he called ‘absolute identity’ between his book and the movie, enough to make him livid”. Together with other science fiction writers who thought they saw their work in the film, Frank formed a “loose organisation” he called, “with his tongue firmly placed in his cheek, the We’re Too Big to Sue George Lucas Society”.

Timothee Chalamet and Rebecca Ferguson in the upcoming film adaptation of Dune

The imminent release of Villeneuve’s adaptation means Dune, and its story of a young white man leading a tribal people to victory, is being interrogated afresh. Is it a white saviour narrative? Why are no Middle Eastern or north African actors taking on the roles of the Fremen, given the clear influence of the Arab and Islamic world on Herbert’s creations, asked Syfy ? Academic Jordan S Carroll describes Dune as “a key text for the ‘alt-right’” in the Los Angeles Review of Books , adding that “for the alt-right, Paul stands as the ideal of a sovereign ruler who violently overthrows a decadent regime to bring together ‘Europid’ peoples into a single imperium or ethnostate”.

But as Carroll goes on to point out, this is misreading the point of Herbert’s story. “Fascist commentators … overlook that their long-awaited sovereign Paul begins the series as a tragic character but ends it as a grotesque one,” he writes. Herbert himself said that Dune “began with a concept: to do a long novel about the messianic convulsions which periodically inflict themselves on human societies”. Far from revelling in Paul’s immense power, his idea was, he said, “that superheroes were disastrous for humans”.

For Hari Kunzru, writing in the Guardian six years ago, “what makes Dune more palatable than, say, the gruesome spectacle of a blonde-wigged Emilia Clarke carried aloft by ethnically indeterminate brown slaves in Game of Thrones, is the sincerity of Herbert’s identification with the Fremen”. Arrakis’s people, writes Kunzru, are “the moral centre of the book, not an ignorant mass to be civilised”, and Paul “does not transform them in his image, but participates in their culture and is himself transformed into the prophet Muad’Dib”.

On top of this, Paul’s rise, to put it mildly, is no positive thing, and Villeneuve, asked about the white saviour trope on his press tour for the film release , made this point. “It’s a critique of that. It’s not a celebration of a saviour,” he said. “It’s a criticism of the idea of a saviour, of someone that will come and tell another population how to be, what to believe. It’s not a condemnation, but a criticism.”

H erbert would follow Dune Messiah with Children of Dune, God Emperor of Dune, Heretics of Dune, and Chapterhouse: Dune. “It gets more and more abstract. I found the second and third to be deeply strange, stranger than the first one,” says VanderMeer. Herbert’s final Dune novel was published in 1985; he died of pancreatic cancer in 1986.

“The end of Chapterhouse: Dune is just this huge cliffhanger – clearly the story wasn’t over,” says Anderson. “In the back of my mind, I sort of always assumed that Brian Herbert would pick up the mantle and finish the last book, and after 10 years, I finally got impatient enough that I tracked down a contact for him and I wrote a letter and I said, so are you going to finish the story, because I want to read it?”

At this point, Anderson was winning awards for his own novels and penning bestselling titles set in the Star Wars and X-Files universes. He tentatively suggested to Brian that they might work together to continue the series.

“My greatest preference would have been for Frank Herbert to be alive and write it himself, obviously. I didn’t hear back from Brian for a few months – it was just a shot in the dark,” Anderson says. “It turned out he had been asking a bunch of other authors about me, and he called me up one afternoon out of the blue. It became clear to him that I wasn’t just some guy who read Dune once and wanted to make a buck off of it – that I was truly passionate about working in the Dune universe.”

The pair struck a $3m deal with Bantam for a new trilogy of prequels in 1997. “At the time it was the largest single science fiction book contract in publishing history,” says Anderson. “We’ve counted up something like 5m words we’ve written together, and he’s still my best friend.”

While titles such as Isaac Asimov’s I, Robot stories now feel passé, says author and critic Lisa Tuttle, the fact that Dune takes place on a “secondary world” prevents it from feeling outdated. “And since the 1980s, science fiction and fantasy has moved into the mainstream,” she says. “There’s a receptive audience willing to look at it – it’s not seen as a specialist, niche, nerdy kind of thing; even when Dune was popular in the 70s it was very much a kind of narrow band of people.”

Dune holds up today, says writer Alastair Reynolds, when many science fiction novels of its era don’t, in part because Herbert future-proofed it, by setting his story 20,000-odd years ahead, after the “Butlerian Jihad” has replaced intelligent machines with human minds.

“What Dune did that was huge and important, was give us a lovely, complicated thing that felt like a movie. It feels grand, it’s blood-stirring,” agrees Gaiman. “It doesn’t feel like it’s been swept away into history. It was absolutely an important book, and I think it’s remained an important book.”

Dune is released in Australia and the UK on 21 October, and in the US on 22 October

Science fiction books
Denis Villeneuve
Neil Gaiman

Comments (…)

I Read Dune as a Sci-Fi Newbie, and Here's What You Should Know Before You Crack It Open

Updated on 10/22/2021 at 11:25 AM

If I had never seen the first trailers for Dune , had never become absolutely besotted with Timothée Chalamet and Zendaya as a sci-fi power couple , had never found myself weirdly intrigued about the idea of giant sandworms, I probably would never have found myself online ordering a copy of the original 1965 novel that started it all. And I definitely wouldn't have found myself slogging through it weeks later, my brain tangled in knots over the complicated-enough-to-cry plots (within plots, within plots) and intricate world-building.

Dune has more than earned its place in the science fiction pantheon; it's a masterpiece, don't get me wrong. But for the first 50 to 100 pages, you'd be forgiven for wanting to dig Frank Herbert out of his grave and beg him to explain WTF is going on.

The easiest way to put it is that Herbert is not here to help you read his book. He's created this elaborate universe, and if you want to come along for the ride, fine, but there are no seatbelts, no safety bars, and we're not stopping for bathroom breaks. In other words, this book feels impenetrable for the first hundred pages or so, and cracking it open is like being thrown into the middle of the ocean and told to swim. He carelessly throws around terminology (melange, mentats, Bene Gesserit) and historical events ("Butlerian Jihad" stumped me for a long time) as though you already know what they mean, and good thing, because we're already moving on to the next scene, please keep up!

The world-building in Dune is superb and wonderfully three-dimensional, to be clear. It's just that you have to figure out for yourself what's happening, where you are, and what made this universe the way it is. In that way, Dune is very different than the science fiction of today, where you don't typically open up a book and assume you're going to be flailing around by yourself for 100 pages. In fact, Dune is less like contemporary science fiction (focused on futuristic technology, space travel, extraterrestrials) than it is like epic high fantasy, Game of Thrones set in an intergalactic empire, with the most detail lavished on family backgrounds, political maneuverings, and Herbert's own musings on philosophy and ecology.

"[Herbert] created this elaborate universe, and if you want to come along for the ride, fine, but there are no seatbelts, no safety bars, and we're not stopping for bathroom breaks."

So why is this book still worth reading, even through the labyrinth of plots-within-plots and learn-as-you-go world-building? Dune sucks you in like quicksand, that's why. If you can power through the beginning (bookmark that glossary, because you're gonna need it), the rest of the book is a mesmerizing blend of battle sequences, desert escape scenes, prophetic trances, and sandworm rides. There's a dark hero arc, some romance, and strong female characters following their own storylines. Sometimes you forget this book was published in the sixties because it's still as strange and fascinating now as I assume it was then. (One exception: the villain is also the only queer-leaning character in the book, which feels very old-school fantasy and not in a good way.) It's a riveting world, once you get a handle on it.

I've actually gone on to read the next two Dune books ( Dune Messiah and Children of Dune ; say what you want about this series, but the titles sing ) and have resigned myself to the fact that I'll be reading the next three, TBD on the 14-ish (!) spin-offs. Dune is just the start of a whole sprawling mythology, and I didn't expect to be so enthralled back when I was 37 pages in, ready to tear my hair out over how confusing it all was. This book is a challenge, but you won't regret taking it on.

Tips for Reading Dune

Dune is known for being extremely complex, and it can be challenging to finish for those of us who aren't used to this genre or style of writing (and even some who are). Here are some best practices I used to get through this book and its sequels, as a relative newbie to the genre.

The glossary is your new best friend. Tab it. Bookmark it. Have it on speed-dial. Flip to it any time there's a word you don't know, and when you forget that word and come across it again 200 pages later, re-read the definition. Since Herbert rarely defines words and events in-text, the book's glossary is the only help you'll get. You can also use online glossaries and terminology guides if your copy doesn't have a glossary included, and some are even more detailed and helpful than the official one. Reading a summary might also help, but beware of spoilers.
Don't get too caught up in the details. Some readers might disagree, but on your first reading of Dune , I think the most important thing is to understand the overall plot and main characters. There are tons of tiny details, epigraphs before every chapter that may or may not make sense, philosophical tangents, and hundreds of years worth of fictional history behind the main plot, but trying to understand every last overwhelming detail will burn you out. Focusing on the main plot points gave me a foothold in the book's universe, and as I got more comfortable, all the other details started to soak in.
Prioritize understanding the words that come up the most. When you're starting this book, one of the most difficult things is figuring out which details are actually important. In the first three pages, for example, we learn about the Kwisatz Haderach, the gom jabbar, CHOAM, melange, Bene Gesserit, and the Landsraad, none of which is explained in depth, each of which seems equally crucial in the first few scenes. In reality, only a few of these terms are essential to understand the plot. When you're starting this book, I recommend looking up every term the first time you see it, but really prioritize understanding the words that come up again and again. (Hint: "melange," "Kwisatz Haderach," and "Bene Gesserit" will be some of them.)
Take notes if it helps. At the risk of making this too much like homework, some people find it helpful to annotate this book or take notes to remember important definitions, people, or events in the plot. I didn't do this on my first reading, but I think it would have helped me get a grasp on the book more quickly, or at least saved me a lot of flipping back and forth from the glossary. It would be especially helpful for keeping track of the plot, like which characters know about which plans and deceits and which characters don't, which was something I had a lot of trouble with.

Standout Quote

"'You're thinking I'm the Kwisatz Haderach,' he said. 'Put that out of your mind. I'm something unexpected.' . . .

"'If you're not the Kwisatz Haderach,' Jessica said, 'what—'

"'You couldn't possibly know,' he said. 'You won't believe it until you see it.'

"And he thought, I'm a seed. "

Read This If You Like. . .

Complex sci-fi and high fantasy books with worlds you can get lost in.

How Long It Takes to Read

I'm a fast reader, and I needed about two weeks with this one. It's long (over 600 pages), dense, and complicated, so give yourself plenty of time to fully absorb the twisting plot and intricate details of the world.

The Sweet Spot Summary

When Paul Atreides and his family are forced to take charge of the planet Arrakis (aka Dune) and its stores of precious spice, they know it spells their downfall. But as war breaks out against the evil House Harkonnen and Paul shelters in the desert with Dune's native Fremen, he learns that his destiny will span far beyond Arrakis, and will be darker than he could have imagined. Frank Herbert's Dune ($12 for paperback) is the beginning of this epic sci-fi saga.

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by Frank Herbert ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 15, 1965

With its bug-eyed monsters, one might think Dune was written thirty years ago; it has a fantastically complex schemata and...

This future space fantasy might start an underground craze.

It feeds on the shades of Edgar Rice Burroughs (the Martian series), Aeschylus, Christ and J.R. Tolkien. The novel has a closed system of internal cross-references, and features a glossary, maps and appendices dealing with future religions and ecology. Dune itself is a desert planet where a certain spice liquor is mined in the sands; the spice is a supremely addictive narcotic and control of its distribution means control of the universe. This at a future time when the human race has reached a point of intellectual stagnation. What is needed is a Messiah. That's our hero, called variously Paul, then Muad'Dib (the One Who Points the Way), then Kwisatz Haderach (the space-time Messiah). Paul, who is a member of the House of Atreides (!), suddenly blooms in his middle teens with an ability to read the future and the reader too will be fascinated with the outcome of this projection.

Pub Date: Oct. 15, 1965

ISBN: 0441013597

Page Count: 411

Publisher: Chilton

Review Posted Online: Nov. 2, 2011

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 1965

SCIENCE FICTION | GENERAL SCIENCE FICTION | GENERAL SCIENCE FICTION & FANTASY

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Our Verdict

New York Times Bestseller

by Max Brooks ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 16, 2020

A tasty, if not always tasteful, tale of supernatural mayhem that fans of King and Crichton alike will enjoy.

Are we not men? We are—well, ask Bigfoot, as Brooks does in this delightful yarn, following on his bestseller World War Z (2006).

A zombie apocalypse is one thing. A volcanic eruption is quite another, for, as the journalist who does a framing voice-over narration for Brooks’ latest puts it, when Mount Rainier popped its cork, “it was the psychological aspect, the hyperbole-fueled hysteria that had ended up killing the most people.” Maybe, but the sasquatches whom the volcano displaced contributed to the statistics, too, if only out of self-defense. Brooks places the epicenter of the Bigfoot war in a high-tech hideaway populated by the kind of people you might find in a Jurassic Park franchise: the schmo who doesn’t know how to do much of anything but tries anyway, the well-intentioned bleeding heart, the know-it-all intellectual who turns out to know the wrong things, the immigrant with a tough backstory and an instinct for survival. Indeed, the novel does double duty as a survival manual, packed full of good advice—for instance, try not to get wounded, for “injury turns you from a giver to a taker. Taking up our resources, our time to care for you.” Brooks presents a case for making room for Bigfoot in the world while peppering his narrative with timely social criticism about bad behavior on the human side of the conflict: The explosion of Rainier might have been better forecast had the president not slashed the budget of the U.S. Geological Survey, leading to “immediate suspension of the National Volcano Early Warning System,” and there’s always someone around looking to monetize the natural disaster and the sasquatch-y onslaught that follows. Brooks is a pro at building suspense even if it plays out in some rather spectacularly yucky episodes, one involving a short spear that takes its name from “the sucking sound of pulling it out of the dead man’s heart and lungs.” Grossness aside, it puts you right there on the scene.

Pub Date: June 16, 2020

ISBN: 978-1-9848-2678-7

Page Count: 304

Publisher: Del Rey/Ballantine

Review Posted Online: Feb. 9, 2020

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2020

GENERAL SCIENCE FICTION & FANTASY | GENERAL THRILLER & SUSPENSE | SCIENCE FICTION

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by Max Brooks

THE PRIORY OF THE ORANGE TREE

by Samantha Shannon ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 26, 2019

A celebration of fantasy that melds modern ideology with classic tropes. More of these dragons, please.

After 1,000 years of peace, whispers that “the Nameless One will return” ignite the spark that sets the world order aflame.

No, the Nameless One is not a new nickname for Voldemort. Here, evil takes the shape of fire-breathing dragons—beasts that feed off chaos and imbalance—set on destroying humankind. The leader of these creatures, the Nameless One, has been trapped in the Abyss for ages after having been severely wounded by the sword Ascalon wielded by Galian Berethnet. These events brought about the current order: Virtudom, the kingdom set up by Berethnet, is a pious society that considers all dragons evil. In the East, dragons are worshiped as gods—but not the fire-breathing type. These dragons channel the power of water and are said to be born of stars. They forge a connection with humans by taking riders. In the South, an entirely different way of thinking exists. There, a society of female mages called the Priory worships the Mother. They don’t believe that the Berethnet line, continued by generations of queens, is the sacred key to keeping the Nameless One at bay. This means he could return—and soon. “Do you not see? It is a cycle.” The one thing uniting all corners of the world is fear. Representatives of each belief system—Queen Sabran the Ninth of Virtudom, hopeful dragon rider Tané of the East, and Ead Duryan, mage of the Priory from the South—are linked by the common goal of keeping the Nameless One trapped at any cost. This world of female warriors and leaders feels natural, and while there is a “chosen one” aspect to the tale, it’s far from the main point. Shannon’s depth of imagination and worldbuilding are impressive, as this 800-pager is filled not only with legend, but also with satisfying twists that turn legend on its head. Shannon isn’t new to this game of complex storytelling. Her Bone Season novels ( The Song Rising , 2017, etc.) navigate a multilayered society of clairvoyants. Here, Shannon chooses a more traditional view of magic, where light fights against dark, earth against sky, and fire against water. Through these classic pairings, an entirely fresh and addicting tale is born. Shannon may favor detailed explication over keeping a steady pace, but the epic converging of plotlines at the end is enough to forgive.

