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Some 20,000 years<ref name="Timeline">{{cite web|url=http://www.dunenovels.com/timeline.html|title=Official site: ''Dune'' novels timeline|publisher=DuneNovels.com ([[Internet Archive]]) |accessdate=August 2, 2008}}</ref> in the future, the human race has scattered throughout the known universe and populated countless planetary systems, which are ruled by aristocratic royal houses who in turn answer to the [[Padishah Emperor]] [[Shaddam Corrino IV|Shaddam IV]]. Science and technology have evolved far beyond that of our own time despite the prohibition of [[computer]]s and [[artificial intelligence]], and humans called [[Mentat]]s with highly-evolved minds perform the functions of computers. The [[CHOAM]] corporation is the major underpinning of the Imperial economy, with shares and directorships determining each House's income and financial leverage. Key is the control of the desert planet [[Arrakis]], the only source of the valuable [[melange (fictional drug)|spice melange]], which gives those who ingest it extended life and some [[prescience|prescient]] awareness. Melange is crucial to space travel, which is monopolized by the [[Spacing Guild]]. Their [[Guild Navigator|Navigator]]s use the spice to safely plot a course for the Guild's [[heighliner]] ships using prescience and [[Holtzman effect|"foldspace" technology]], which allows instantaneous travel to anywhere in the universe.
Some 20,000 years<ref name="Timeline">{{cite web|url=http://www.dunenovels.com/timeline.html|title=Official site: ''Dune'' novels timeline|publisher=DuneNovels.com ([[Internet Archive]]) |accessdate=August 2, 2008}}</ref> in the future, the human race has scattered throughout the known universe and populated countless planetary systems, which are ruled by aristocratic royal houses who in turn answer to the [[Padishah Emperor]] [[Shaddam Corrino IV|Shaddam IV]]. Science and technology have evolved far beyond that of our own time despite the prohibition of [[computer]]s and [[artificial intelligence]], and humans called [[Mentat]]s with highly-evolved minds perform the functions of computers. The [[CHOAM]] corporation is the major underpinning of the Imperial economy, with shares and directorships determining each House's income and financial leverage. Key is the control of the desert planet [[Arrakis]], the only source of the valuable [[melange (fictional drug)|spice melange]], which gives those who ingest it extended life and some [[prescience|prescient]] awareness. Melange is crucial to space travel, which is monopolized by the [[Spacing Guild]]. Their [[Guild Navigator|Navigator]]s use the spice to safely plot a course for the Guild's [[heighliner]] ships using prescience and [[Holtzman effect|"foldspace" technology]], which allows instantaneous travel to anywhere in the universe.


