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[EviLore]

Looks like there is interest in continuing the book club, so let's mix things up with a work of fiction this time.

Why read it?

Dune is a seminal work of science fiction released in 1965. Set in the far future with many quasi-mystical and otherworldly components, it concerns a conflict between two Great Houses, the Atreides and the Harkonnen, who vie for control of the desert planet Arrakis. The planet, also known as Dune, is the only known source of an addictive and highly valuable substance known as spice, which has strange and potent properties.

You may have seen the '80s Lynch flick, or even the Scifi miniseries, but the real deal stands in its own league. Frank Herbert's prose is poetic and engrossing. Every spoken word has hidden meaning and the slightest gestures in each chapter's intense conversations are proxy wars deciding the fate of worlds. On each leg of the journey, more layers of worldbuilding peel back in vivid and unique detail.

I highly recommend this one and you owe it to yourself to read it before the Denis Villeneuve film adaptations release so that you can be a proper annoying book-reader hipster to your normie friends.


Where to pick it up

$9.49 paperback or $9.99 digital on Amazon, or widely available for $5 or less used


How to participate

Pick it up (or borrow it), give it a read, and share your thoughts with other gaffers here, quote interesting passages, whatever strikes you. Spoiler tag plot details and include whether referencing Book 1, Book 2, or Book 3 (basically acts 1-3 respectively in the book).

 

[FreedomOfSpeech]

A beginning is a very delicate time

Good thing I already read this about 20 years back.
I'll sit this one out.

 

[SpiceRacz]

I'm in. I started it in high school and never finished it.

 

[Tesseract]

22 chapters @ 412 pages, will give it a shot

 

[Maiden Voyage]

There is a free pdf version up on Internet Archive:

Dune Series PDF : Frank Herbert : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive

The Dune series is a landmark of soft science fiction. Dune universe so he could address the politics of humanity, rather than the future of humanity's...

archive.org

Looks like all the books are there.

Count me in, though I will likely be a laggard, as I'm about 25% through 1776 by David McCullough.

 

[ClanOfNone]

"I must not fear.Fear is the mind-killer.Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration.I will face my fear.I will permit it to pass over me and through me.And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path.Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain."

The litany against fear is awesome, I used it a lot in early sobriety.

 

[Cannibalistic]

Picked up Dune semi recently, and god damn, incredible fucking book. I was blown away.

It might be considered sacrilege to some, but when I started reading it I made a decision to just look up in world terms I didn't understand. I don't usually do that with books, but I don't read too often and the page count intimidated me. It actually really hooked me though, because each term lead to some new concept or idea that I hadn't seen in sci fi before. It's not just the world/universe that's unique but the characters too were really interesting and engaging. I was amazed how quickly those 1,000+ flew by.

It's a book I'd recommend to everyone.

 

[teezzy]

Got bored by the redundancy of the last book and felt dumb.

But I already own an unread copy of Dune.

Let's see how far I get!

Count me in.

 

[#Phonepunk#]

DUDE! Yes I’ve never read Dune. Might as well get on that now to see what all the fuss is about.

 

[Northeastmonk]

I was debating reading the novelized version of Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty by Raymond Benson. Haha I own the Blu-ray of Dune somewhere, but I never took the time to watch it. This might be a good time to see how the book turns out.

 

[DKehoe]

I should get back on to reading this. I got a decent amount of the way through it a few years back but I got a new job and moved around that time which derailed my momentum.

I was originally reading it on Kindle but I also later picked up a paperback version because I loved this cover

 

[Hotty Botty]

Would anyone recommend the audiobook?

 

[Flying Toaster]

I have read this book so many times but I will read it again with everyone here.

 

[EviLore]

Looks like we have a solid group of people this month!

 

[ranmafan]

Perfect time for me to reread again. So hyped for the film and I just love this series. So yeah I’m in!

 

[DunDunDunpachi]

Excellent and comfy book. Starts slow, but if you make it past the halfway point I promise all of the detail and nuance from the beginning starts paying off in a big way.