Pub Date: Feb. 26, 2019

ISBN: 978-1-63557-029-8

Page Count: 848

Publisher: Bloomsbury

Review Posted Online: Dec. 22, 2018

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2019

GENERAL SCIENCE FICTION & FANTASY | FANTASY | EPIC FANTASY

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by Samantha Shannon

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How to Read the Dune Book Series in Order

Our foolproof guide to getting caught up now that 'Dune: Part Two' has hit theaters.

preview for All About Denis Villeneuve’s Sci-Fi Blockbuster, “Dune”

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Published in 1965 by an automotive manuals publisher, after twenty (!) mainstream publishers rejected the story, Dune is the world's best-selling science fiction novel of all time. It's also considered one of the best books of all time, as well as a seminal work in the sci-fi genre . The book's massive success inspired Herbert to write a number of sequels, which brought the total number of novels in the series up to six when he died in 1986.

More than a decade after Herbert's death, his son, Brian, teamed up with science fiction writer Kevin J. Anderson to co-author a trilogy of Dune prequels. (This would come to be known the Prelude to Dune series.) Herbert and Anderson have remained dynamic collaborators in the years since, churning out over a dozen novels together. But what's the right way to go spelunking through all these books and their complicated chronology? There's no right answer; some argue that the books should be read in the order of the fictive timeline, while others argue that they should be read in the order of publication.

Here's our advice: read Frank Herbert's six novels first, then dabble in the unauthorized spin-offs however you like. Given that many are grouped into smaller series that exist within the larger story, you can sample bits and pieces of the universe. That's the beauty of the Dune —it's a detailed series that rewards completionism, but the entry points are numerous.

Read on for a full breakdown of the books, listed here in the order in which they were published. Happy reading, spiceheads!

Ace Dune, by Frank Herbert

Dune is set far into the future, in an intergalactic feudal society where powerful noble houses fight for control over resources, armies, and planetary power. House Atreides is ordered to take control of Arrakis, a barren desert planet with a brutal climate. Arrakis is the only place to mine melange, a natural resource that produces a psychoactive drug called spice, which allows humanity to unlock their minds. On Arrakis, House Atreides is betrayed by rival House Harkonnen, which sets off a battle over the valuable planet. The planet itself is inhabited by giant sandworms and a native population known as Fremen, who, over the generations, have learned to survive with water as their most precious resource and currency. When House Atreides scion Paul is targeted as a potential messiah to lead the planet—and galaxy—toward a new era, an epic story of war, betrayal, and mysticism unfolds. Cinephiles, this one is a must: Denis Villeneuve's Dune Parts One and Two span this book.

Ace Dune Messiah, by Frank Herbert

In Herbert's first sequel, Paul Atreides, now known as Muad'Dib, rules the known universe as the most powerful emperor of all time. Worshipped as a messiah by the people of Arrakis, Paul faces enmity from the warring political houses under his control. Is any one ruler meant to have such absolute power? In Dune: Messiah , Herbert unmakes his previous novel, all while warning, "No more terrible disaster could befall your people than for them to fall into the hands of a hero." Film fans, don't miss this one—you'll want to be caught up when Villeneuve's Messiah lands in theaters.

Ace Children of Dune, by Frank Herbert

Children of Dune picks up with Leto and Ghanima Atreides, the twin children of Paul Atreides, nine years after their father's mysterious disappearance into the wastelands of Arrakis. The twins' prophetic abilities are coveted by their manipulative aunt Alia, who rules the Empire, but these two young prophets refuse to be anyone's pawns.

Ace God Emperor of Dune, by Frank Herbert

3500 years after the events of Children of Dune , the once-desert planet of Arrakis is now a lush paradise, and Leto Atreides sits on the throne. Millennia ago, Leto merged with a sandworm to grant himself immortality, but the cost to his humanity has been enormous. Can a rebellion led by Siona, a rival relative, unseat this fearsome despot?

Ace Heretics of Dune, by Frank Herbert

Leto Atreides is dead, Arrakis (now called Rakis) is once again a desert wasteland, and the Empire has fallen into ruin. A young girl named Sheeana seems to fulfill a prophecy foretold by the late God Emperor, sending religious fervor through the galaxy. Is Sheeana destined to return the Empire to its former glory?

Ace Chapterhouse: Dune, by Frank Herbert

In Herbert's final Dune novel, Arrakis has been destroyed, and the fate of the Empire rests in the hands of a mysterious matriarchal order known as the Bene Gesserit. On the planet Chapterhouse, the sisters are breeding sandworms and seeking to control spice production, with the goal of remaking the galaxy for a brighter future.

Del Rey House Atreides, by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson

Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson's Prelude to Dune trilogy begins with this story of the generation before Dune ; namely, Leto Atreides, father of Paul. In House Atreides , we see how Leto's rivalries and relationships sowed the catalyzing events of Dune .

Del Rey House Harkonnen, by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson

In House Harkonnen , Leto Atreides' longtime rival, the Baron Vladimir Harkonnen, comes into view. We also meet Abulurd Rabban, brother and foil to the Baron. Turns out, there are good people in House Harkonnen—who knew?

Del Rey House Corrino, by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson

In House Corrino , Brian and Anderson conclude their prequel series, bringing the story up to the climactic events set to unfold in Dune . This tapestry of politics, warmongering, and spice battles ends with the birth of Paul Atreides, teeing us up to the saga we know and love (and now, have already read).

Brand: Hodder Paperback The Butlerian Jihad, by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson

Working from Frank Herbert's notes, titled "Dune 7," Brian and Anderson again expanded the series in Legends of Dune , a new trilogy. The first installment, The Butlerian Jihad , digs into an event Herbert often referred to, but never captured at scale: the long-ago war where humans fought for their freedom from "the thinking machines." Set 10,000 years before Dune , the familiar chess pieces come into view in this volume.

Tor Science Fiction The Machine Crusade, by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson

Legends of Dune continues with The Machine Crusade , set two decades after The Butlerian Jihad . The thinking machines fight back, refusing to go quietly into that good night; meanwhile, on Arrakis, a band of outlaws take their first steps to becoming the Fremen, a race of people that OG Dune fans know and love.

Tor Science Fiction The Battle of Corrin, by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson

Check out that sandworm on the cover! The Legends of Dune trilogy concludes with The Battle of Corrin , which tees up a final apocalyptic showdown between humans and robots. Fans of Dune know how this one ends, but it sure is fun to see how Herbert and Anderson get there.

Hunters of Dune, by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson

Dune Sequels , a two-volume spin-off series, concludes the storyline from Herbert's six original novels, with insight from a long-lost outline that was found hidden in one of the author's safety deposit boxes. In Hunters of Dune , we pick up with the escaping fugitives last seen at the end of Chapterhouse Dune as they strengthen their powers and fight for the future of the human race.

Sandworms of Dune, by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson

Herbert and Anderson tie up more burning questions in this second volume of the Dune Sequels series: namely, the future of Arrakis and the outcome of the war between Man and Machine.

Tor Science Fiction Paul of Dune, by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson

The Heroes of Dun e spin-off series opens with this tale of Paul Atreides, set between Dune and Dune Messiah . Dune ends with Paul ruling Arrakis, while Dune Messiah opens with Paul ruling the galaxy. Just how did Paul gain control of the Empire? Read Paul of Dune to find out.

Tor Science Fiction The Winds of Dune, by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson

Heroes of Dune continues with this second and final installment, set after the events of Dune Messiah . The Winds of Dune picks up after Paul Atreides' disappearance into the Arrakis desert, leaving the Empire in crisis and the line of succession in question. Who will hold everything together?

Tor Science Fiction Sisterhood of Dune, by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson

The Great Schools of Dune trilogy opens with Sisterhood of Dune , set almost a century after the game-changing Battle of Corrin. With the thinking machines destroyed, political and religious movements rise, teeing up an epic conflict between reason and faith. You'll want to read this one to prepare for HBO's upcoming Dune: The Sisterhood .

Tor Science Fiction Mentats of Dune, by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson

With the thinking machines destroyed, a new school opens to teach humans the efficient techniques of thinking machines. But the Butlerian jihadists staunchly oppose any machinist way of life, and pick a dangerous fight with the Mentat School. What ensues is an epic showdown for humanity's future, with a potential dark age at stake.

Tor Science Fiction Navigators of Dune, by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson

Want to learn more about the Bene Gesserit sisterhood from Herbert's original novels? Then Navigators of Dune is the book for you. In this third and final volume of the Great Schools of Dune trilogy, we learn about the origins of the Bene Gesserit sisterhood, and see their secretive way of life develop. This one will be important when Sisterhood of Dune hits HBO Max.

Tor Books The Duke of Caladan, by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson

The latest trilogy from Herbert and Anderson, The Caladan Trilogy , begins with The Duke of Caladan , a prequel about the life of Leto Atreides. Just how did the ruler of a quiet planet become such a power player in a galactically fateful story? If that's the question on your mind, this is the book you ought to hit next.

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All 6 Dune books by Frank Herbert, ranked worst to best

Ahead of the release of Dune: Part Two, let's look at the original six Dune books by Frank Herbert. Which ones are the best? Is the whole series worth reading or can you stop at one or two?

By Kartik Khare | Mar 20, 2024, 12:44 PM EDT

TIMOTHÉE CHALAMET as Paul Atreides in Warner Bros. Pictures and Legendary Pictures’ action adventure “DUNE: PART TWO,” a Warner Bros. Pictures release. Photo Credit: Niko Tavernise © 2023 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. All Rights Reserved.

If you are a fan of science fiction, chances are you have heard of Dune , the epic story by author Frank Herbert currently being turned into a movie series by director Denis Villenueve. Dune is widely regarded as one of the most influential and important works of science fiction ever written, and has inspired countless other authors, filmmakers, and artists. But where should you start if you want to dive into this rich and complex universe? My answer is simple: start with the first book: Dune , published in 1965.

But not all Dune books are created equal. Herbert wrote six Dune books before his death in 1986, and his son Brian Herbert wrote several sequels and spinoffs after that, working with author Kevin J. Anderson. Fans debate which of the six original books are the best and which are the worst. In this article, I'll share my personal ranking of the original six Dune books by Frank Herbert.

Before that, let's get an idea of the chronology. Here are the six original Dune books in the order in which they were published:

Dune (1965)
Dune Messiah (1969)
Children of Dune (1976)
God Emperor of Dune (1981)
Heretics of Dune (1984)
Chapterhouse: Dune (1985)

With that, let's get into the rankings:

6. Chapterhouse: Dune (1985)

The final book in the series, Chapterhouse: Dune , is also the weakest. It suffers from a lack of focus, a slow pace, and a disappointing ending that leaves many questions unanswered. The book follows the Bene Gesserit — a powerful order of women who use their political acumen and extraordinary abilities to shape the galaxy — as they try to survive attacks from the Honored Matres, a violent faction of former Bene Gesserit who have returned from the Scattering. The book introduces some interesting twists and concepts, such as a new arc for the ghola of Duncan Idaho, the axlotl tanks, and mysterious characters named Daniel and Marty, but it fails to deliver a satisfying conclusion to the saga. Some fans think it is as anti-climactic conclusion to the epic saga of the desert planet Arrakis and its mysterious spice melange. Before we talk further bout Chapterhouse: Dune , beware that there are SPOILERS AHEAD ! The book picks up where Heretics of Dune left off, with the Bene Gesserit Sisterhood facing multiple threats from the Honored Matres, the violent and hedonistic faction that broke away from them thousands of years ago. Afterwards they joined scattered out into unknown regions of space along with many other peoples following the fall of the God Emperor Leto II, which is covered in the fourth book. Chapterhouse: Dune follows the adventures of several characters, such as Darwi Odrade, the new Mother Superior of the Bene Gesserit, who tries to find a way to negotiate with the Honored Matres and preserve the ancient wisdom of her order; Duncan Idaho, the ghola (clone) of the original Duncan Idaho, a companion of Paul Atreides in the very first Dune book who holds the key to a mysterious power that could change the fate of humanity (in the first Dune movie, Idaho is played by Jason Momoa); Sheeana, the young girl who can control the sandworms of Arrakis and who some see as a potential messiah; and Miles Teg, the brilliant military commander who is resurrected as a ghola by a faction of genetic scientists known as the Tleilaxu. He discovers he has new abilities. The book is full of twists and turns, revelations, and surprises, as well as philosophical and religious themes that explore the nature of humanity, free will, evolution, and transcendence. The book also sets up a cliffhanger ending that hints at a possible confrontation with a mysterious enemy that has been manipulating events from behind the scenes. Unfortunately, Frank Herbert died before he could write the seventh book that would have resolved this plotline, leaving fans to speculate and imagine what could have been. Chapterhouse: Dune is a disappointing book that still deserves to be read by fans of the genre. That it works despite its shortcomings is a testament to Frank Herbert's vision and creativity, as well as his ability to create a rich and complex universe that captivates and challenges the reader. It is also a book that raises important questions about our own society and our place in the cosmos. As Herbert himself wrote in the introduction: "Think you of the fact that a deaf person cannot hear. Then, what deafness may we not all possess? What senses do we lack that we cannot see and cannot hear another world all around us?" A lot of fans do not like that Chapterhouse ends on a cliffhanger. I disagree. I will try my best to explain. The six original Dune books cover a period of thousands of years. By the end, a lot of roads has been travelled. There is resolution, but is very open-ended. That open-endedness is a result and consequence of the story that came before. It fits and for me was satisfying. There are unanswered questions but that is the way life is. Herbert avoids magic and fantasy. Everything he writes is based in science and reality, however much of a stretch he makes. If you want everything answered with a bow tied on it, the ending will not satiate you. But for me not only was there resolution, but I liked the end of the series immensely.

Unveiling the Depths of Dune: A Journey Beyond the Sands of Conventional Sci-Fi

image representing the book "Dune," its characters, and the desert world of Arrakis, along with the integral element of the spice.

09 Nov Unveiling the Depths of Dune: A Journey Beyond the Sands of Conventional Sci-Fi

Dune and its series of books can be purchased on bookshop.org

If you’re into audiobooks, find Dune on Libro.fm!

The Legacy of “Dune”:

“Dune” isn’t just a book; it’s a legacy. With its publication, Frank Herbert didn’t merely create a world; he spawned a universe that has influenced countless works. The shadow of “Dune” looms large over the realm of science fiction, its DNA interwoven with that of many successors, most notably “Star Wars.” But what is it about this epic that captures the imagination so?

A Universe Apart:

Herbert’s Arrakis is a far cry from the utopian futures often depicted in sci-fi. It’s a universe where humanity’s basest instincts – greed, power, and ego – are not only present but amplified. This is a world that mirrors our own, reflecting a society riddled with the same issues that have plagued us for centuries.

The Power of Ideas:

At its core, “Dune” is a celebration of ideas. Herbert’s narrative is a tapestry woven with threads of philosophy, religion, and human nature. It’s a book that doesn’t just tell a story; it makes you think, question, and ponder the very essence of civilization and the human condition.