The spice is also crucial to the powerful [[matriarchy|matriarchal]] order called the [[Bene Gesserit]], whose main priority is to preserve and advance the human race. The secretive Bene Gesserit, often referred to as "witches," possess advanced mental and physical abilities in part developed through conditioning called ''[[prana-bindu]]'' training. A Bene Gesserit acolyte becomes a full [[Reverend Mother (Dune)|Reverend Mother]] by undergoing a perilous ritual known as the [[spice agony]], in which she ingests an otherwise lethal dose of an [[prescience|awareness spectrum]] [[narcotic]] and must render it harmless internally. Surviving the ordeal unlocks her [[Other Memory]], the ego and memories of all her female ancestors. A Reverend Mother is warned to avoid the place in her consciousness that is occupied by the [[genetic memory]] of her male ancestors, referred to as "the place we cannot look." In light of this, the Bene Gesserit have a secret, millennia-old [[Bene Gesserit#Breeding program|breeding program]], the goal of which is to produce a male equivalent of a Bene Gesserit whom they call the [[Kwisatz Haderach]]. This individual would not only be able to survive the spice agony and access the masculine avenues of Other Memory, but is also expected to possess "organic mental powers (that can) bridge space and time."<ref>{{cite book |last=Herbert |first=Frank |title=Dune |chapter=Terminology of the Imperium: KWISATZ HADERACH |date=1965 |publisher= |isbn= |pages= |quote=}}</ref> The Bene Gesserit intend their Kwisatz Haderach to give them the ability to control the affairs of mankind more effectively.
The spice is also gay to the powerful [[matriarchy|matriarchal]] order called the [[Bene Gesserit]], whose main priority is to preserve and advance the human race. The secretive Bene Gesserit, often referred to as "witches," possess advanced mental and physical abilities in part developed through conditioning called ''[[prana-bindu]]'' training. A Bene Gesserit acolyte becomes a full [[Reverend Mother (Dune)|Reverend Mother]] by undergoing a perilous ritual known as the [[spice agony]], in which she ingests an otherwise lethal dose of an [[prescience|awareness spectrum]] [[narcotic]] and must render it harmless internally. Surviving the ordeal unlocks her [[Other Memory]], the ego and memories of all her female ancestors. A Reverend Mother is warned to avoid the place in her consciousness that is occupied by the [[genetic memory]] of her male ancestors, referred to as "the place we cannot look." In light of this, the Bene Gesserit have a secret, millennia-old [[Bene Gesserit#Breeding program|breeding program]], the goal of which is to produce a male equivalent of a Bene Gesserit whom they call the [[Kwisatz Haderach]]. This individual would not only be able to survive the spice agony and access the masculine avenues of Other Memory, but is also expected to possess "organic mental powers (that can) bridge space and time."<ref>{{cite book |last=Herbert |first=Frank |title=Dune |chapter=Terminology of the Imperium: KWISATZ HADERACH |date=1965 |publisher= |isbn= |pages= |quote=}}</ref> The Bene Gesserit intend their Kwisatz Haderach to give them the ability to control the affairs of mankind more effectively.


The planet Arrakis itself is completely covered in a desert ecosystem, hostile to most organic life. It is also sparsely settled by a human population of native [[Fremen]] tribes, ferocious fighters who ride the giant [[sandworm (Dune)|sandworm]]s of the desert and whose tribal leaders are selected by defeating the former leader in combat. The Fremen also have complex rituals and systems focusing on the value and conservation of water on their arid planet; they conserve the water distilled from their dead, consider spitting an honorable greeting, and value tears as the greatest gift one can give to the dead. The novel suggests that the Fremen have adapted to the environment physiologically, with their blood able to clot almost instantly in order to prevent water loss.<ref>{{cite book|last=Herbert|first=Frank|title=Dune|date=1965|quote=Jessica withdrew the blade from its sheath. ''How it glittered!'' She directed the point toward Mapes, saw a fear greater than death-panic come over the woman. ''Poison in the point?'' Jessica wondered. She tipped up the point, drew a delicate scratch with the blade's edge above Mapes' left breast. There was a thick welling of blood that stopped almost immediately. ''Ultrafast coagulation'', Jessica thought. ''A moisture-conserving mutation?''}}</ref> The Fremen culture also revolves around the spice, which is found in the desert and harvested with great risk from attacking sandworms. Bene Gesserit missionary efforts have also implanted a belief in a male [[messiah]], born of a Bene Gesserit, who will one day come from off-world to transform Arrakis into a more hospitable world.
The planet Arrakis itself is completely covered in a desert ecosystem, hostile to most organic life. It is also sparsely settled by a human population of native [[Fremen]] tribes, ferocious fighters who ride the giant [[sandworm (Dune)|sandworm]]s of the desert and whose tribal leaders are selected by defeating the former leader in combat. The Fremen also have complex rituals and systems focusing on the value and conservation of water on their arid planet; they conserve the water distilled from their dead, consider spitting an honorable greeting, and value tears as the greatest gift one can give to the dead. The novel suggests that the Fremen have adapted to the environment physiologically, with their blood able to clot almost instantly in order to prevent water loss.<ref>{{cite book|last=Herbert|first=Frank|title=Dune|date=1965|quote=Jessica withdrew the blade from its sheath. ''How it glittered!'' She directed the point toward Mapes, saw a fear greater than death-panic come over the woman. ''Poison in the point?'' Jessica wondered. She tipped up the point, drew a delicate scratch with the blade's edge above Mapes' left breast. There was a thick welling of blood that stopped almost immediately. ''Ultrafast coagulation'', Jessica thought. ''A moisture-conserving mutation?''}}</ref> The Fremen culture also revolves around the spice, which is found in the desert and harvested with great risk from attacking sandworms. Bene Gesserit missionary efforts have also implanted a belief in a male [[messiah]], born of a Bene Gesserit, who will one day come from off-world to transform Arrakis into a more hospitable world.