 

[TTOOLL]

I'll have to pass this one. Actually, my life got so crazy the last couple of weeks that I still have 40 pages to read from August. I'll finish it this week for sure lol.

Edit: I recommend you taking a look at the Penguin Galaxy collection. I got my Neuromancer and plan to get Dune too. They are beautiful.

Amazon.com: Dune (Penguin Galaxy): 9780143111580: Herbert, Frank, Gaiman, Neil, Herbert, Brian: Books

Amazon.com: Dune (Penguin Galaxy): 9780143111580: Herbert, Frank, Gaiman, Neil, Herbert, Brian: Books

www.amazon.com

Amazon.com: Neuromancer (Penguin Galaxy): 9780143111603: Gibson, William, Gaiman, Neil: Books

Amazon.com: Neuromancer (Penguin Galaxy): 9780143111603: Gibson, William, Gaiman, Neil: Books

www.amazon.com

 

[Spaceman292]

I might need more than a month to blast through this hefty son of a bitch

 

[IDKFA]

Looks like there is interest in continuing the book club, so let's mix things up with a work of fiction this time.

Why read it?

Dune is a seminal work of science fiction released in 1965. Set in the far future with many quasi-mystical and otherworldly components, it concerns a conflict between two Great Houses, the Atreides and the Harkonnen, who vie for control of the desert planet Arrakis. The planet, also known as Dune, is the only known source of an addictive and highly valuable substance known as spice, which has strange and potent properties.

You may have seen the '80s Lynch flick, or even the Scifi miniseries, but the real deal stands in its own league. Frank Herbert's prose is poetic and engrossing. Every spoken word has hidden meaning and the slightest gestures in each chapter's intense conversations are proxy wars deciding the fate of worlds. On each leg of the journey, more layers of worldbuilding peel back in vivid and unique detail.

I highly recommend this one and you owe it to yourself to read it before the Denis Villeneuve film adaptations release so that you can be a proper annoying book-reader hipster to your normie friends.


Where to pick it up

$9.49 paperback or $9.99 digital on Amazon, or widely available for $5 or less used


How to participate

Pick it up (or borrow it), give it a read, and share your thoughts with other gaffers here, quote interesting passages, whatever strikes you. Spoiler tag plot details and include whether referencing Book 1, Book 2, or Book 3 (basically acts 1-3 respectively in the book).

Nice to see somebody else who has class and buys their physical books from the Folio Society.

 

[highrider]

Ahh Dune, the book that confirmed I have the attention span of a gnat.

 

[Maiden Voyage]

I'll have to pass this one. Actually, my life got so crazy the last couple of weeks that I still have 40 pages to read from August. I'll finish it this week for sure lol.

Edit: I recommend you taking a look at the Penguin Galaxy collection. I got my Neuromancer and plan to get Dune too. They are beautiful.

Amazon.com: Dune (Penguin Galaxy): 9780143111580: Herbert, Frank, Gaiman, Neil, Herbert, Brian: Books

Amazon.com: Dune (Penguin Galaxy): 9780143111580: Herbert, Frank, Gaiman, Neil, Herbert, Brian: Books

www.amazon.com

Amazon.com: Neuromancer (Penguin Galaxy): 9780143111603: Gibson, William, Gaiman, Neil: Books

Amazon.com: Neuromancer (Penguin Galaxy): 9780143111603: Gibson, William, Gaiman, Neil: Books

www.amazon.com

I need to read Neuromancer one of these days. The second book, Count Zero, in the series was on sale on Apple Books for like $2 or $3 the other week.

 

[Tesseract]

I need to read Neuromancer one of these days. The second book, Count Zero, in the series was on sale on Apple Books for like $2 or $3 the other week.

neuromancer is the goat, enjoy yersalf

 

[eot]

I've read it twice, one of my favourite books. This isn't the right time for me to re-read it, but I'll keep an eye on this thread.

 

[Trogdor1123]

Bought the Kindle version, will reread it to share in the experience... For like the 9th time

 

[SpiceRacz]

Snagged a copy off Craigslist for $2. Gonna start it this evening.