Characters and Complexity:

The inhabitants of Herbert’s universe are as complex as the world they inhabit. From Paul Atreides’ messianic journey to the multifaceted portrayal of the Fremen, each character is a study in contrasts, embodying the myriad facets of Herbert’s vision.

The Echoes of Influence:

It’s impossible to discuss “Dune” without acknowledging its profound influence on the genre. From the political machinations of “Game of Thrones” to the cultural tapestries of “The Wheel of Time,” Herbert’s fingerprints are everywhere. But it’s not just about who has borrowed from “Dune”; it’s about how “Dune” has shaped our understanding of a genre.

The Philosophy of “Dune”:

“Dune” by Frank Herbert stands as one of the most towering works in the realm of science fiction. A blend of adventure, mysticism, politics, and environmentalism, Herbert’s magnum opus has enthralled readers since its publication in 1965. “Dune” is not just a story; it’s a philosophical journey. Herbert’s exploration of themes like the corrupting influence of power and the dangers of messianic figures is as relevant today as it was at the time of publication.

Suggested Reading Age: “Dune” is best suited for readers ages 14 and up, considering its complex themes and elaborate narrative.

List of Characters:

Paul Atreides, the young protagonist and heir to the Atreides legacy.
Duke Leto Atreides, Paul’s noble father.
Lady Jessica, Paul’s Bene Gesserit mother.
Baron Vladimir Harkonnen, the story’s primary antagonist.
Thufir Hawat, Mentat Master of Assassins for House Atreides.
Gurney Halleck, a loyal troubadour warrior.
Duncan Idaho, a skilled swordsman loyal to the Atreides.
Chani, a Fremen woman and Paul’s love interest.
Stilgar, a Fremen leader.

the spice melange and its harvesting on the planet Arrakis from "Dune."

Summary and Synopsis: An Expedition Through ‘Dune’s’ Rich Narrative Tapestry

“Dune” unfolds across the desert planet of Arrakis, the sole source of the universe’s most valuable substance, the spice Melange. Through the eyes of Paul Atreides, we witness a tangled plot of betrayal and rebellion, where political intrigue and ecological dynamics interplay with destiny and individual agency.

Important Themes:

The Struggle for Power: Control over the spice means control over the universe.
Environmentalism and Ecology: The intricate relationship between the people of Arrakis and their harsh desert world.
Fate and Free Will: Paul’s journey from nobility to messiah.
Religion and Mysticism: The Bene Gesserit and the Fremen’s belief systems.

Analysis: Unpacking ‘Dune’s’ Narrative Complexity

Strengths and Weaknesses: Herbert’s strength lies in his ability to weave complex themes with an expansive universe, though some may find the dense political intricacies overwhelming.

Uniqueness: “Dune” stands out for its detailed world-building and prescient focus on environmental and resource-based conflicts.

Use of Literary Devices: Herbert masterfully uses symbolism , such as water and the sandworm, and literary devices like foreshadowing and irony to enhance the depth of his narrative.

Authorial Relation: Herbert’s own interest in ecology and human psychology is mirrored in the novel’s themes, and while “Dune” is a work of fiction, its allusions to real-world struggles for power and resources resonate with broader social issues.

Evaluation: Who Will Traverse the Dunes?

“Dune” will captivate readers who appreciate epic sagas and intricate world-building. Its literary merit places it alongside works like “Lord of the Rings,” and its commentary on power dynamics may remind readers of “1984”.

Conclusion:

“Dune” remains a monumental achievement in science fiction, a book that defies the constraints of the genre to offer a narrative rich with meaning and complexity. It’s a work that demands not just to be read, but to be experienced, contemplated, and ultimately respected. As we continue to grapple with the themes Herbert laid out so many years ago, one thing is clear: the sands of “Dune” are eternal, and their lessons timeless. Whether you’re revisiting this classic or discovering it for the first time, the journey is sure to be as transformative as the spice of Arrakis itself. So, are you ready to explore the depths of “Dune”? Join the conversation and share your thoughts on this sci-fi cornerstone.

When you’re done with “Dune” (book 1), see our review of the second book in the Dune Chronicles series, “Dune Messiah”

Functional Details

ISBN: 9780441172719
Number of Pages: Approximately 896 pages
Publisher: Chilton Books
First Publish Date: August 1, 1965
Adaptations: Yes, into movies, TV series, and more recently, a 2021 feature film directed by Denis Villeneuve. Part 2 of the 2021 release is expected to be released in the first quarter of 2024!
Genre: Science Fiction
BISAC Categories: Science Fiction – Space Opera; Fiction – Classics
Suggested Reading Age: 14+

Awards and Accolades

Hugo Award for Best Novel (1966)
Nebula Award for Best Novel (1965)
Was a New York Times bestseller

About the Author

Frank Herbert (1920-1986) was a critically acclaimed and commercially successful American science fiction author. Other bestsellers by Herbert include “Children of Dune” and “God Emperor of Dune,” amongst others. Herbert’s literary talent was recognized with multiple awards throughout his career.

Other reviews of “Dune”

Books That Slay
Book Analysis
Kirkus Reviews
Dune News Net

Where to Buy

You can purchase “Dune” by Frank Herbert on Bookshop.org .

Series Information

“Dune” is the first novel in a series that includes “ Dune Messiah ,” “Children of Dune,” “God Emperor of Dune,” “Heretics of Dune,” and “Chapterhouse: Dune.” Each continues to explore the universe with the same depth and complexity as the original.

For reviews of the other books in the Chronicle of Dune Series:

Book 1: Dune
Book 2: Dune Messiah
Book 3: Children of Dune
Book 4: God Emporer of Dune
Book 5: Heretics of Dune
Book 6: Chapterhouse Dune

The Bottom Line

Dune is truly a masterpiece that will appeal to many science fiction fans, but not all. Frank Herbert's writing is more advanced than most in the genre, but there are some oddities with some of his writing choices. All that aside, the setting and characters are well done and deep, and the story set the standard for science fiction.

Just want to thank you. One of my daughters texted me. One of her kids is wanting to read Herbert’s Dune. She knows I’ve read it several times over fifty or so years and thought I could advise her. Bad choice. I tend to ramble, a lot. Like now. Anyway I stumbled upon your review and it hit the bulls-ey as far as I’m concerned. Thank you, I now know who to look first. You do good work. Blessings upon your house.

Do you have any checklist of how to approach discussions with out son on issues for example of violence and men abusing boys? I believe it’s good since we can’t take him out of the chaos in the world but to help point out a Christ centered response to the chaos.

Hi, would you say both the 2020 and 1984 movie is appropriate for Christians as in no sex scenes or characters tounging each other down and no graphic violence?

I have only watched the 2020 film, and it doesn’t have any of that, as far as i remember

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Dune occasionally struggles with its unwieldy source material, but those issues are largely overshadowed by the scope and ambition of this visually thrilling adaptation. Read critic reviews

Audience Says

Denis Villeneuve's Dune looks and sounds amazing -- and once the (admittedly slow-building) story gets you hooked, you'll be on the edge of your seat for the sequel. Read audience reviews

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Dune videos, dune photos.

Paul Atreides, a brilliant and gifted young man born into a great destiny beyond his understanding, must travel to the most dangerous planet in the universe to ensure the future of his family and his people. As malevolent forces explode into conflict over the planet's exclusive supply of the most precious resource in existence, only those who can conquer their own fear will survive.

Rating: PG-13 (Some Disturbing Images|Sequences of Strong Violence|Suggestive Material)

Genre: Sci-fi, Adventure, Action, Fantasy, Drama

Original Language: English

Director: Denis Villeneuve

Producer: Denis Villeneuve , Mary Parent , Cale Boyter , Joseph Caracciolo Jr.

Writer: Jon Spaihts , Denis Villeneuve , Eric Roth

Release Date (Theaters): Oct 22, 2021 wide

Release Date (Streaming): Oct 22, 2021

Box Office (Gross USA): $108.3M

Runtime: 2h 35m

Distributor: Warner Bros. Pictures

Production Co: Legendary Pictures, Warner Bros., Villeneuve Films

Sound Mix: Dolby Atmos, Dolby Digital

Aspect Ratio: Digital 2.39:1

Cast & Crew

Timothée Chalamet

Paul Atreides

Rebecca Ferguson

Lady Jessica

Oscar Isaac

Duke Leto Atreides

Josh Brolin

Gurney Halleck

Stellan Skarsgård

Baron Vladimir Harkonnen

Jason Momoa

Duncan Idaho

Charlotte Rampling

Gaius Helen Mohiam

Dave Bautista

Glossu "Beast" Rabban

Javier Bardem

Sharon Duncan-Brewster

Stephen Henderson

Thufir Hawat

Dr. Wellington Yueh

David Dastmalchian

Piter De Vries

Denis Villeneuve

Jon Spaihts

Screenwriter

Mary Parent

Cale Boyter

Joseph Caracciolo Jr.

Tanya Lapointe

Executive Producer

Joshua Grode

Thomas Tull

Brian Herbert

Byron Merritt

Kim Herbert

Greig Fraser

Cinematographer

Film Editing

Hans Zimmer

Original Music

Patrice Vermette

Production Design

News & Interviews for Dune

Dune: Part Two : Release Date, Trailers, Cast & More

Chernobyl Emmy Winner Johan Renck To Direct on Dune Prequel Series

Awards Leaderboard: Top Movies of 2021

Critic Reviews for Dune

Audience reviews for dune.

It's been said a lot and I'll say it again, Game of Thrones sci-fi. Dueling families, grand scale, dropping you into a massive world. And much like GoT, I sometimes felt like I needed cliff notes, and while I was intrigued as hell by this opening I can't help but feel the next chapter will be that much grander. It's a massive story told massively, and I am intrigued by it, but it is a first chapter. However, in terms of first chapters, it's pretty damn good. The sheer scope is enthralling, and the visuals are stunning. Not just that, the way the visuals tell the story. And the acting, every actor knocks it out of the park. It's great, but there is this lingering feeling that the next one will be better.

I didn't read the books but was very much into the 2000-2003 miniseries on SciFi Channel (that I still recommend, stuff like this just isn't being made anymore with the closest modern thing maybe being "The Expanse") and also had the recent displeasure of watching the original 1984 film. (Wtf was that?) Dune 2021 is still exactly the slow-burn, atmospheric space opera it was intended to be but now with modern art direction and cinematography that really pushes those elements. Granted this first installment doesn't work much as a standalone film and is very setup heavy for a sequel. However I liked the liberties it took with storytelling and my memory is foggy but it also made the narrative easier to follow than previous iterations. I feel the color tones used really did a disservice in convincing me how incredibly hot, uninhabitable and valuable water is on Arrakis. The film insists on informing me of these things but the super muted and cool tones and lack of heat waves on camera were unconvincing. Villeneuve was so focused on creating this ambience of a grounded, bleak political landscape that it feels like he neglected the immersion of a super heated desert. I appreciated that the film focused on setting the stage on Arrakis, but not seeing even a glimpse of the Emperor and/or the Spacing Guild felt like omitting huge players in the political narrative and world building. Anyway, a very good movie otherwise if you like slow burn dramatic space operas with heavy lore. I hope it does well and isn't forgotten like Bladerunner 2042. Would be a great shame if the unconfirmed sequel(s) not made!