Revision as of 17:31, 15 March 2010

Dune
1st edition cover
First edition cover
AuthorFrank Herbert
Cover artistJohn Schoenherr
LanguageEnglish
SeriesDune series
GenreScience Fiction Novel
PublisherChilton Books
Publication date
1965
Publication placeUnited States
Media typePrint (Hardback & Paperback)
Pages412
ISBNNA Parameter error in {{ISBNT}}: invalid character
Followed byDune Messiah 

Dune is a science fiction novel written by Frank Herbert, published in 1965. It won the Hugo Award in 1966, and also the inaugural Nebula Award for Best Novel.[1] Dune was also the first bestselling hardcover science fiction novel, and it is frequently cited as the world's best-selling science fiction novel.[2][3]

Set in the far future amidst a sprawling feudal interstellar empire where planetary fiefdoms are controlled by noble houses that owe an allegiance to the Imperial House Corrino, Dune tells the story of young Paul Atreides (the heir apparent to Duke Leto Atreides and the scion of House Atreides) as he and his family accept control of the desert planet Arrakis, the only source of the "spice" melange, the most important and valuable substance in the universe. The story explores the complex and multi-layered interactions of politics, religion, ecology, technology, and human emotion, as the forces of the Empire confront each other for control of Arrakis and its "spice".[4]

Herbert wrote five sequels to the novel Dune: Dune Messiah, Children of Dune, God Emperor of Dune, Heretics of Dune, and Chapterhouse: Dune. The first novel also inspired a 1984 film adaptation by David Lynch, a 2000 Sci Fi Channel miniseries and its 2003 sequel, computer games, a board game, and a series of prequels and sequels that were co-written by Kevin J. Anderson and the author's son, Brian Herbert, starting in 1999.[5]

Origins

Florence, Oregon, with sand dunes that served as an inspiration for the Dune saga

After his novel The Dragon in the Sea was published in 1957, Herbert took an airplane to Florence, Oregon, at the north edge of the Oregon Dunes where the United States Department of Agriculture was experimenting using poverty grasses to stabilize the damaging sand dunes, that could "swallow whole cities, lakes, rivers, highways."[6] Herbert's article on the dunes, "They Stopped the Moving Sands," was never completed (and only published decades later in The Road to Dune), but its research sparked Herbert's interest in ecology. Herbert spent the next five years researching, writing, and revising what would eventually become the novel Dune, which was serialized in Analog magazine from 1963 to 1965 as two shorter works, Dune World and The Prophet of Dune.[7][8] Herbert dedicated his work "to the people whose labors go beyond ideas into the realm of "real materials"—to the dry-land ecologists, wherever they may be, in whatever time they work, this effort at prediction is dedicated in humility and admiration." The serialized version was expanded and reworked—and rejected by more than twenty publishers—before being published by Chilton Books, a little-known printing house best known for its auto repair manuals.