 

[MrS]

I should get back on to reading this. I got a decent amount of the way through it a few years back but I got a new job and moved around that time which derailed my momentum.

I was originally reading it on Kindle but I also later picked up a paperback version because I loved this cover

I read that the 50th Anniversary Edition is riddled with typos. Read this version at your peril!

 

[DKehoe]

I read that the 50th Anniversary Edition is riddled with typos. Read this version at your peril!

Ah really? That sucks. Thanks for the heads up.

 

[iorek21]

I've read it in the beginning of this year. Besides the "Paul and Jessica in the desert" chapter, I thought it was a pleasant read; not extraordinary, but nice.

I feel like it could be shorter to no loss of quality (it would probably improve its pacing IMO), it kinda of overstays its welcome.

Have an enjoyable read, everyone!

 

[Bladed Thesis]

I'll definitely be reading and contributing. One of my favorites for sure. Always looking for an excuse to pick it up and read it with new eyes.

 

[CloudNull]

One of the best Sci-fic books of all time. I will be rereading at and contribute as I go along.

 

[JimiNutz]

I'm definitely interested in reading it but am hesitant to do so before the film.
Books are generally better than films (in my opinion) and I worry that if I read it first it will 'spoil' the film.
Do we know how faithful an adaptation the film is of the book?

 

[CloudNull]

I'm definitely interested in reading it but am hesitant to do so before the film.
Books are generally better than films (in my opinion) and I worry that if I read it first it will 'spoil' the film.
Do we know how faithful an adaptation the film is of the book?

The movie is being split into 2 parts. Plenty of time to read the book and still be surprised by the sequel.

Book is too much to cram into one movie.

 

[AetherMage]

Might be up for a reread. Best of the spicy worm-riding genre.

 

[desertdroog]

My first reading of this book happened when I was 15 and was helping my dad clean out grandads house due to his death. As we were boxing up his library, my dad said I could take any book I wanted before we gave the rest away to charity. As I started to pull the books down from the shelf, I grabbed a well-worn copy of Dune. I remember seeing the movie but not fully understanding what it was about, since the subject matter was so deep and doubly so that it was a David Lynch movie and I was merely a pre-teen when it was in the theater; I remembered that subject matter was quite deep and I needed a second chance to understand what the movie was about.

I read that book four more times in the following decade and then consumed the rest of Frank Herbert's world building series. I would recommend Dune as a must read before you die if you are a science-fiction fan and a must read to anyone who may not like science fiction, but do enjoy complex political plots.

I have nothing else to add on this, but it is a great read!

 

[ranmafan]

Already about 100 pages into my rereading of the book and I just love reading those awesome lines again. It was nice to see some of them said in the trailer too. For some reason I find myself reading the spoken parts out loud when I read “Dune” which is something I don’t usually do. But I just love listening to those conversations out loud.

 

[Kadayi]

Read it several times in my teenage years. Fantastic book. I also really dug Lynch's adaptation tbh.

Not sure if I will have the time to reread at present as I'm kind of full bore with work atm and my leisure time is largely being consumed by Crusader Kings III, but I do heartedly recommend Dune to anyone whose not read it previously. With regards to the rest of the series I'll be honest I could take it or leave it (although children and God Emperour are decent) but the first is an out and out classic for sure.

 

[#Phonepunk#]

Got my copy in the mail yesterday just finished the first chapter, which has the test i remember from the Lynch movie. I’ll try to finish the book by the end of the month, which shouldn’t be an issue.

Really loving the writing here, some brilliant world building and the language itself is beautiful. Haha I need to find a copy of this Orange Catholic Bible.

 

[#Phonepunk#]

I tore through 60 pages today. Really excellent world building in this! The OC Bible was namedropped early on and then it shows up and then you get a cool description of it up close and being used. Frank will introduce a concept shortly before elaborating on it in the proper context. It’s good writing.

So the O.C. is some kind of cyberpunk Bible. In fact a lot of this feels very cyberpunk to me. The descriptions of people in particular, interestingly so far there has been very little on the architectural design of these worlds, leaving you to fantastically fill in the blanks. It feels very cyberpunk with the witches at least. However there is much greater emphasis on stately procedural ritual and political strategy guided by the ever shifting motives of the cast. In that way it feels a bit like a grand Hollywood epic.