I attempted to read Frank Herbert's novel Dune when I was in the seventh grade. I had begun to read more fantasy literature and was looking at older, heralded novels. I can still recall my frustration of reading those first five pages and having to repeatedly flip back and forth to a twenty-five-page glossary of terms so that I could even start to comprehend what was happening on the page. After those five excruciating pages, I gave up. Maybe I was too rash, and maybe my older present self would be more accommodating to the struggle, or maybe it just wasn't worth the effort. I never watched the 1984 David Lynch adaptation that was met with great derision from critics and fans alike, although it does have its vocal defenders (Hindsight alert: Lynch turned down directing Return of the Jedi to helm Dune). So when acclaimed filmmaker Denis Villeneuve (Arrival, Blade Runner 2049) became attached to direct a big-budget, large-scale adaptation of Herbert's novel, I was finally interested for the first time in my life. It was originally slated to be released in 2020, and after the studio planned to release Dune onto its HBO Max streaming service, Villeneuve and the production company negotiated to make sure a theatrical release would still be an important part of the plan. Alas, I watched the 2021 Dune at home, and I found myself enjoying the experience and development of the world building. However, it's unlikely to watch this version of Dune and feel like you got a full movie for your money. In the distant future, like 10,000 A.D., mankind has colonized worlds and the most important planet of them all is Arrakis. It's a desert world inhabited by poor natives, Freeman, who live a moisture-preserving life mining the natural "spice," a special substance that makes space travel capable as well as prolonging human life. The top family houses are vying for dominance and House Atreides has been assigned by the unseen Emperor to rule over Arrakis and bring it and its spice production back in line. Duke Leto Atreides (Oscar Isaac) sees great opportunity but also great danger. The other houses will scheme to engineer the failure and desolation of House Atreides, especially House Harkonnen, led by the Baron (Stellan Skarsgard), who is like a mixture between Marlon Brando from Apocalypse Now and Marlon Brando from The Island of Doctor Moreau (plus with levitation powers?). Paul Atriedes (Timothee Chalamet) is his family's heir and much is expected of him, especially from his mother, Lady Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson), who believes he may be long-prophesied messiah. On Arrakis, Paul and his father must tackle this very delicate new mission while keeping the many adversaries at bay. As anticipated, Dune is yet another visually stunning and gorgeously immersive visual experience from one of the greatest visual filmmakers working today. If you can watch the movie on a big screen, or at least a bigger screen, then you owe it to yourself to do so. The sweeping vistas and startling science fiction imagery have so much power and grandeur to them. If Lynch's movie inspired a generation of devotees and impressionable children, I imagine that this superior modern version will do likewise. The production design and costumes are terrific and perfectly in keeping with the larger scope of the expansive visuals. You really feel the size of this world and its imposing weight. Villeneuve has such a natural keen eye for pleasing visual compositions, but he also has the patience many famous big screen stylists lack. He allows the moments to linger and to let scenes breathe in a way that feels more transporting and immersive. If you were simply looking for a visually resplendent movie-going experience, then Dune is the ticket. The sound design is also very smartly aligned and makes use of unconventional and alien sounds to make the movie feel even more like its own thing. When Dune came out in 1965, this was before much of the modern building blocks of our sci-fi pop-culture, so in a way while Dune was the influence it feels partially like an odd after-effect rather than a predecessor. The same thing happened with 2012's John Carter, based upon a novel a hundred years old that influenced many sci-fi adventure serials and now seems derivative even though it came before the many imitations. I was happy with the first 90 minutes of Dune and felt like the slow pace of the first hour, and its heft of needed but spaced-out exposition, was paying off with a thrilling assault. The concept of the protective shields is a smart way to communicate the casualties of battle, where "kill shots" are illuminated in red, informing the audience or a mortal wound. It makes for an easy to read visual to keep up with the development of battle and stay in a safer PG-13 realm. The whole rescue sequence on the mining station is thrilling at every step. The cast is another major credit to the success of Dune. Chalament (Little Women) has a soulful yearning to him, to learn, to be his own man, to prove his father wrong and then prove worthy of his father's faith. Surprisingly, the next biggest role isn't Zendaya (Malcolm and Marie), the woman that Paul dreams about (prophetically?); it's Rebecca Ferguson (Doctor Sleep) as Paul's mother. She's a woman with deep secrets belonging to a powerful religious sect that might be the real power behind the throne. Lady Jessica is more Paul's mentor than any man. She teaches him to hone and focus his mind, to use the "Voice" to impart his will, and to prepare for the hardships to come. With every new exposition dump, and she has many, we learn about her growing concern for the fate of her son and her possible culpability for that fate. There's a genuine warmth between them that serves as the film's emotional core. I enjoyed watching Jason Momoa (Aquaman) and Dave Bautista (Army of the Dead) as opposite ends of Super Good Fighter Guy, though Momoa looked unsettling without a beard. Needless to say, the 2021 movie is far more diverse than the 1984 movie. It makes space feel more lived in when it's reflective of a diversity of people that we already have at this point in our history. And then, after the hallway mark, Dune became a protracted sequence of chases and then I started to worry that things were just going to end in an unsatisfying manner, relegating the 150 minutes as setup for the as-yet-unplanned sequel, and that's exactly what happened. My mood began to deflate somewhat during the last hour of Dune. I was still interested and the visuals were still mighty captivating, but the events had the unmistakable feeling of being stretched out to meet a frustrating stopping point, a pause that didn't produce a satisfying endpoint. I just kept thinking, "Oh, they're not going to resolve this," and, "Oh, Zendaya is barely going to be in this movie," and the movie proved my predictions correct. It's hard to judge the movie as its own entity since it's so dependent on a Part Two that has yet to be greenlighted (though its strong opening box-office returns are hopeful). This is an expensive movie, possibly pushing $200 million, so it's quite a gamble to declare you would only be adapting roughly half of the story. Villeneuve's Blade Runner sequel, a movie I loved, had a budget of $150 million and a worldwide gross that didn't make the producers comfortable going forward with a Blade Runner 2050. To be fair, that was an original story, a sequel, and rather well contained. Still, it's an expensive sci-fi movie that has as much in common with dry art house fare as it does blockbuster adventures, like Villeneuve's Dune. The promise of a second movie is not secured. If Dune doesn't do well enough, we'll forever be left with a movie that feels designed to only be a teaser. It reminds me of the hubris of 2007's The Golden Compass where the filmmakers had a whole 20-minute finale that they carved out with the intention of having it be the opening for the assumed sequel (welp). Even when designing a multi-movie arc, it's necessary to plan each entry so that it can exist as its own beginning-middle-end and with a suitable intermediary climax. The Lord of the Rings movies each had their own climax, each moving the larger picture forward, and each had storylines and subplots that came to a head by film's conclusion. Dune doesn't. There are more dead characters by the end and certain characters are displaced, but it feels less like the end of the big-budget Dune movie and more like the conclusion of episode two of the Dune mini-series. My resonance with the source material is minimal, but the world of Dune feels stuffed with stuff and not as deep in the realm of commentary. Fans of the book series will likely thrill at the level of minutia the 2021 movie luxuriates in, allowing fans to lap up the lore. For those of us uninitiated into the fandom, it feels like there could be more going on behind the scenes. The book was released in 1965 and has clear parallels to Middle East occupations and quagmires, a subject even more relevant in the first quarter of this new century. There's the occupying force coming in to manage the supposedly primitive natives on a desert planet, replacing the last occupier who made bold promises that were unable to be met by the reality on the ground. The parallels of colonialism are there and obvious, but that's because everything in Dune seems obvious to me. The bad guys are corpse-white and dressed in all black. They look like the alien zombies from 1998's Dark City (itself referencing the silent sci-fi classic, Metropolis). The leader of House Harkonnen is this noxious man who bathes in black goo and sucks the life force from others. I don't need my sci-fi to be ambiguous about its heroes and villains. We clearly recognize the bad guys because they're grotesque. However, the lessons learned by the heroes seem a bit stilted. Its attacks on capitalism are a little more nuanced but not much. The planet of Arrakis could produce water but that's not in the interest of the power brokers of the galaxy. They need the spice for the economy and thus keep the exploitative status quo. The parallels are there but there's not much more to be had other than direct summations. The movie has more to say with religion and messiah figures but at this point we're grading on a curve, and the more complex commentary attached to messiah figures seems reserved for a Part Two. Another aspect I want to highlight that seems trivial but no less intriguing to me is how Herbert chooses his character names. We're eight thousand years into the future, spanning multiple planets with names like Arrakis and Giedi Prime and Salusa Secondus, and then we have such anodyne twentieth-century names like… Paul and Jessica? It's funny to me that Herbert goes to the trouble of coming up with so much jargon and terminology and alien-sounding names and then he says, "Hey, this guy's name is… Duncan Idaho," like he's a supporting character in Point Break. I realize this is a very dubious criticism, and there are other character names to conflict with this assertion, but it made me laugh at the different levels of effort Herbert put into his world-building and universe than selecting character names for that same far away land. After watching the new Dune, I went and watched the 1984 David Lynch version for the first time and was, quite simply, dumbfounded. I'll credit Lynch for many of the weird choices in style and how it never stoops to even be accessible for a mass audience, despite having characters explicitly narrate their schemes and motivations out in the open (by scene one, the power play that took up 90 minutes of Dune 2021 is awkwardly explained in full). By the end of Lynch's movie, it is an incomprehensible campy mess. I only have more appreciation for the 2021 Dune after watching the goofy (those eyebrows!) 1980s version that Lynch has disowned entirely, although that stirring guitar riff from the score still rocks thirty years later. The new Dune is only intended as Part One as its presumptive title promises, and because of this key artistic decision, there's a feeling of padding and wear by the end. I found myself reflecting back on the first 90 minutes more fondly. It's not that the last hour is absent great moments or audacious style, but it's hard to fully judge this Dune when its last line is its own conditioning of expectations: "This is only the beginning." The 2021 Dune is a visually remarkable movie experience with fantastic artists executing at some of the highest points of their talent. I'm eager to see if a Part Two can provide the satisfaction lacking in this beginning half. It's a hell of a start but it feels too incomplete and in need of an ending. Nate's Grade: B

Yes it could have been more psychedelic and I continue to be slightly annoyed by Villeneuve's obsession with imagery that is too clean, orderly, and monocolor for my taste (even the dirt and grime in his films are spotless) but the book's wonderful weirdness is still there and I was pleasantly surprised to see the heavy word building and exposition was neither too watered down nor so tedious the movie came to a screeching halt even time they had to explain what was going on.

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Dune sci-fi science fiction novel review summary

Dune book review

One of the most iconic science fiction books is hands down Dune by Frank Herbert. The novel is credited for popularizing science fiction books and after reading it, it is easy to see why. Keep reading for a short summary and why you should read this classic novel!

Dune Summary

Duke Leto Atreides of House Atreides, the ruler of Caladan, is being relocated to serve as ruler of Arrakis. He is moving his whole house to Arrakis which includes his concubine Jessica and son Paul as well as the people that serve him. Where Caladan is rich in water, Arrakis, also known as Dune, is a desert planet where water is scarce and thus very important. The planet’s main export is spice and it is vital to the Guild who control space and maintains the balance between the Houses.

The move is forced upon Duke Leto from Padishah Emperor Shaddam IV who is conspiring with House Harkonnen to kill House Atreides. While the Duke knows this, he willingly goes into the trap and faces it head on. Soon after the family lands on Arrakis, the family comes under attack as one of their own has been compromised. Duke Leto’s plans to befriend the natives of Arrakis, the Freman, and fight back against House Harkonnen.

The betrayal catches House Atreidas by surprise and Paul and Jessica are captured by the enemies. Around this time, Paul learns the truth of what he really is and how his mother has trained him to be something that he wishes he wasn’t. To survive on Arrakis, Paul and Jessica have to learn to live like the Freman as they fight House Harkonnen and the Emperor.

Dune Paved the Way for Future Sci-Fi Novels

That short summary leaves out a lot of important stuff that transpires in the book. Herbert has thoroughly planned this novel out and a lot is going on. It is hard to discuss all of it and the best way to experience it is to read the novel. Dune itself is complex but the characters and their history is another thing entirely.

The novel may be a science fiction nove l but it is so much more than that. It focuses on topics such as climate change, humanity, and politics. Herbert deliberately suppressed technology in the Dune universe so he could discuss the other topics mentioned.

Published in 1965, the book went on to win the Hugo Award in 1966 and won the inaugural Nebula Award for Best Novel . It received favorable reviews and is considered by critics one of the best science fiction novels ever written. Twenty years after publication, the book topped the New York Times Best Seller list and Children of Dune , the third book in the series was the first hardcover best-seller in the science fiction genre.

Herbert’s Dune is a classic novel that made the mainstream media take notice of science fiction novels. His world building and warning about climate change at a time when it wasn’t common knowledge make him one of the best writers oh his time. Even if J. R. R. Tolkien wasn’t a fan of Dune, it still holds up as one of the best works of fiction of all time!

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Dune is one of those books I’d take to a desert island, for sure!

I don’t know about that… I imagine it turning into a new bible by a new civilization 😂

hahahahaa! Well, they could end up with something “literati” approved, so I’ll take my chances 😀

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Book Review

Dune — “dune chronicles”.

Frank Herbert
Fantasy , Science Fiction

Readability Age Range

Chilton (1965); the version reviewed was published in 2010 by Ace books
Nebula Award, 1965; Hugo Award tie, 1966

Year Published

Dune by Frank Herbert has been reviewed by Focus on the Family’s marriage and parenting magazine . It is the first book in the “Dune Chronicles.”

Plot Summary

Artificial intelligence has long been outlawed. In its place, people use the drug melange, commonly known as spice, to perfect their mental capabilities. Spice is the most valuable resource in the universe, as it allows an expansion of the mind and even precognition.

The space guild, which has a monopoly on space travel and trade, uses spice to predict the future and safely plot courses through the universe. Spice is also used in Bene Gesserit rituals.

The Bene Gesserit is a matriarchal society that manipulates the galaxy in the shadows. The extensive training of their minds has allowed them to become hyper-observant, allowing them to perform tasks such as becoming teachers and human lie detectors.

Their true purpose, however, is to breed a superhuman individual known as the Kwisatz Haderach. They have selectively bred people for centuries to produce a man whose perception could transcend time and space.

Padishah Emperor Shaddam Corrino IV has begun to view House Atreides, led by Duke Leto, as a threat. The duke is gaining the respect of the other noble houses and training a fighting force that rivals the emperor’s own Sardaukar, his elite guard. The emperor works with Baron Vladimir Harkonnen to eliminate House Atreides and prevent Leto from challenging the throne.

The emperor commands Leto to take charge of Arrakis, a desert planet also known as Dune. Arrakis is the sole source of spice. Leto senses a trap, but accepts the commission to not directly disobey the emperor and take advantage of controlling spice mining.

As House Atreides prepares to leave the home planet of Caladan, the Reverend Mother Gaius Helen Mohaim, the Emperor’s Bene Gesserit truthsayer, visits Leto’s 15-year-old son, Paul. She performs a test on Paul that causes excruciating pain. She wishes to see if he does not panic or if he is ruled by emotion rather than reason. He passes the test.

The Bene Gesserit human breeding program should be one generation away from producing the Kwisatz Haderach, the ultimate human. The Kwisatz Haderach has the power to see through time and space. He is a man who can survive the Water of Life, a drug taken by Truthsayer Bene Gesserits to be able to see the past through the eyes of their ancestors.

Only women have been able to take the drug and survive. Jessica, Paul’s Bene Gesserit mother and the duke’s concubine, was commanded to birth a girl who would marry a Harkonnen and produce the Kwisatz Haderach. However, she produced Paul instead to please the duke and derailed the breeding program. The Reverend Mother was angered by this, but is impressed by Paul nonetheless. Paul has been trained by his mother in Bene Gesserit ways and has the capacity to see the future.

The Atreides arrive on Arrakis. Water is extremely rare on this desert planet. Fremen, a nomadic people that excel at surviving on the dangerous planet, inhabit it. They wear stillsuits, full-body outfits that recycle waste and expend very little water.

Bene Gesserit missionaries that arrived on the planet years ago implanted ideas in the Fremen’s minds. Because of this influence, the Fremen long for a savior who will convert Arrakis’ desert into a paradise. Leto notices their survival skills and aptness for fighting. He hopes to recruit and utilize them to counter attacks from the Harkonnens. Even when they first arrive, the Fremen suspect that Paul may the messiah of legend.

Spice mining is extremely dangerous. The worms, or makers, of Dune are huge, capable of swallowing an entire mining vessel. The worms have a symbiotic relationship with the spice. Every time spice is mined, the worms attack. The duke and Paul oversee a mining expedition under the supervision of Arrakis’ planetologist, Liet Kynes, a man who lives among the Fremen and attempts to better the planet’s harsh climate. The duke rescues his workers when a worm attacks.

The Harkonnens ensure that the Atreides discover false information that implies that Jessica is a traitor and will have a leading role in killing the duke. The duke’s men, including Gurney Halleck and Thufir Hawat, suspect Jessica, but the duke is not convinced. Thufir Hawat is a mentat, an individual trained to make computer-like calculations. Thufir is also the head of Leto’s assassins, who protect the duke.

The Harkonnens get information from Dr. Yueh on Leto’s staff, torturing his wife and forcing him to betray the duke in order to end her pain. House Harkonnen attacks and penetrates the Atreides’ offenses using Harkonnen soldiers and Sardaukar disguised as Harkonnen.

Yueh hates the Harkonnens deeply, so he helps Jessica and Paul escape. He also implants a tooth in Leto’s mouth that will release a poison gas when he bites down so he can kill the baron. The baron kills Yueh. Leto bites down on his poison tooth and dies, but the poison gas kills the baron’s mentat Piter instead of the baron himself.

Most of Leto’s men are killed, but Gurney Halleck and Thufir Hawat survive. They both believe Jessica is responsible for the duke’s death. Gurney becomes a smuggler on Arrakis to take revenge against the Harkonnens, and Thufir is manipulated to become the baron’s mentat. However, the baron gives Thufir a poison. If Thufir tries to abandon the Harkonnens, he will no longer receive the antidote and die.

After Leto’s death, Paul’s precognitive abilities increase. He realizes Jessica is the baron’s illegitimate daughter. He must find the Fremen and use his power to enlist their service. However, he fears a jihad, or that the Fremen’s religious devotion to Paul will cause them to go on a violent spree throughout the universe. Kynes and Duncan Idaho, Leto’s men, meet up with Paul and Jessica. Kynes promises to utilize the Fremen and help Paul, but the Harkonnens attack and kill Kynes and Duncan. Jessica and Paul fly into a dangerous storm. They are assumed dead.

Paul and Jessica cross the desert of Arrakis and find the Fremen. The Fremen attack Paul and Jessica, intending to kill them and take their water, but they fight back with Bene Gesserit techniques. They prove their worth, and the Fremen allow the two to live with them. However, a Fremen that Paul bested, Jamis, challenges Paul to one-on-one combat.

Paul accepts and hesitates to kill Jamis, but eventually does so reluctantly. At Jamis’ funeral, Paul sheds tears for Jamis, which the Fremen consider to be the greatest honor one can give the dead. Paul takes the Fremen name Muad’Dib.

The Fremen, along with Paul and Jessica, reach their hidden settlement. The tribe’s Reverend Mother is on the verge of death, so they decide to let Jessica, a Bene Gesserit, become the Reverend Mother. Jessica drinks of a drug, before she realizes it’s the Water of Life, a drug that allows a woman to gain the memories of her female ancestors.

Jessica is pregnant with Leto’s daughter, so the unborn child receives this wisdom before she is born. Jessica becomes the Reverend Mother of the tribe. Paul’s precognitive abilities expand further due to the Fremen’s spice diet. Paul and Jessica teach the Fremen Bene Gesserit techniques to improve their fighting abilities.

Two years later, Paul has taken a Fremen woman, Chani, as a lover, and they have had a son, Leto II. Paul has begun to lead the Fremen people using his future sight, becoming a religious figure to them. The Fremen believe Paul is the messiah of legend.

Jessica has given birth to a girl, Alia. Due to receiving the Water of Life in the womb, Alia has knowledge that she should not have at her age. She acts wise beyond her years and makes the Fremen uncomfortable.