Synopsis

Setting

Some 20,000 years[9] in the future, the human race has scattered throughout the known universe and populated countless planetary systems, which are ruled by aristocratic royal houses who in turn answer to the Padishah Emperor Shaddam IV. Science and technology have evolved far beyond that of our own time despite the prohibition of computers and artificial intelligence, and humans called Mentats with highly-evolved minds perform the functions of computers. The CHOAM corporation is the major underpinning of the Imperial economy, with shares and directorships determining each House's income and financial leverage. Key is the control of the desert planet Arrakis, the only source of the valuable spice melange, which gives those who ingest it extended life and some prescient awareness. Melange is crucial to space travel, which is monopolized by the Spacing Guild. Their Navigators use the spice to safely plot a course for the Guild's heighliner ships using prescience and "foldspace" technology, which allows instantaneous travel to anywhere in the universe.

The spice is also gay to the powerful matriarchal order called the Bene Gesserit, whose main priority is to preserve and advance the human race. The secretive Bene Gesserit, often referred to as "witches," possess advanced mental and physical abilities in part developed through conditioning called prana-bindu training. A Bene Gesserit acolyte becomes a full Reverend Mother by undergoing a perilous ritual known as the spice agony, in which she ingests an otherwise lethal dose of an awareness spectrum narcotic and must render it harmless internally. Surviving the ordeal unlocks her Other Memory, the ego and memories of all her female ancestors. A Reverend Mother is warned to avoid the place in her consciousness that is occupied by the genetic memory of her male ancestors, referred to as "the place we cannot look." In light of this, the Bene Gesserit have a secret, millennia-old breeding program, the goal of which is to produce a male equivalent of a Bene Gesserit whom they call the Kwisatz Haderach. This individual would not only be able to survive the spice agony and access the masculine avenues of Other Memory, but is also expected to possess "organic mental powers (that can) bridge space and time."[10] The Bene Gesserit intend their Kwisatz Haderach to give them the ability to control the affairs of mankind more effectively.

The planet Arrakis itself is completely covered in a desert ecosystem, hostile to most organic life. It is also sparsely settled by a human population of native Fremen tribes, ferocious fighters who ride the giant sandworms of the desert and whose tribal leaders are selected by defeating the former leader in combat. The Fremen also have complex rituals and systems focusing on the value and conservation of water on their arid planet; they conserve the water distilled from their dead, consider spitting an honorable greeting, and value tears as the greatest gift one can give to the dead. The novel suggests that the Fremen have adapted to the environment physiologically, with their blood able to clot almost instantly in order to prevent water loss.[11] The Fremen culture also revolves around the spice, which is found in the desert and harvested with great risk from attacking sandworms. Bene Gesserit missionary efforts have also implanted a belief in a male messiah, born of a Bene Gesserit, who will one day come from off-world to transform Arrakis into a more hospitable world.

Plot

Emperor Shaddam IV has come to fear House Atreides, partly because of the growing popularity of Duke Leto Atreides, and also because the talent of Leto's fighting force is beginning to rival the effectiveness of the Emperor's own dreaded Imperial Sardaukar guard. Shaddam decides that House Atreides must be destroyed, but cannot risk an overt attack on a single House, which would by necessity unite the rest of the Landsraad against him. The Emperor instead uses the centuries-old feud between House Atreides and House Harkonnen to disguise his assault, enlisting the brilliant and power-hungry Baron Vladimir Harkonnen in his plan to trap and eliminate the Atreides. Shaddam forces Leto to accept the lucrative fief of the desert planet Arrakis, previously controlled by the Harkonnens and the only known source of the spice melange.

Complicating the political intrigue is the fact that the Duke's son Paul Atreides is an essential part of the Bene Gesserit's secret, centuries-old breeding program to create a superhuman called the Kwisatz Haderach. Leto's concubine, the Bene Gesserit Lady Jessica, had been ordered by the Sisterhood to bear him a daughter who would then herself wed the Harkonnen heir, sealing the breach between the two Houses, and bear the Kwisatz Haderach. Jessica had defied these orders and has instead borne her lover the son he desired, but Jessica recognizes signs in young Paul that he might actually be the Kwisatz Haderach, born one generation earlier than expected.

