this post was submitted on 09 Jul 2023
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I'm currently reading Dune by Frank Herbert. I tried to read it once when I was in my early teens and didn't finish, but I figured I'd give it another go with all the hype over the recent TV adaptation. I've just passed the point where I gave up before (~150 pages) and I'm kicking myself, because it turns out I stopped just short of where all the action seems to really get going. The book is front-loaded with a lot of worldbuilding by way of sci-fi/fantasy terms presented without much context, so I can understand why my younger self got bored and gave up. I'm really enjoying it this time around though, I think I'm a lot more patient as a reader now than I used to be.
I am also reading through dune right now, I'm enjoying it so far. I was fine with the world building, partly because I really liked the sets in the movie and also because I found it novel compared to the very generic space faring stuff or Tolkien rip-off you get as a backdrop in sci-fi and fantasy respectively.
I'm also really enjoying a lot of the environmental musings in the book, after I finish it I will look up more about Frank Herbert's relation to these topics, I get the feeling there's something about it.
Environmentalism and colonialism are definitely interesting lenses to look at the story through. It also deconstructed white savior and heroes journey tropes. All of this is explored more fully in the sequel, which I also really enjoyed.
This is a pretty interesting article that talks about a story that Herbert worked on as a journalist that ties in directly to some of the ecological concepts covered in Dune: https://niche-canada.org/2020/04/24/frank-herberts-ecology-and-the-science-of-soil-conservation/
Thanks for the recommendation, it was just the sort of thing I was looking for!
Oh, power through for sure! Dune is one of my all-time favorites. When you're finished with the book, be sure to stop over at the wiki and read about the lore. The lore is deep in Dune and not a lot of it makes it into the movies and doesn't shrine through in the first book. Especially check out lore on the various factions.
The Bene Gesserit for instance seem like a cult of witches at first read, but they are much, much, more with a 10,000+ year history of eugenics.