Paul rides a worm, which is regarded as his Fremen passage to manhood. Paul is expected to kill Stilgar, the leader of his tribe, and take up the mantle of leadership. Instead, Paul declares himself Duke of Atreides, as his father was, and leaves Stilgar in command.

A smuggling vessel overextends, attempting to mine spice in Fremen territory. Paul leads a group of Fremen to attack the smugglers. He is reunited with Gurney Halleck. Gurney is shocked and elated that Paul is alive, and volunteers his service. Some of his men turn out to be the Sardaukar in disguise, and they kill some of the Fremen. However, Paul allows them to escape and report to the emperor that Paul is alive.

Paul begins to prepare for a great battle, intending to reclaim Arrakis. Gurney tries to kill Jessica, still believing that she is responsible for Leto’s death. Paul tells him that she was not the traitor and explains Yueh’s treachery. Gurney is distraught and tells Paul to kill him, but Jessica and Paul forgive him.

Paul did not predict Gurney’s attack, so Paul is reminded that his powers of prescience are limited. He takes a tiny portion of the Water of Life, a drug that has killed all men who have taken it. He spends three weeks in a coma, but wakes with greater prescient skills.

He fulfills the Bene Gesserits’ prophecy of the Kwisatz Haderach. Paul sees the armies of the emperor and Harkonnens approaching Arrakis to quell the Fremen rebellion. Paul also discovers that he can destroy all the spice on Arrakis if he wants to.

As Paul and his army prepare to attack the capital of Dune, the emperor’s forces capture Alia and kill Paul’s son. Alia meets the emperor, the baron and the Reverend Mother Gaius Helen Mohaim. Alia disturbs the Reverend Mother, and she calls Alia an abomination. After using his family’s atomic weapons to destroy the shield wall around the capital, Paul and the Fremen attack, riding on sand worms. Alia kills the baron in the confusion.

Paul is victorious and retakes Arrakis, but he is deeply shaken by the death of his son. He meets to discuss terms with the emperor, threatening to destroy the spice to force the emperor to accept his demands. Harkonnen Feyd-Rautha, the heir to the baron, challenges Paul to a fight, and he accepts.

Even though Feyd-Rautha attacks with poison weapons, Paul defeats Feyd-Rautha. The emperor abdicates the throne, retreating to his prison planet Salusa Secundus with most of his family and close supporters. However, Irulan, the emperor’s eldest daughter, stays on Arrakis to marry Paul.

Chani, Paul’s Fremen lover, remains as Paul’s concubine, receiving Paul’s affection and siring his heirs. Irulan will be Paul’s wife in name only, resigning herself to be satisfied by writing about his life. Paul promises the Fremen that Arrakis will be a garden planet, but the deserts will remain so the worms and spice can survive.

Christian Beliefs

Jessica remembers a quote from St. Augustine.

Other Belief Systems

The Bene Gesserit, a group of women with hyper-observational and sometimes prescient skills, are often called witches. The Bene Gesserits’ Missionaria Protectiva implants ideas in primitive culture to be exploited later. Paul and Jessica use these ideas to take control of the Fremen. Many characters have prescient abilities.

The second appendix describes the religion of the Dune universe in detail. When space travel became viable, people rethought Creation. Genesis is reinterpreted, with God saying, “Increase and multiply, and fill the universe.” After the Butlerian jihad occurs and artificial intelligence is outlawed, the most important commandment becomes “Thou shalt not disfigure the soul.”

Religious leaders meet to dispel the idea that one group has the only revelation and create the Orange Catholic Bible. The Orange Catholic Bible combines major religions and becomes the most popular religion in the universe. Throughout Dune, characters quote the Orange Catholic Bible. Characters sometimes exclaim “Great Mother!” The Great Mother is a horned goddess that is a part of their religion.

Authority Roles

Paul’s mother, Jessica, is the concubine of Duke Leto. She is wise and extremely competent. She has a great deal of control over her mind and body, allowing her to be a good fighter and to become a spiritual leader for the Fremen. Paul realizes that his mother will help bring about the jihad and that she is his enemy.

Duke Leto wishes to remain unmarried for political reasons. Jessica is afraid of the duke sometimes. She says he is two men: one a wonderful man she loves and the other a harsh and cruel man. The duke’s late father shaped the cruel side of him. Jessica wishes Leto’s father had died before Leto was born. However, Duke Leo is known as Leto the Just and generally treats his subjects well.

Paul is 15 when the story begins, but he often acts and is treated like an adult. He is fairly reserved and mysterious due to his prescient abilities. He is hesitant to kill in the beginning and cries when he has to kill Jamis. By the end of the story, Paul eagerly accepts fights.

Paul says he will try to prevent the jihad, but his actions bring about the jihad. Much like his father, Paul takes a lover and makes her his concubine. Paul plans to marry a daughter of the emperor in order to take the throne. The emperor’s lavish lifestyle has made him soft. He schemes and commands from a distance, to protect his throne.

The Baron Harkonnen is so overweight that he uses mechanical contraptions to help support himself and to move. He is power-hungry and conniving. His actions bring about the deaths of many people, including Paul’s father.

Profanity & Violence

The word d–n appears several times. The Reverend Mother says, “Devil take the rules.” Jessica calls Arrakis a h—hole .

Paul, a 15 year-old boy, is threatened with a deadly poison so he will undergo excruciating pain in a test. Gurney and Paul spar. Gurney says that there’s no artistry in killing with the tip of a blade. Leto tells Paul to kill with either the tip or the edge if need be. Thufir Hawat, an assassin, arranges the deaths of others. Yueh’s wife is tortured and then killed.

Someone uses a hunter-seeker, a device that can burrow into flesh, to attack Paul, but Paul destroys it. The duke curses under his breath. Guests discuss blood-drinking birds on Arrakis. Jessica describes Fremen as casual killers. Paul tells a story about a fisherman trying to stand on another man’s shoulders in the water to keep from drowning.

Duke Leto discovers two people murdered before Yueh shoots him with a paralyzing dart. Jessica and Paul are drugged. The Harkonnens kill most of the duke’s men. Yueh is stabbed and killed. Piter, the baron’s Mentat, threatens the duke with torture by hot tallow. The duke dies when he bites into a poison capsule and kills Piter.

Paul sees jihad when he looks into the future. Fremen sacrifice themselves when attacking Harkonnens. An enemy hits a Fremen in the throat with a knife. A lasgun shoots a shield and causes an explosion that kills Harkonnens. Duncan Idaho, one of Duke Leto’s men, kills Harkonnens and bloodies his blades. Harkonnens kill him. Gurney wishes for revenge against the Harkonnens and for the blood of Rabban Harkonnen to flow around his feet.

A bird kills a mouse. Fremen want to kill Jessica and Paul for their bodies’ water, and they fight to protect themselves. Harkonnens wound Kynes. He dies in a dust whirlpool. Paul considers a quote from the Orange Catholic Bible, a text that combines modern religions, about hell.

Paul sees a possible future in which he dies, bleeding from a knife wound. He fights Jamis, a Fremen, and reluctantly kills him. Feyd-Rautha kills his 100th gladiator with poisoned weapons on his 17th birthday. The gladiator fights Feyd-Rautha even with barbed shafts in his body. The crowd chants for Feyd-Rautha to remove the gladiator’s head, but he refuses.

Feyd-Rautha embeds a poison needle in a slave boy’s thigh in an attempt to assassinate the baron. Feyd-Rautha is forced to kill slave women. Hawat says destroying the baron would be a service to mankind. Chani kills a Fremen who wants to challenge Paul. A ceremony, which Jessica does, includes talking about raiders killing Fremen.

Stilgar tells Paul about the leader that he had to kill to become leader of the tribe. The tribe expects Paul to kill Stilgar and take his place as head of the tribe. Paul illustrates his need of Stilgar by saying he won’t cut off his right arm and leave it on the floor.

The emperor’s men kill Paul’s son and other Fremen. The Atreides own atomic weapons, which are forbidden to use against humans. If this rule is broken, other houses will respond with planetary annihilation. Paul bends this rule when he uses the atomics on a shield wall. Alia kills the baron. Hawat dies of poison. Paul fights and kills Feyd-Rautha.

In the appendix, Pardot Kynes kills Harkonnens. An assassin almost kills Kynes, but commits suicide for unknown reasons instead.

Sexual Content

Gurney sings a lewd song. Gurney says that moods are for making love, not fighting. A smuggler says that three things ease the heart: water, grass and women. Stilgar says that some are jealous that his hands have “tasted [Jessica’s] loveliness” when they fought. Stilgar asks for Jessica’s respect without a demand for sex.

Paul, a 15-year-old boy, has the option of taking Jamis’ wife, Harah, as his wife. The Fremen have an orgy after a ritual. Paul looks into the future and sees him and Chani having sex. Chani kisses him on the cheek. Paul later kisses Chani’s palm. Stilgar kisses Paul’s blade, pledging his fealty to Paul. Count Fenring gives slave women as a bribe.

The Baron Harkonnen expresses sexual desire for young boys. He also shows interest in his young nephew Feyd-Rautha. The baron compares a young man brought to him to his nephew. He was sexually active in his youth, fathering Jessica as an illegitimate child. Men imply that they will sexually assault Jessica.

The baron watches the line of Lady Fenring’s neck, calling it a lovely flow of muscles and comparing it to a young boy’s. Lady Fenring and her husband plot to seduce Feyd-Rautha and get the Lady pregnant with his child, preserving the Harkonnen bloodline. Paul feels a sexual heat from all humanity.

Discussion Topics

Get free discussion questions for this book and others, at FocusOnTheFamily.com/discuss-books .

Additional Comments

Lies: Many characters lie in order to deceive others politically.

Classism: Class on Arrakis is heavily based on water. Before Duke Leto took charge of Arrakis, nobles used to dip their hands into a basin, spill water on the floor, dry their hands on a towel and drop the towel into a puddle on the floor. Beggars would gather outside to get the water from the towel. The duke put a stop to this custom, giving every beggar a cup of water instead. The duke and his family have all the water they could want, even a room with tropical plants, on a planet where people recycle their own wastewater.

Drugs and alcohol: Drugs are prevalent in the world of Dune. Spice is used for prescience and by navigators to travel through space. The Bene Gesserit use it. Fremen use spice so heavily in their diet that it turns their eyes blue. The heavy spice diet enhances Paul’s abilities of future sight. Spice is addictive. Nefud, the duke’s captain of the guard, is addicted to semuta, a combination of drugs and music. Duncan Idaho, one of the duke’s men, gets so drunk that he tells Jessica sensitive information she wasn’t meant to know.

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Review: A “Dune” Sanded to Dullness

By Richard Brody

Still from “Dune” showing Timothe Chalamet as Paul Atreides crouching with a knife

It’s surprising how cheesy the new “Dune” looks. Directed by Denis Villeneuve, the adaptation of Frank Herbert’s 1965 novel seems less like a C.G.I. spectacle than a production still waiting for its backgrounds to be digitally filled in or its sets to be built. David Lynch’s version of “Dune,” from 1984, was a profuse film, teeming with sets and costumes as intricate as they were overwhelming, making extended and startling use of optical effects, and, in general, displaying an urgent will to turn the fantasy worlds of the story, which is set in the year 10191, into physical and visceral experiences. Villeneuve’s interests appear to lie elsewhere. He puts the drama and plot first, avoiding details that could be distractions and appearances that aren’t explained (or explained away) in dialogue or action. The bareness with which he depicts the story doesn’t resemble the shoestring production values of nineteen-fifties sci-fi cheapies, but it instead suggests merely a failure of imagination, an inability to go beyond the ironclad dictates of a script and share with viewers the wonders and terrors of impossible worlds.

Like most fantasies and futuristic science-fiction movies, “Dune” requires a large amount of exposition to set up the rules of its universe. Lynch, in his “Dune,” hardly distinguishes exposition from drama, because he’s as interested in the what as in the why. His film establishes a phantasmagorical and nearly fetishistic relationship to the material world, to even apparently trivial objects as well as to gestures, phrases, inflections. He unifies his cinematic field, lavishing as much attention to detail—and as much time—on relatively undramatic scenes and background elements as on scenes of great moment. By contrast, Villeneuve (who wrote the film with Jon Spaihts and Eric Roth) appears embarrassed by the lengthy exposition that the story requires. Rather than revelling in it, he dispatches the necessary information hastily and dutifully, because he knows all too well where the film is going and why it’s going there.

There’s a nexus of planets under the reign of a shadowy emperor, whose realm runs on a mineral known as spice. Both a hallucinogen and an energy source, spice is mined in the deserts of the planet Arrakis, which has been colonized for that purpose and, at the emperor’s orders, run by the evil House Harkonnen. But the emperor removes the Harkonnens from governing Arrakis and dispatches the benevolent House Atreides and its leader, Duke Leto Atreides (Oscar Isaac), to take their place—along with his consort, Lady Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson), and their son, Paul (Timothée Chalamet). But the Harkonnens and their cruel leader, Baron Vladimir (Stellan Skarsgård), aren’t giving up so easily, and this seems to be all according to the emperor’s plan to lure the House Atreides to its destruction.

Arrakis is no empty desert. It’s inhabited by the Fremen, a people who have endured the spice colonies and survived by living underground in elaborate warrens, constructing advanced technology to sustain themselves in difficult conditions. The Harkonnens are ready to exterminate them, whereas the Atreidae want to make common cause with the Fremen and help them. Paul, young and untested, comes to believe that he is the Messiah, the so-called Kwisatz Haderach, whom a religious order of Atreides women, known as the Bene Gesserit, have been trying to breed, from generation to generation, and who will be the savior for both the House Atreides and for the Fremen. What’s more, Paul’s dreams conveniently include, as a special enticement, anticipation of a Fremen woman named Chani (Zendaya), whom he will love.

Some films were made to be broadcast in several parts but nonetheless play seamlessly as a feature—Bruno Dumont’s “Li’l Quinquin,” for instance, which was made for French TV. The new “Dune,” which runs for two and a half hours, is a single film that plays like a collection of episodes in a series—which, in a way, it is, insofar as the movie ends with a cliffhanger, when Paul meets the Fremen and Chani says (more to the audience than to Paul), “This is only the beginning.” The film includes very short scenes of terse dialogue that slot the story together piece by piece while hardly allowing for dramatic development, let alone the characters’ full perspective on the action. Lynch’s version includes “inner voices”—internal monologues, in voice-over, that, despite being brief, are vastly texture-enriching and deftly add a haunting dimension of subjectivity. Unsurprisingly, Lynch also makes ample and frenzied use of Paul’s dreams and other internal visions. In the new film, these visions are mere snippets and flashes, hints and approximations. Paul is put to a terrifying and mortal test by a Reverend Mother of the Bene Gesserit (played in Lynch’s film by Siân Phillips and in Villeneuve’s by Charlotte Rampling). But, whereas Lynch draws out both the agony of Paul (Kyle MacLachlan) and the specific details of the tortures that he endures, Villeneuve hastily dispatches the same scene and merely winks at Paul’s afflictions. Villeneuve makes “Dune” as if he were his own showrunner, following not the dictates of a domineering producer but his own mandate—to deliver a simplified coming-of-age story and emphasize the cautionary aspect of destructive colonial rapacity and even more destructive Messianic delusion. His images are as rigid and hermetic as the illustrations in a graphic novel. His point of view is without a second level, without physicality, without visceral impact, without an unconscious. The movie’s stripped-down material world correlates with a stripped-down emotional one—narrow, facile, and unambiguous.

