Dune (S.F. Masterworks) - Hardcover

Frank Herbert

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0575081503 ISBN 13: 9780575081505

Publisher: Gollancz Paperback, 2007

Synopsis

At over 550 pages in this edition (the first hardback entry in the main SF Masterworks series, presumably for rights reasons), Dune is often lazily referred to as 'science fiction's Lord of the Rings'. There is little real merit to this analogy: yes, it is a study of good versus evil; yes, there are a number of rich and overlapping cultures portrayed in the book (the empire with its Houses and Guilds, the warped Buddhism of the Bene Gesserit 'witches', the near-eastern influences suffusing the culture of the Fremen desert tribes, the sandworms of Arrakis and the consciousness-altering spice melange drug that they make) but other than the fact that both works are engaging tales, expertly told, there is little more to say.

About this title

Review:

This Hugo and Nebula Award winner tells the sweeping tale of a desert planet called Arrakis, the focus of an intricate power struggle in a byzantine interstellar empire. Arrakis is the sole source of Melange, the "spice of spices." Melange is necessary for interstellar travel and grants psychic powers and longevity, so whoever controls it wields great influence.

The troubles begin when stewardship of Arrakis is transferred by the Emperor from the Harkonnen Noble House to House Atreides. The Harkonnens don't want to give up their privilege, though, and through sabotage and treachery they cast young Duke Paul Atreides out into the planet's harsh environment to die. There he falls in with the Fremen, a tribe of desert dwellers who become the basis of the army with which he will reclaim what's rightfully his. Paul Atreides, though, is far more than just a usurped duke. He might be the end product of a very long-term genetic experiment designed to breed a super human; he might be a messiah. His struggle is at the center of a nexus of powerful people and events, and the repercussions will be felt throughout the Imperium.

Dune is one of the most famous science fiction novels ever written, and deservedly so. The setting is elaborate and ornate, the plot labyrinthine, the adventures exciting. Five sequels follow. --Brooks Peck

From the Publisher:

13 1.5-hour cassettes

About this edition

• Publisher: Gollancz Paperback
• Publication date: 2007
• ISBN 10: 0575081503
• ISBN 13: 9780575081505
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 448