I like the humans vs. animals stuff, and the other bits of mysticism, I get the sense it is a well considered and true moral system Frank Herbert is illuminating here. There are hints of a past where man created machines were things went wrong, and it really does feel like some world far off in the distant future.

While reading it was hard not to try and picture Patrick Stewart during the weapons training sequence. Love the idea of the slow blade vs. the quick one. Fear being the kind killer. Meditation rooms. They are learning the science of the mind, humans opposed to “animals” who are controlled by passions like thirst and hunger. Every culture needs it’s mythology and spiritual/moral foundation, and he absolutely nails it in Dune.

 

[Spaceman292]

I read that the 50th Anniversary Edition is riddled with typos. Read this version at your peril!

I've got this version and I've already seen a couple of typos. How does that even happen these days? We've got computers.

 

[wipeout364]

One of my all time favorite books, have read it a few times over the years. The second book Dune Messiah really rocked my view of the series though and I never continued with the series after that but subsequently read Dune again, excited for the movie.

If anybody wants to read some weird sci fi by Frank Herbert Destination:Void is a crazy story.

 

[Evangelion Unit-01]

This is one I’ve always wanted to read and never committed to. I picked up a copy yesterday.

 

[DKehoe]

I've got this version and I've already seen a couple of typos. How does that even happen these days? We've got computers.

Yeh I was wondering about this. It’s very strange that a text that’s been around for so long and is so well established would have typos pop up like that.

 

[EviLore]

Re: editions, I went with Ace’s Dune Deluxe hardcover. The blue page edges are a nice touch. Didn't see any typos.

Dune: Deluxe Edition: Herbert, Frank: 9780593099322: Amazon.com: Books

Dune: Deluxe Edition [Herbert, Frank] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Dune: Deluxe Edition

www.amazon.com

 

[Tesseract]

Re: editions, I went with Ace’s Dune Deluxe hardcover. The blue page edges are a nice touch. Didn't see any typos.

Dune: Deluxe Edition: Herbert, Frank: 9780593099322: Amazon.com: Books

Dune: Deluxe Edition [Herbert, Frank] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Dune: Deluxe Edition

www.amazon.com

beautiful, just ordered a hardcover copy

 

[DKehoe]

Re: editions, I went with Ace’s Dune Deluxe hardcover. The blue page edges are a nice touch. Didn't see any typos.

Dune: Deluxe Edition: Herbert, Frank: 9780593099322: Amazon.com: Books

Dune: Deluxe Edition [Herbert, Frank] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Dune: Deluxe Edition

www.amazon.com

Shit, that's gorgeous.

I'm really enjoying the book so far Evilore. Thanks for making this thread. It got me to finally go back and pick it up again.

 

[OmegaSupreme]

Nice to see somebody else who has class and buys their physical books from the Folio Society.

Oh man, that is sexy. I bought a 2019 hardcover edition off Amazon just today. Not nearly as pretty as this one.

 

[#Phonepunk#]

read about the knife carved from a sandworm's tooth. that was pretty badass.

 

[OmegaSupreme]

Re: editions, I went with Ace’s Dune Deluxe hardcover. The blue page edges are a nice touch. Didn't see any typos.

Dune: Deluxe Edition: Herbert, Frank: 9780593099322: Amazon.com: Books

Dune: Deluxe Edition [Herbert, Frank] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Dune: Deluxe Edition

www.amazon.com

That's the one I ordered this morning.

 

[Evangelion Unit-01]

Re: editions, I went with Ace’s Dune Deluxe hardcover. The blue page edges are a nice touch. Didn't see any typos.

Got the same one.

 

[IDKFA]

Oh man, that is sexy. I bought a 2019 hardcover edition off Amazon just today. Not nearly as pretty as this one.

It also costs £80! Certainly not something you'd spend on a casual read. It is, however very beautiful and has absolutely stunning illustrations by Sam Weber.