The prime terror of life on Arrakis is the threat of attack from gigantic sandworms, which are said to grow up to four hundred and fifty metres long, and can swallow a huge harvesting rig in a single gulp. In Lynch’s film, their arrival is heralded by the eerie spectacle of short bolts of lightning sparking up from the sand. Villeneuve’s conception is monotonously literal—the sand bulges, and the maws of the creatures are shown in quick, devouring motion that’s closer to a disaster scene than to one of gargantuan body horror.

What’s most startling in this “Dune” is where the sense of directorial passion—of effort, of personal commitment—does go. What Villeneuve appears to savor most is knife duels, fiery explosions, knowing gazes (between Paul and his mother, between Paul and Chani), and the pats on the shoulder that the young Paul gets from his father and his mentor, a warrior named Duncan (Jason Momoa). “Dune” ’s cautionary tale of a would-be savior reflects strangely back on the movie’s directorial psychology. Far from the excess, the hectic cruelty, and the extravagance of Lynch’s vision, Villeneuve’s is spare, austere, and almost savior-like in its commitment to a coherent and worthy set of principles. Perhaps the film’s very dullness, its withholding of visual and even dramatic pleasure, is Villeneuve’s version of virtue signalling.

The prime victims of this austerity are the movie’s actors. Villeneuve has assembled a terrific cast of more and less familiar performers, but he’s given them little time and little leeway. Because the pieces of the movie are calculated to fit together in unambiguous arrangements, the performances are reduced to ciphers. Chalamet, whose theatrical specificity is both an art and a liability, is onscreen for much of the film and yet reduced to a mask of his own appearance. Stuck with a script that denies his character variety and complexity, he delivers a performance that never gets to take shape. What he can do with the role in a second installment may be the biggest cliffhanger of all.

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Book Review – ‘The Worlds of Dune: The Places and Cultures that Inspired Frank Herbert’

“That is the beginning of knowledge – the discovery of something we do not understand.” Leto II, God Emperor of Dune

One of the many reasons that fans return to the original Dune novel is its rich world building, and cultures that appear to have a real history behind them. None of this was the result of luck, but instead due to Frank Herbert’s multi-year investigation into Earth’s own history, as well as his scientific research into the environment, linguistics, and more.

In this new book, Tom Huddleston lifts the curtain on Herbert’s extensive research, uncovering the origins of people and places in the Dune universe.

Presented across over 200 pages of text and plentiful images, many in full color, Huddleston leads us through the real-life people, organizations, events, books, and locations that Frank Herbert drew inspiration from when creating the rich universe of Dune .

Feature, with photos of Frank Herbert, on pages 16-17 of 'The Worlds of Dune'.

It starts with a quick introduction to Frank Herbert’s life, from his writing for newspapers, his first novel The Dragon in the Sea in 1956, his work on Spice Planet —that ultimately become the novel we all love, Dune —through to many other novels and sequels that Herbert worked on, right up to his death in 1986. We are then led through a dozen chapters covering eugenics, white saviors, extra-sensory perception, bull fighting, the Dutch East India Company, and many other topics – each linking to a core aspect in Dune lore. If only it was this much fun to learn history at school!

Intriguing Connections

While some references will be familiar to long time Dune fans, such as Lesley Blanch’s novel The Sabres of Paradise —from which Herbert appears to have borrowed many terms and quotes for his own text—many others shed new light on the depth of research and knowledge the author accumulated to flesh out his imaginary worlds. One such surprising connection is Frank Herbert’s work as a ghost writer for Samuel Ichiye Hayakawa, whose popular 1949 book Language in Thought and Action would inform the semantics abilities of the Bene Gesserit in The Voice.

Still image of the sandworm from Denis Villeneuve's 'Dune: Part One' (2021) movie.

Appealing Visuals

The book contains many images, with plenty of Frank Herbert, the various screen adaptations, books, films, real-world people, places, illustrations of historic events, and more. These pictures break up the text nicely, making this a quick and easy read. Plus everything is clear and concise, so you don’t have to be an expert in medieval history or environmental studies to understand related connections with Dune .

Contents pages from 'The Worlds of Dune: The Places and Cultures that Inspired Frank Herbert', by Tom Huddleston.

While the chapters are structured and organized in a logical order, you can read them in any order if you wish, jumping around to read or re-read a chapter of interest.

Dune References in Pop Culture

The book concludes with a chapter containing a whirlwind tour of the impact of Dune in pop culture, from movie & TV adaptations (both made and unmade), music albums such as Grime’s “ Geidi Prime ” (the frustratingly misspelled name of House Harkonnen’s homeworld), computer games, as well as on the present-day scientific community.

Pages 186-187 of 'The Worlds of Dune', featuring books and movies that took inspiration from Dune.

Inevitably there will be areas in which the text will leave you wanting more. The book does contain comprehensive endnotes, bibliography, and index sections — and while flipping back and forth between chapters and back of the book can become a little frustrating—which keeps the chapters themselves uncluttered.

Covering just the original Dune , some fans may be disappointed that other topics—such as gholas or no-rooms—aren’t explored. This does, however, keep the book focused, and prevents spoilers for readers who have yet to make it to the various sequel novels.

Baron Vladimir Harkonnen (Stellan Skarsgård) gloats over his defeated rival Duke Leto Atreides (Oscar Isaac) in Denis Villeneuve's 'Dune: Part One' movie.

Vladimir and Leto, Killing Cousins?

Final thoughts.

2023 has proven to be a great year for Dune books and The Worlds of Dune fills a gap, exploring multiple influences of the novel that started it all.

This book would make a great gift for Dune fans of all ages (or, of course, yourself) and will sit happily on your coffee table, inviting anyone to pick it up and be drawn into the rich history of Dune .

Pages 116-117 of 'The Worlds of Dune': How historical hand-to-hand combat influenced the fighting styles in 'Dune'.

The Worlds of Dune by Tom Huddleston is publishing September 26, 2023 (US) and October 5, 2023 (UK). Published by Frances Lincoln (an imprint of The Quarto Group ). The book can be pre-ordered now in hardcover and eBook formats. Not available on Filmbook or shigawire reels.

Note: Many thanks to Quarto Group (Frances Lincoln) for providing the Dune News Net team with copies for this book review.

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‘Dune’ Review: A Hero in the Making, on Shifting Sands

Denis Villeneuve’s adaptation is an equally sweeping and intimate take on Frank Herbert’s future-shock epic.

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‘Dune’ | Anatomy of a Scene

The director denis villeneuve narrates a combat training sequence from his film, featuring timothée chalamet and josh brolin..

My name is Denis Villeneuve and I’m the director of Dune. “Don’t stand with your back to the door!” This scene needed to serve four purposes. First, to establish the nature of the relationship between Paul Atreides and Gurney Halleck. Two, to give more insight about the context in which the Atreides will move to a new planet named Arrakis. Three, to induce the idea that Paul Atreides has been training for combat, but has never really experienced real violence. And four, to introduce the concept of the Holtzman Shields, and how they change the essence of combat. An Holtzman Shield is a technology that protects individuals or vehicles from any fast objects. Therefore, bullets or rockets are obsolete. So it means that man to man combat came back to sword fighting. The choreography between Timothée Chalamet, who plays Paul, and Josh Brolin, who plays Gurney Halleck, illustrate that each opponent is trying to distract his adversary by doing very fast moves in order to create an opportunity to insert slowly a blade inside the opponent’s shield. “Guess I’m not in the mood today.” “Mood?” “Mm.” “What’s mood to do with it? You fight when the necessity arises, no matter the mood. Now fight!” That choreography was designed by Roger Yuan. He developed the Atreides fighting style borrowing from a martial art technique developed in the ‘50s. This technique was called balintawak eskrima. It’s a style that involves blocking the opponent’s attack with both a weapon and the free hand. “I have you.” “Aye. But look down, my Lord. You’d have joined me in death. I see you found the mood.” Cinematographer Greig Fraser and I shot the fight like we will shoot a dance performance. The goal was to embrace the complexity of the movements with objective camera angles. We tried to make sure that the audience will understand the nature of this new way of fighting. “You don’t really understand the grave nature of what’s happening to us.” But more importantly, I wanted to feel that Josh Brolin’s character was caring about Paul like if he was his own son. “Can you imagine the wealth? In your eyes— I need to see it in your eyes. You never met Harkonnens before. I have. They’re not human. They’re brutal! You have to be ready.”

By Manohla Dargis

In a galaxy far, far away, a young man in a sea of sand faces a foreboding destiny. The threat of war hangs in the air. At the brink of a crisis, he navigates a feudalistic world with an evil emperor, noble houses and subjugated peoples, a tale right out of mythology and right at home in George Lucas’s brainpan. But this is “ Dune ,” baby, Frank Herbert’s science-fiction opus, which is making another run at global box-office domination even as it heads toward controversy about what it and its messianic protagonist signify.

The movie is a herculean endeavor from the director Denis Villeneuve (“Arrival”), a starry, sumptuous take on the novel’s first half. Published in 1965, Herbert’s book is a beautiful behemoth (my copy runs almost 900 pages) crowded with rulers and rebels, witches and warriors. Herbert had a lot to say — about religion, ecology, the fate of humanity — and drew from an astonishment of sources, from Greek mythology to Indigenous cultures. Inspired by government efforts to keep sand dunes at bay, he dreamed up a desert planet where water was the new petroleum. The result is a future-shock epic that reads like a cautionary tale for our environmentally ravaged world.

Villeneuve likes to work on a large scale, but has a miniaturist’s attention to fine-grained detail, which fits for a story as equally sweeping and intricate as “ Dune .” Like the novel, the movie is set thousands of years in the future and centers on Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet), the scion of a noble family. With his father, Duke Leto (Oscar Isaac), and his mother, Lady Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson), Paul is about to depart for his new home on a desert planet called Arrakis, a.k.a. Dune . The Duke, on orders from the Emperor, is to take charge of the planet, which is home to monstrous sandworms, enigmatic Bedouin-like inhabitants and an addictive, highly valuable resource called spice.

Much ensues. There are complicated intrigues along with sword fights, heroic deaths and many inserts of a mystery woman (Zendaya) throwing come-hither glances at the camera, a Malickian vision in flowing robes and liquid slow motion. She’s one piece of the multifaceted puzzle of Paul’s destiny, as is a mystical sisterhood (led by Charlotte Rampling in severe mistress mode) of psychic power brokers who share a collective consciousness. They’re playing the long game while the story’s most flamboyant villain, the Baron (Stellan Skarsgard), schemes and slays, floating above terrified minions and enemies like a Macy’s Thanksgiving Day balloon devised by Clive Barker.

The movie leans on a lot of exposition, partly to help guide viewers through the story’s denser thickets, but Villeneuve also uses his visuals to advance and clarify the narrative. The designs and textures of the movie’s various worlds and their inhabitants are arresting, filigreed and meaningful, with characters and their environments in sync. At times, though, Villeneuve lingers too long over his creations, as if he wanted you to check out his cool new line of dragonfly-style choppers and bleeding corpses. (This isn’t a funny movie but there are mordantly humorous flourishes, notably with the Baron, whose bald head and oily bath indicate that Villeneuve is a fan of “Apocalypse Now.”)

That impulse to linger is understandable given the monumentality of Villeneuve’s world building (and its price tag). But the movie’s spectacular scale combined with Herbert’s complex mythmaking also creates a not entirely productive tension between stasis and movement. Not long after he lands on Dune, Paul is ushered into the new world of its tribal people, the Fremen, a transitional passage leading from dark rooms to bright desert, from heavy machinery and vaulted spaces with friezes to gauzy robes and the meringue peaks of the dunes. Paul is on a journey filled with heavy deeds and thoughts, but en route he can seem caught in all this beauty, like a fly in fast-hardening sap.

Chalamet looks young enough for the role (Paul is 15 when the novel opens) and can certainly strike a Byronic pose, complete with black coat and anguished hair. The actor has his moments in “Dune,” including in an early scene with Rampling’s Reverend Mother, who puts Paul through a painful test; Chalamet excels at imparting a sense of confused woundedness, psychic and physical. But he doesn’t move with the coiled grace of the warrior that Paul is meant to be, which undermines both his training sessions with the family “warmaster” (Josh Brolin) and in his later role as a messianic figure, one who is considerably less complicated and conflicted onscreen than he is on the page.

Written by Villeneuve, Jon Spaihts and Eric Roth, the screenplay has taken predictable liberties. The movie retains the overall arc of the book despite having jettisoned characters and swaths of plot. There have been felicitous changes, as with the character Dr. Liet Kynes, an ecologist who’s a man in the book but is now a woman. Played by a formidably striking Sharon Duncan-Brewster, the character doesn’t receive nearly enough screen time, particularly given Kynes’s weighty patrimony and narrative function. But Duncan-Brewster — like so many of the other well-cast supporting performers — makes enough of an impression that she helps fill in the script’s ellipses.

Throughout “Dune,” you can feel Villeneuve caught and sometimes struggling between his fidelity to the source material and the demands of big-ticket mainstream moviemaking and selling. It’s easy to imagine that he owns several copies of the novel, each copiously dog-eared and heavily outlined. (The movie is relatively free of holiday-ready merch opportunities, outside of a cute desert mouse with saucer-sized ears.) At the same time, Villeneuve is making a movie in a Marvel-dominated industry that foregrounds obviousness and blunt action sequences over ambiguity and introspection. There’s talk and stillness here, true, but also plenty of fights, explosions and hardware.

The trickiest challenge is presented by the movie’s commercial imperatives and, by extension, the entire historical thrust of Hollywood with its demand for heroes and happy endings. This presents a problem that Villeneuve can’t or won’t solve. Paul is burdened by prophetic visions he doesn’t yet fully understand, and while he’s an appealing figure in the novel, he is also menacing. Herbert was interested in problematizing the figure of the classic champion, including the superhero, and he weaves his critique into the very fabric of his multilayered tale. “No more terrible disaster could befall your people,” a character warns, “than for them to fall into the hands of a Hero.”

There’s little overt menace to this Paul, who mostly registers as a sincere, sensitive, if callow hero-in-the-making. Mostly, the danger he telegraphs exists on a representational level and the dubiously romanticized image presented by a pale, white noble who’s hailed as a messiah by the planet’s darker-complexioned native population. Whether Paul is white in the novel is, I think, open to debate. Herbert’s focus is on the human race, which, as the writer Jordan S. Carroll notes in a fascinating essay in the Los Angeles Review of Books , hasn’t prevented white supremacists from embracing the book. “Fascists love ‘Dune,’” Carroll writes, though he sees this love as a self-serving misreading.

One of Herbert’s talents was his ability to blend his promiscuous borrowings — from Navajo, Aztec, Turkish, Persian and myriad other sources — into a smoothly unified future world that, as befits science fiction, is at once familiar and strange. The shadow of Lawrence of Arabia and colonialist fantasies does loom large, particularly because the Fremen and their language are drawn from Arabic origins. Still, the book gives you room to cast Paul in your head in whatever image you choose. But movies tend to visually lock in meaning, and, like David Lynch’s much-maligned 1984 adaptation with Kyle MacLachlan as Paul, this “Dune” is also about a white man leading a fateful charge.

That doesn’t make Villeneuve’s “Dune” a white-savior story or not exactly or maybe just not yet. The movie ends before everything wraps up too neatly or uncomfortably, which injects it with some welcome uncertainty. Herbert wrote five sequels, and Duneworld continued to expand after his death; if the movie hits the box-office sweet spot, the story can presumably continue, which would be a gift for a franchise-hungry industry. Whether it will become the kind of gift that keeps on giving is up to the audience. Villeneuve has made a serious, stately opus, and while he doesn’t have a pop bone in his body, he knows how to put on a show as he fans a timely argument about who gets to play the hero now.

Dune Rated PG-13 for war violence. Running time: 2 hours 35 minutes. In theaters and on HBO Max .