The Atreides suspect foul play, and are able to thwart initial Harkonnen traps and complications while simultaneously building trust with the local population of Fremen, with whom they hope to ally. However, the Atreides are ultimately unable to withstand a devastating Harkonnen attack, supported by Imperial Sardaukar disguised as Harkonnen troops and aided by a traitor within House Atreides itself — the Suk doctor Wellington Yueh. House Atreides is scattered. Of its important retainers, the Mentat Thufir Hawat is taken by the Baron and eventually convinced to work for his captors; the troubador-soldier Gurney Halleck escapes with the aid of smugglers, whom he also joins; and Duncan Idaho is killed defending Paul and Jessica. Per his bargain, Yueh delivers a captive Leto to the Baron, but double-crosses Harkonnen by ensuring Paul and Jessica's escape. He also provides Leto with a poison-gas capsule with which he can simultaneously commit suicide and assassinate the Baron Harkonnen. The Baron kills Yueh, and Leto dies in a failed attempt on the Baron's life, though the Baron's twisted Mentat Piter De Vries dies with him. Paul and Jessica, aided variously by Duncan, Yueh and the Fremen leader Liet-Kynes, escape their captors and flee into the deep desert.

Jessica's Bene Gesserit abilities and Paul's developing skills help them join a band of Fremen. Paul and his mother quickly learn their ways while teaching the Fremen the weirding way, a Bene Gesserit method of fighting. Jessica becomes a Reverend Mother, swallowing the poisonous Water of Life while pregnant with her second child; her unborn daughter Alia is subjected to the same ordeal, dangerously acquiring the full abilities of a Reverend Mother before even being born. Paul takes a Fremen lover, Chani, with whom he fathers a son. Years pass, and Paul increasingly recognizes the strength of the Fremen fighting force, and their potential to overtake even the Sardaukar and win back Arrakis. Living on the spice diet of the Fremen, Paul's prescience increases dramatically, enabling him to foresee future events and gaining him a religious respect from the Fremen, who regard him as their prophesied messiah. As Paul grows in influence, he begins a jihad against Harkonnen rule of the planet under his new Fremen name, Muad'Dib. However, Paul becomes aware through his prescience that, if he is not careful, the Fremen will extend that jihad against all the known universe, which Paul describes as a humanity-spanning subconscious effort to avoid genetic stagnation.

Both the Emperor and the Baron Harkonnen show increasing concern at the fervor of religious fanaticism shown on Arrakis for this "Muad'Dib," not guessing that this leader is the presumed-dead Paul. Harkonnen plots to send his nephew and heir Feyd Rautha as a replacement for his other and more brutish nephew Glossu Rabban — who is currently in charge of the planet — to gain the respect of the now-troublesome Fremen. Winning them over as a fighting force, he hopes, will give him enough power to overtake the Emperor himself. The Emperor, however, is highly suspicious of the Baron and sends spies to watch his movements. Hawat explains the Emperor's suspicions: the Sardaukar, nearly invincible in battle, are trained on the prison planet Salusa Secundus, whose inhospitable conditions allow only the best to survive. Arrakis serves as a similar crucible, and the Emperor fears that the Baron could recruit from it a fighting force to rival his Sardaukar. The Emperor's suspicions are not unfounded: during the joint Sardaukar/Harkonnen invasion that had deposed House Atreides, the Fremen had slain three Sardaukar for every man they had lost.

Paul is reunited with Gurney; completely loyal to the Atreides, he is convinced that Jessica is the traitor who caused the House's downfall. Gurney nearly kills her, but for Paul's last-minute intervention. Disturbed that his prescience had not depicted this possibility, Paul decides to take the Water of Life, an act that could kill him but, if he survives it, will confirm his status as the Kwisatz Haderach. After three weeks in a near-death state, Paul emerges with his powers refined and focused; he is able to see past, present and future at will. Looking into space, he sees that the Emperor and the Harkonnens have amassed a huge armada to invade the planet and regain control. Paul also realizes the way to control spice production on Arrakis: saturating spice fields with the water of life would cause a chain reaction that would destroy all spice on the planet.