Manohla Dargis has been the co-chief film critic since 2004. She started writing about movies professionally in 1987 while earning her M.A. in cinema studies at New York University, and her work has been anthologized in several books. More about Manohla Dargis

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Screen Rant

"pure cinema": dune 2 gets glowing review from james cameron (with blunt david lynch comparison).

James Cameron shares his thoughts on Dune 2, giving a glowing review of Denis Villeneuve's sequel while comparing it to David Lynch's 1984 version.

Cameron lauds Villeneuve for successfully capturing characters and themes from Herbert's novel in the Dune series, highlighting the director's pure cinema approach.
The Avatar director also shares what went wrong with David Lynch's 1984 version.
Villeneuve's adaptation of Dune 2 has received praise from acclaimed directors like Spielberg and Nolan for its compelling universe and effects work.

James Cameron is now giving his input on Dune 2 . Having kicked off his career with The Terminator , Cameron himself has been the creative mind behind Aliens , Titanic , and the Avatar movie series. Recently, Villeneuve's two-part adaptation of Frank Herbert's sci-fi epic brought the harsh sands of Arrakis and Paul Atreides' (Timothée Chalamet) mighty journey to the big screen. This has brought the franchise into the public eye as the sequel continues its box-office success and becomes the center of sci-fi praise.

With Dune 3 now in development , Cameron became the latest Hollywood figure to praise the Dune franchise in a recent interview with Le Figaro . While David Lynch's infamous 1984 adaptation left Cameron disappointed, Villeneuve's movies earned the director's praise for its translation of the characters and themes. Even Cameron revealed he had the opportunity to speak Villeneuve himself. Check out his full response below (translated by World of Reel ):

David Lynch’s adaptation was disappointing. It was missing the power of Herbert’s novel. Villeneuve’s films are much more convincing. The characters are sketched out, they are very identifiable. It’s pure cinema. I speak regularly to Denis, filmmaker to filmmaker. We record our conversations, like Trufaut and Hitchcock.

Which Other Directors Have Discussed Denis Villeneuve's Dune Series?

Villeneuve has received widespread praise from renowned directors for his take on dune 2..

Spielberg was quick to praise how Villeneuve successfully built a captivating universe that balanced both Herbert's source material and the director's own vision of Arrakis and its surrounding galaxy.

Cameron is just one acclaimed director to offer praise for Villeneuve's Dune series, as Steven Spielberg and Christopher Nolan also recently gave the sequel a glowing review. Spielberg was quick to praise how Villeneuve successfully built a captivating universe that balanced both Herbert's source material and the director's own vision of Arrakis and its surrounding galaxy. Meanwhile, Nolan commended him for not only the successful adaptation and reintroduction of the franchise to audiences across the globe but also the impressive effects work featured in the movie.

Dune 2 Ending Explained: Paul Atreides' Endgame & What It Sets Up

However, Lynch hasn't offered any thoughts on Villeneuve's adaptation of Dune , revealing he had no plans to even watch the recent Herbert adaptations. In a 2023 interview, the director not only admitted he hadn't seen Villeneuve's movies but firmly stated he lacked interest in watching them or even discussing them. While Lynch's own disownment of Dune following his movie's production is most likely the reason behind his refusal, it could be considered a missed opportunity for discussions on adapting the novel after Villeneuve has opened up about his view on the 1984 movie.

With Cameron being the latest director to offer his praise for Villeneuve's sequel, the series' current impact is undeniable. On top of immense global box office success, Dune could easily take the throne as the most celebrated franchise of the 2020s as it also prepares for the Max prequel show Dune: Prophecy and Villeneuve's eventual Dune: Messiah adaptation. As such, Dune 2 may easily find itself a top contender as Hollywood looks back on the past year of features when the awards season kicks off in early 2025.

Dune 2 is currently available in theaters.

Source: Le Figaro (via World of Reel )

Dune: Part Two

Dune: Part Two is the sequel to Denis Villeneuve's 2021 film that covers the novel's events by Frank Herbert. The movie continues the quest of Paul Atreides on a journey of revenge against those who slew his family. With insight into the future, Atreides may be forced to choose between his one true love and the universe's fate.

“Dune: Messiah” and The Slippery Slope of “Dune’s” Future

After “Dune: Part Two’s’” huge opening weekend and passing the $500 million needed to break even, a third and final part of Denis Villenuve’s space epic has been confirmed to be in development. Villenuve’s next step in telling the story of Paul Atreides would be adapting the sequel: “Dune: Messiah,” which is where the sci-fi series begins to become muddled for some.

What Frank Herbert set out to accomplish with the ironically titled “Dune: Messiah” is to explain what so many misunderstood in his first book: Paul Atreides is not the savior of this story.

Herbert completely threw subtlety away in “Messiah,” opting to strengthen the first book’s themes of the dangers in messianic figures and blind faith mostly through his layered, morally gray characters.

At the end of the first “Dune” novel, under the name Muad’dib, Paul and his Fremen freedom fighters take back the planet Arrakis, defeating the Harkonnen forces. Paul then kills the last surviving Harkonnen, Feyd Rautha, in a duel and ultimately usurps the throne, becoming Emperor of the known universe.

In the opening pages of “Dune: Messiah,” Herbert states that in the 12 years since Paul became Emperor, he has waged an unending jihad against the rest of the universe; the death toll is later revealed to be 61 billion killed in the name of Muad’dib. In this first chapter, a tight-knit conspiracy against the Emperor is revealed and the story begins.

Unlike the vengeance-fueled battles and coming-of-age trials in the first installment, “Messiah” is a full-blown political thriller that acts as a somber epilogue to the story of Paul Atreides. The pages are full of hushed conversations between new and old characters with massive implications, and this complete tonal shift works.

Beautiful, majestic “Dune” bites some dust

Photo Courtesy / YouTube Warner Bros. Pictures

“Dune: Part Two:” An Epic Sci-Fi Adventure

The dialogue is riveting with every situation holding so much at stake and no one can be trusted with every character gunning for their agenda. With a 12-year time jump, our familiar characters are obviously in different places but all being natural progressions, especially our protagonist and his family.

After a decade of being Emperor, Paul is missing the vigor he had in the previous novel. He is more pensive, spending most of his time walking around the city of Arrakeen wondering if what he’s done is justified and contemplating if he could even stop this war if he tried. His outlet of this frustration lies in the relationship with the women in his life; his concubine Chani and his now teenage sister Alia.

Paul’s true love Chani is significantly different than her depiction in the Villeneuve films. Instead of being the strong, free-thinking warrior who opposes the prophecy she thinks enslaves her people, she is a believer in Muad’dib— and a pretty one-dimensional character. This is one of the biggest pitfalls of Herbert’s books, such an integral character is underdeveloped as just being Paul’s lover, and her potential is wasted.

Unlike Chani, “Messiah” realizes Alia’s potential shown in the first novel. “St. Alia Atreides of the Knife” has grown from a terrifying, omnipotent toddler into a reckless religious deity that is worshiped as much as her brother. Paul even acknowledges her as a “goddess,” making her future as this holy figure even more scary. This character seems to be in perfect hands with Anya Taylor-Joy being cast as Alia. Most of her chapters show her odd relationship and attraction to another character: Duncan Idaho.

Fans of the film know Jason Momoa as the ever-loyal Duncan but those same fans know that he heroically sacrificed himself, his fate is the same in the book so things get strange here.

It’s revealed in the first chapter that Duncan’s resurrection as the “ghola” now named Hayt at the hands of the Bene Tleilax is a fundamental part of the conspiracy against Paul.

Yes, that was a lot of sci-fi jargon and yes, resurrection is an annoying trope in sci-fi that usually cheats the audience out of any actual emotional attachment to a character. But in this novel, Frank Herbert somehow makes this tired trope into a tender evolution for a fan favorite.

The stranger side of this universe with gholas— face dancers and guild navigators introduced by Duncan and the Tleilax— can be overwhelming but the payoff is worth it. Compared to where the series eventually takes Duncan and these aspects, this is actually tame.

Many fans of the original novel are turned off by the slower pace and more political turn that “Dune: Messiah” takes but this just adds to the novel’s legacy. At its core, “Messiah” is a fantastic progression of “Dune’s” themes and ideals. At only 336 pages, it provides an easy read and a satisfying end to Paul Muad’dib Atreides for any impatient fans of the film series.

Denis Villeneuve will have his work cut out for adapting this novel but considering how clear his vision for the first book was, “Dune: Messiah” will certainly be respected and turned into the great film it deserves.

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9 Must-Read Sci-Fi and Fantasy Books Releasing in April 2024

Add these to your wish-list for spring..

If you’re looking for something new to read this spring, these brand-new and upcoming sci-fi and fantasy books offer many amazing worlds to delve into. While many prominent authors have novels being published this month—like Ann Leckie, Leigh Bardugo, and Edward Ashton—several new novelists are also debuting with some excellent SFF books to consider.

For sci-fi fans, we've found novels exploring dystopian worlds, rogue AI, generation ships, and imaginative parallel universes. And, for anyone looking for that next fantasy adventure, we've tracked down novels that traverse unknown ocean depths, Chinese mythology, and 16th-century Spain. In summary, we've tried to include something for every reader in this month's sci-fi and fantasy book roundup. Which ones are you looking forward to reading? Here are the best sci-fi fantasy books to consider in April 2024.

Mal Goes to War by Edward Ashton

Much like Ashton’s first novel— Mickey7 , which has a film adaptation releasing in 2025 — Mal Goes to War is a dark sci-fi comedy that places a sardonic narrator in a dangerous future setting. While similar in tone, the two have very different settings. Mal is an independent AI living in infospace watching serial dramas while a war rages between the augmented Federals and the ‘pure’ Humanists. Mal fully intends to ignore the war and the humans scurrying outside infospace.

Unfortunately, the war finds him. When the Humanists cut off infospace, Mal is left adrift. He finds a new host in a deceased augmented human. For some reason, the young child he discovers beside the dead human seems somewhat disturbed by his animation of the corpse’s body. On his journey to find a new home, he befriends several humans, making him realize that he does care about what happens in the war. If you enjoyed Mickey7 and The Murderbot Diaries , you will likely enjoy Ashton’s latest. It’s brilliantly narrated on audio if you’re an audiobook listener.

The Familiar by Leigh Bardugo

Bardugo is a queen of engrossing page-turners regardless of length. Her newest novel is no exception. This dark and steamy standalone historical fantasy is set in 16th-century Spain during the height of the Inquisition. Luzia is a Jewish scullion who can do small acts of magic by singing Ladino refrains. She keeps both her magic and her heritage a secret, knowing that if anyone discovered either, she would be turned over to the Inquisition.

When her mistress catches her doing a small act of magic, she forces Luzia to perform magic tricks at dinner parties. Secretly, Luzia enjoys the attention and craves more. A wealthy and ambitious nobleman soon discovers her and wants her to compete to be the king’s magical champion. In his employ is the mysterious and sinister Guillén Santangel, a cursed immortal who makes Luzia feel like she’s flying. Bardugo’s latest is a lovely and magical ode to marginalized and diaspora cultures during the Spanish Inquisition.

Ghost Station by S.A. Barnes

Barnes’ debut novel, Dead Silence , was a nail-biting space horror, and her second space horror, Ghost Station , is, dare I say, even better than her first. Dr. Ophelia Bray is a psychologist better known for her ridiculously wealthy family than her work. She has tried to separate herself as much as possible from her problematic family, but their legacy seems to follow her wherever she goes.

She specializes in treating people with ERS—a space-based mental health condition that often leads to violence, both self-inflicted and towards other crew members. After a crew member dies, she joins a deep-space mission to explore an abandoned planet. The crew immediately begins harassing Ophelia, but she’s determined to do her job well. On the planet, however, everything goes wrong. This nuanced, character-driven space horror with intense plotting is a fantastic addition to the genre, and could be perfect for fans of Dead Space, Alien, or Event Horizon.

Lake of Souls: The Collected Short Fiction by Ann Leckie

Ann Leckie is well-known to SFF readers for her award-winning Imperial Radch series. This is her first short story collection, though many of these stories have been previously published in short story markets. It’s divided into three sections.

The first section occurs in primarily unspecified worlds, the second in the Imperial Radch universe, and the third in the same world as her standalone fantasy novel, The Raven Tower . It’s an imaginative and often experimentative collection with coming-of-age stories for a lonely spawn, dinosaurs fleeing meteors by escaping into space, espionage and extreme religious piety in Radch, schemes between gods, and so much more. Often, science fiction authors excel at short stories, and Leckie is no exception.

The Practice, the Horizon, and the Chain by Sofia Samatar

Samatar taps into her experience as a professor in this thought-provoking dystopian novella deeply entrenched in university academic politics and carceral control. Set on a mining spaceship that’s part of a fleet of generation ships, it rotates between two characters.

The boy is one of the Chained who lives as a captive deep below the ship. He’s haunted by dreams of drowned people and makes art depicting his inner thoughts and dreams. A prophet speaks to him of the practice, a sort of philosophical meditation, and the boy tries to follow it by devoting himself to his art.

While the other is a woman, a professor of older knowledge working on a paper about play among children who wear blue bracelets around their ankles, like her, that can be controlled by the elite. She initiates a scholarship to allow one of the Chained to attend the university, and the boy is chosen as its recipient. This is a unique and sometimes opaque read, at turns disturbing and profound. Samatar deftly manages to pack a lot into only a slim page count.

A Letter to the Luminous Deep by Sylvie Cathrall

Cathrall’s debut is a lovely epistolary cozy fantasy for fans of Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries and Legends & Lattes . In a world mostly covered by water, people live on small islands where scholars study the sea. E., who has OCD, lives in the only underwater house—the Deep Houseëwhich her eccentric (and deceased) scholar mother designed.

After a strange marine animal appears outside the house, she writes to Scholar Henerey, a renowned marine naturalist, in hopes he can shed light on the nature of the animal. The two start a delightful exchange of letters, eventually leading to deeper feelings. Soon, E. becomes riveted by a new mystery, a strange structure that suddenly appears outside her home. The frame story happens one year after these events. E.’s younger sister, Scholar Sophy, is mourning E.’s presumed death and begins a correspondence with Henerey’s brother, Navigator Vyerin. They begin a project of exchanging letters, diaries, and other written materials to explain the year E. and Henerey spent in correspondence. It’s a delicious slow-burn fantasy and the first book in a series.

Song of the Six Realms by Judy I. Lin

YA fantasy readers will adore this beautifully written standalone based on Chinese mythology. After being accused of treason, Xue’s family was put to death, and their name was eradicated. An orphan, her uncle raised her before turning her over to the House of Flowing Water, where she’s learned to entertain and perfected her musical skill at the qin.

She’s an unparalleled musician, and after her first public performance, a stranger asks for a private audience with her. He offers to become her patron, and she accepts, hoping to earn her freedom. He turns out to be the Duke of Dreams, and his derelict mansion hides secrets that could put Xue’s life at risk.

Ocean's Godori by Elaine U. Cho

This entertaining found-family sci-fi is like K-drama meets The Expanse . Korea’s military space force, the Alliance, dominates the galaxy. Ocean Yoon is a down-on-her-luck pilot aboard the Ohneulis. She and the crew are currently attending a gala in Seoul, but Ocean skips the gala to instead go shopping with Teo, the son of a wealthy Korean family.

Meanwhile, Haven replaces a crew member aboard the Ohneulis and becomes their medic, though the crew distrusts him for being part of a religious community called the Death’s Hand. Cho rotates between these three perspectives as the ragtag crew navigates adventures, politics, and romance. It ends on a cliffhanger, so hopefully, book two will be released soon!

In Universes by Emet North

North’s debut novel is an inventive, mind-bending literary science fiction that delves into mental health, queerness, Judaism, love, and more as it explores parallel universes. Raffi is an assistant in a NASA lab studying dark matter and feels wildly out of their depth.