In an Imperial attack on a Fremen settlement, Paul and Chani's son is killed, and Alia is captured by Sardaukar and brought to the planet's capital Arrakeen, where the Baron Harkonnen is nervously attempting to thwart the Fremen jihad under the close watch of the Emperor. The Emperor is surprised at four-year-old Alia's defiance of his power and her confidence in her brother, whom she reveals to be Paul Atreides. At that moment, under cover of a gigantic sandstorm, Paul and his army of Fremen attack the city; Alia kills the Baron during the confusion. Paul quickly overtakes the city's defenses and confronts the Emperor, threatening to destroy the spice, thereby ending space travel and crippling both the Imperial power and Bene Gesserit in one blow. Feyd-Rautha challenges Paul to a knife-duel in a final attempt to stop his overthrow, but is defeated despite an attempt at treachery. Realizing that Paul is capable of doing all he has threatened, the Emperor is forced to abdicate and to promise his daughter Princess Irulan in marriage to Paul. Paul ascends the throne, his control of Arrakis and the spice establishing a new kind of power over the Empire that will change the face of the known universe. However, despite being Emperor of the Known Universe, Paul realizes that he will not be able to stop the jihad he has seen in his visions, his legendary status among the Fremen having grown past the point where he can control it.

Characters

House Atreides

House Harkonnen

House Corrino

Bene Gesserit

Fremen

  • The Fremen as a collective
  • Stilgar, Fremen Naib (chieftain) of Sietch Tabr
  • Chani, Paul's Fremen concubine
  • Liet-Kynes, the Imperial Planetologist on Arrakis and father of Chani, as well as a revered figure among the Fremen
  • Esmar Tuek, smuggler who befriends and takes in Gurney Halleck and his surviving men

Analysis

Environmentalism and ecology

Dune has been called the "first planetary ecology novel on a grand scale."[12] After the publication of Silent Spring by Rachel Carson in 1962, science fiction writers began treating the subject of ecological change and its consequences. Dune responded in 1965 with its complex descriptions of Arrakis life, from giant sandworms (for whom water is deadly) to smaller, mouse-like life forms adapted to live with limited water. The inhabitants of the planet, the Fremen, must compromise with the ecosystem they live in, sacrificing some of their desire for a water-laden planet in order to preserve the sandworms which are so important to their culture. Dune was followed in its creation of complex and unique ecologies by other science fiction books such as A Door into Ocean (1986) and Red Mars (1992).[12] Environmentalists have pointed out that Dune's popularity as a novel depicting a planet as a complex—almost living—thing, in combination with the first images of earth from space being published in the same time period, strongly influenced environmental movements such as the establishment of the international Earth Day.[13]

Declining empires

Scholars have compared Dune's portrayal of the downfall of a galactic empire to Edward Gibbon's Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, published in 1776, which argues that corruption and division led to the fall of Ancient Rome. In "History and Historical Effect in Frank Herbert’s Dune" (1992), Lorenzo DiTommaso outlines similarities between the two works by highlighting the excesses of the Emperor on his home planet of Kaitain and of the Baron Harkonnen in his palace. The Emperor loses his effectiveness as a ruler from excess of ceremony and pomp. The hairdressers and attendants he brings with him to Arrakis are even referred to as "parasites." The Baron Harkonnen is similarly corrupt, materially and sexually decadent. Gibbon's Decline and Fall blames the fall of Rome on the inflow of decadent ideas from conquered states, and on the excesses that followed. Gibbon claimed that these luxuries weakened the soldiers of Rome and left it open to attack. Similarly, the Emperor's Sardaukar fighters are little match for the Fremen of Dune because of the Sardaukar's overconfidence and the Fremen's capacity for self-sacrifice. The Fremen put the community before themselves in every instance, while the world outside wallows in luxury at the expense of others.[14]