They struggle to make meaningful connections as they grapple with depression, but the one bright spot in their life is Britt, a sculptor who grew up in the same town as Raffi. Each chapter imagines a different universe with Raffi and Britt, each universe growing more and more chaotic and surreal as the novel progresses. Despite the wildness of each chapter, this slim novel is a wonderfully immersive and vivid read.

Margaret Kingsbury is a freelance writer, editor, and all-around book nerd based in Nashville, TN. Her pieces on books and reading have appeared in Book Riot, BuzzFeed News, School Library Journal, StarTrek.com, Parents, and more. Follow her on Instagram @BabyLibrarians and Twitter and Bluesky @AReaderlyMom.

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› Behind the Scenes

Denis Villeneuve Officially Developing Third ‘Dune’ and More Projects

The director is attached to adapt Annie Jacobsen’s nonfiction book ‘Nuclear War: A Scenario’ as another potential project once he’s done with ‘Dune’.

Director Denis Villeneuve at the 'Dune: Part Two' Paris premiere.

Denis Villeneuve is officially developing ‘Dune: Messiah’.
He’s also attached to adapt ‘Nuclear War: A Scenario’.
There’s are other projects also on his To Do list.

As ‘ Dune: Part Two ’ continues to do well at the box office (it’s the highest-grossing movie of the year so far, with $637 million globally), talk has naturally turned to what co-writer/director Denis Villeneuve might be considering as a follow-up.

The filmmaker has plenty of options on the table, with a development schedule that includes both a third ‘ Dune ’ outing, a historical epic featuring Egyptian queen Cleopatra and an adaptation of Arthur C. Clarke ’s sci-fi tome ‘Rendezvous with Rama’.

Now, if Legendary has it’s ways, the director will be focusing on getting ‘ Dune: Messiah ’ made and adding another possible film, adapting Annie Jacobsen’s book ‘Nuclear War: A Scenario’.

What is ‘Nuclear War: A Scenario’?

Director Denis Villeneuve on the 'Dune: Part Two' global press tour.

Jacobsen’s tome recently hit the New York Times bestseller lists. The book explores a ticking-clock scenario about what would happen in the event of a nuclear war, based on dozens of exclusive new interviews with military and civilian experts who built the weapons and have been privy to the response plans and have been responsible for those decisions should they need to be made.

Quite what Villeneuve –– who will produce the adaptation with producing partner Tanya Lapointe –– will do with the subject if he ends up writing or directing it, remains to be seen. In the wake of ‘ Oppenheimer ’s success at the box office and more recently at the Oscars, we could certainly see it turning into a cautionary tale about use of weapons of mass destruction in such a politically volatile era as our own.

And it’s not like the filmmakers doesn’t have experience with nuclear weapons –– the atomic weapons of House Atreides factored into the plot of ‘Dune: Part Two’. So you know he can deliver bang for Legendary’s buck.

Director/Writer/Producer Denis Villeneuve and Timothee Chalamet on the set of Warner Bros. Pictures and Legendary Pictures’ action adventure 'Dune: Part Two,' a Warner Bros. Pictures release.

(L to R) Director/Writer/Producer Denis Villeneuve and Timothee Chalamet on the set of Warner Bros. Pictures and Legendary Pictures’ action adventure 'Dune: Part Two,' a Warner Bros. Pictures release. Photo Credit: Niko Tavernise. Copyright: © 2024 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Other Movies Similar to 'Dune: Part Two:'

‘ Star Wars ' (1977)
' Star Trek: The Motion Picture ' (1979)
' Conan the Barbarian ' (1982)
' Dune ' (1984)
' John Carte r' (2012)
' Jodorowsky's Dune ' (2013)
' Prisoners ' (2013)
' Enemy ' (2014)
' Sicario ' (2015)
' Arrival ' (2016)
' The Legend of Tarzan ' (2016)
' Blade Runner 2049 ' (2017)
' Dune ' (2021)
' Dune: Part Two ' (2024)

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Dune 3 gets exciting development update from studio

T he success of Dune Part speaks for itself between the rave reviews from both critics and fans praising Denis Villeneuve’s take on Arrakis and the sci-fi epic grossing over $630 million during its theatrical run that lasted nearly all of March. While a third film in the series had previously been teased, it appears the studio is moving forward with a third film in the franchise to continue the story of Paul Atreides .

It was confirmed on Thursday that Villeneuve and Legendary Entertainment are developing Dune Part 3, which would be based on Dune Messiah , the second book in Frank Herbert’s sci-fi series. Confirmation of the sequel came as part of an new report announcing Legendary had optioned the nonfiction novel Nuclear War: A Scenario as Villeneuve is the studio’s choice to direct the adaptation after completing his third Dune film.

Villeneuve had started teasing a possible third film almost immediately after Dune Part 2’s release, though he said it would require a “strong screenplay” and need to top the second film in order for him to return.

“The thing I want to avoid is not having something ready,” Villeneuve previously told Empire. “I never did it, and now I feel it could be dangerous because of the enthusiasm. We need to make sure all the ideas are on paper.”

“If we go back, it needs to be real, it needs to be relevant, if I ever do Dune Messiah, [it’s] because it’s going to be better than Part Two. Otherwise, I don’t do it.”

One more trip to Arrakis

Both Dune and Dune Part 2 were based on Frank Herbert’s original 1965 sci-fi epic novel Dune, which is set in the distant future follows Paul Atreides of House Atreides after his family is awarded stewardship of the planet Arrakis. While most of the planet is inhospitable, it is valued for the “spice” it produces that fuels space travel and amplifies psychic abilities in humans. The stewardship is revealed to be a trap set by House Atreides rival, House Harkonnen, and humanity’s emperor to destroy House Atreides, ultimately sending Paul on a path to unlock his true abilities and challenge the very foundation of galactic power.

Dune’s sequel novel, Dune Messiah, picks up 12 years into Paul’s reign as emperor after the events of Dune. While Messiah serves as a conclusion to Paul’s story, it also sets up his children as the focal point of future novels in the series.

While their involvement isn’t confirmed, the belief is a third film would see principle stars Timothee Chalamet and Zendaya return as Paul Atreides and Chani, respectively. A possible extended break between Part 2 and Part 3 would also allow the actors to age up so their characters can be older and reflect the time jump better.

Some fans would not be surprised if Anya Taylor-Joy returned for Messiah after her brief appearance in Part 2 as Paul’s sister Alia in his vision of the future.

Dune Part 2 is in theaters.

The post Dune 3 gets exciting development update from studio appeared first on ClutchPoints .

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Complete Dune Series Set ( 6 Books ) [Paperback] Frank Herbert
DUNE
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COMMENTS

Dune (Dune, #1) by Frank Herbert
September 3, 2021. Dune (Dune Chronicles #1), Frank Herbert. Dune is a 1965 science fiction novel by American author Frank Herbert. In the far future, humanity has eschewed advanced computers due to a religious prohibition, in favor of adapting their minds to be capable of extremely complex tasks.
Are all the Dune books worth reading? : r/books
Kralizec was one book away. The Typhoon Struggle and the fulfillment of the Golden Path. So yes, in the end, I would say read them all. Dune, Messiah, and Children are most often referred to as the best ones. I second that, with Messiah being my favorite.
Dune Review: Power, Politics, Religion, and Spice
4.6. Dune Review. 'Dune' is a novel that tells the story of young Paul Atreides, whose father gets killed over control of planet Arrakis, the only source of Melange or Spice, a drug-like substance crucial to humanity's continuation. After the death of his father, Paul and his mother escape into the desert, where Paul's destiny begins.
Every Dune Book Ranked Worst To Best
Frank Herbert's six-book Dune series has influenced the sci-fi genre for over 50 years, and all the Dune books ranked show the variety of the sci-fi series. Set in the desert planet Arrakis, the first book follows Paul Atreides, a young man destined to be a messiah. What initially appears to be an epic adventure following a Chosen One-type character grows into something far more complex, as ...
Dune, 50 years on: how a science fiction novel changed the world
Dune is set in a far future, where warring noble houses are kept in line by a ruthless galactic emperor. As part of a Byzantine political intrigue, the noble duke Leto, head of the Homerically ...
Talking 'Dune': Book and Movies
Frank Herbert's epic novel "Dune" and its successors have been entrenched in the science fiction and fantasy canon for almost six decades, a rite of passage for proudly nerdy readers across ...
Dune: science fiction's answer to Lord of the Rings
Academic Jordan S Carroll describes Dune as "a key text for the 'alt-right'" in the Los Angeles Review of Books, adding that "for the alt-right, Paul stands as the ideal of a sovereign ...
Dune Book Review
Dune. From. $12. $12 at Amazon. Dune has more than earned its place in the science fiction pantheon; it's a masterpiece, don't get me wrong. But for the first 50 to 100 pages, you'd be forgiven ...
Dune (novel)
Dune is a 1965 epic science fiction novel by American author Frank Herbert, originally published as two separate serials (1963-64 novel 'Dune World' and 1965 novel 'Prophet of Dune') in Analog magazine. It tied with Roger Zelazny's This Immortal for the Hugo Award for Best Novel and won the inaugural Nebula Award for Best Novel in 1966. It is the first installment of the Dune Chronicles.
DUNE
The novel has a closed system of internal cross-references, and features a glossary, maps and appendices dealing with future religions and ecology. Dune itself is a desert planet where a certain spice liquor is mined in the sands; the spice is a supremely addictive narcotic and control of its distribution means control of the universe.
'Dune' Books in Order: How to Read All 26 Novels Chronologically
Ace Dune Messiah, by Frank Herbert. Shop at Amazon Shop at Walmart. In Herbert's first sequel, Paul Atreides, now known as Muad'Dib, rules the known universe as the most powerful emperor of all ...
Annotated by the Author: 'Review of "Dune": A Hero in the Making, on
Herbert's focus is on the human race, which, as the writer Jordan S. Carroll notes in a fascinating essay in the Los Angeles Review of Books, hasn't prevented white supremacists from embracing ...
All 6 Dune books by Frank Herbert, ranked worst to best
Children of Dune (1976) God Emperor of Dune (1981) Heretics of Dune (1984) Chapterhouse: Dune (1985) With that, let's get into the rankings: 6. Chapterhouse: Dune (1985) LÉA SEYDOUX as Lady ...
Classic Sci-Fi Epic "Dune" Review and Summary
The Philosophy of "Dune": "Dune" by Frank Herbert stands as one of the most towering works in the realm of science fiction. A blend of adventure, mysticism, politics, and environmentalism, Herbert's magnum opus has enthralled readers since its publication in 1965. "Dune" is not just a story; it's a philosophical journey.
Classic Review
Synopsis. Dune is the science fiction masterpiece that follows the rise of Paul Artreides, the legendary figure that will come to be known as Muad'Dib. The story follows a galactic empire embroiled in political scheming and treachery. Paul will need to use every skill his parents and mentors ever taught him to navigate a political plot he never ...
Dune
Audience Reviews for Dune. Jan 15, 2022. ... The book was released in 1965 and has clear parallels to Middle East occupations and quagmires, a subject even more relevant in the first quarter of ...
Book Review: Dune by Frank Herbert
REVIEW. Dune, the 1965 novel by Frank Herbert, has seen a recent rise to relevance on the back of the 2021 movie adaption starring Timothée Chalamet and Zendaya. As someone who prefers to read ...
Dune: Book Review
It received favorable reviews and is considered by critics one of the best science fiction novels ever written. Twenty years after publication, the book topped the New York Times Best Seller list and Children of Dune, the third book in the series was the first hardcover best-seller in the science fiction genre. Conclusion
DUNE
My review of Dune, the sci-fi classic by Frank Herbert. Merch: https://teespring.com/stores/fantasy-news-2Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/DanielBGreeneDisco...
Dune
It is the first book in the "Dune Chronicles." ... Book reviews cover the content, themes and worldviews of fiction books, not their literary merit, and equip parents to decide whether a book is appropriate for their children. The inclusion of a book's review does not constitute an endorsement by Focus on the Family.
Review: A "Dune" Sanded to Dullness
Directed by Denis Villeneuve, the adaptation of Frank Herbert's 1965 novel seems less like a C.G.I. spectacle than a production still waiting for its backgrounds to be digitally filled in or its ...
Book Review
This book would make a great gift for Dune fans of all ages (or, of course, yourself) and will sit happily on your coffee table, inviting anyone to pick it up and be drawn into the rich history of Dune. Hand to hand combat, from Roman gladiators through to Paul and Feyd. The Worlds of Dune by Tom Huddleston is publishing September 26, 2023 (US ...
'Dune' Review: A Hero in the Making, on Shifting Sands
The movie is a herculean endeavor from the director Denis Villeneuve ("Arrival"), a starry, sumptuous take on the novel's first half. Published in 1965, Herbert's book is a beautiful ...
"Pure Cinema": Dune 2 Gets Glowing Review From James Cameron (With
Cameron lauds Villeneuve for successfully capturing characters and themes from Herbert's novel in the Dune series, highlighting the director's pure cinema approach.; The Avatar director also shares what went wrong with David Lynch's 1984 version.; Villeneuve's adaptation of Dune 2 has received praise from acclaimed directors like Spielberg and Nolan for its compelling universe and effects work.
"Dune: Messiah" and The Slippery Slope of "Dune's" Future
Torch Photo / James Williams. After "Dune: Part Two's'" huge opening weekend and passing the $500 million needed to break even, a third and final part of Denis Villenuve's space epic has been confirmed to be in development. Villenuve's next step in telling the story of Paul Atreides would be adapting the sequel: "Dune: Messiah," which is where the sci-fi series begins to become ...
9 Must-Read Sci-Fi and Fantasy Books Releasing in April 2024
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By Frank Herbert

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Dune: science fiction’s answer to Lord of the Rings

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I Read Dune as a Sci-Fi Newbie, and Here's What You Should Know Before You Crack It Open

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THE PRIORY OF THE ORANGE TREE

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How to Read the Dune Book Series in Order

Ace Dune, by Frank Herbert

Ace Dune Messiah, by Frank Herbert

Ace Children of Dune, by Frank Herbert

Ace God Emperor of Dune, by Frank Herbert

Ace Heretics of Dune, by Frank Herbert

Ace Chapterhouse: Dune, by Frank Herbert

Del Rey House Atreides, by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson

Del Rey House Harkonnen, by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson

Del Rey House Corrino, by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson

Brand: Hodder Paperback The Butlerian Jihad, by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson

Tor Science Fiction The Machine Crusade, by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson

Tor Science Fiction The Battle of Corrin, by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson

Hunters of Dune, by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson

Sandworms of Dune, by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson

Tor Science Fiction Paul of Dune, by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson

Tor Science Fiction The Winds of Dune, by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson

Tor Science Fiction Sisterhood of Dune, by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson

Tor Science Fiction Mentats of Dune, by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson

Tor Science Fiction Navigators of Dune, by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson

Tor Books The Duke of Caladan, by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson

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All 6 Dune books by Frank Herbert, ranked worst to best

By Kartik Khare | Mar 20, 2024, 12:44 PM EDT

6. Chapterhouse: Dune (1985)

Unveiling the Depths of Dune: A Journey Beyond the Sands of Conventional Sci-Fi

09 Nov Unveiling the Depths of Dune: A Journey Beyond the Sands of Conventional Sci-Fi

The Legacy of “Dune”:

A Universe Apart:

The Power of Ideas:

Characters and Complexity:

The Echoes of Influence:

The Philosophy of “Dune”:

Summary and Synopsis: An Expedition Through ‘Dune’s’ Rich Narrative Tapestry

Analysis: Unpacking ‘Dune’s’ Narrative Complexity

Evaluation: Who Will Traverse the Dunes?

Conclusion:

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