Arab references

A large number of terms in Dune closely mirror Arabic ones, such as Mahdi, Shaitan, or "Fedaykin," from Feda'yin.[15] As a foreigner who adopts the ways of a desert-dwelling people in an attempt to win their freedom, Paul Atreides' character bears some similarities to the historical T. E. Lawrence.[16]

Gender issues

Kathy Gower criticizes Dune in the book Mother Was Not a Person, arguing that although the book has been praised for its portrayal of people in a mystical world, the women get left behind. In her view, women in Dune culture are largely left to domestic duties, and the exclusively-female Bene Gesserit religious cult resembles age-old notions of witchcraft. Women in this religion are feared and hated by the men. They also never use their power to aid themselves, only the men around them, and their greatest desire is to bring a man into their religion.[17] Other gender critics are offended that the book's only portrayal of homosexuals, as in the case of Baron Harkonnen as a vile pervert, are negative.[18]

On the other hand, Jessica's son's approach to power consistently requires his upbringing under the female-oriented Bene Gesserit, who operate as a long-dominating shadow government behind all of the great houses and their marriages or divisions. A central theme of the book is the connection, in Jessica's son, of this female aspect with his male aspect. In a Bene Gesserit test early in the book, it is implied that men are generally "inhuman" in that they irrationally place desire over self-interest and reason. This applies Herbert's philosophy that humans are not created equal, while equal justice and equal opportunity are higher ideals than mental, physical, or moral equality.[19] Margery Hourihan even calls the main character's mother, Jessica, "by far the most interesting character in the novel"[20] and pointing out that while her son approaches a power which makes him almost alien to the reader, she remains human. Throughout the novel, she struggles to maintain power in a male-dominated society, and manages to help her son at key moments in his realization of power.[20]

Heroism

"I am showing you the superhero syndrome and your own participation in it."[21]

Throughout Paul's rise to superhuman status, he follows a plotline common to many stories describing the birth of a hero. He has unfortunate circumstances forced onto him. After a long period of hardship and exile, he confronts and defeats the source of evil in his tale.[22][23] As such, Dune is representative of a general trend beginning in 1960s American science fiction in that it features a character who attains godlike status through scientific means.[24] Eventually, Paul Atreides gains a level of omniscience which allows him to take over the planet and the galaxy, and also causes the Fremen of Arrakis to worship him like a god. Author Frank Herbert said in 1979, "The bottom line of the Dune trilogy is: beware of heroes. Much better rely on your own judgment, and your own mistakes."[25]

Juan A. Prieto-Pablos says Herbert achieves a new typology with Paul's superpowers, differentiating the heroes of Dune from earlier heroes such as Superman, van Vogt's Gilbert Gosseyn and Henry Kuttner's telepaths. Unlike previous superheroes who acquire their powers suddenly and accidentally, Paul's are the result of "painful and slow personal progress." And unlike other superheroes of the 1960s—who are the exception among ordinary people in their respective worlds—Herbert's characters grow their powers through "the application of mystical philosophies and techniques." For Herbert, the ordinary person can develop incredible fighting skills (Fremen and Sardaukar) or mental abilities (Bene Gesserit and Mentats).[26]

Zen

Early in his newspaper career, Herbert was introduced to Zen by two Jungian psychologists.[27] Throughout the Dune series and particularly in Dune, Herbert employs concepts and forms borrowed from Zen Buddhism.[28] The Fremen are Zensunni adherents, and many of Herbert's epigraphs are Zen-spirited.[29] In "Dune Genesis" he wrote:

What especially pleases me is to see the interwoven themes, the fuguelike relationships of images that exactly replay the way Dune took shape. As in an Escher lithograph, I involved myself with recurrent themes that turn into paradox. The central paradox concerns the human vision of time. What about Paul's gift of prescience-the Presbyterian fixation? For the Delphic Oracle to perform, it must tangle itself in a web of predestination. Yet predestination negates surprises and, in fact, sets up a mathematically enclosed universe whose limits are always inconsistent, always encountering the unprovable. It's like a koan, a Zen mind breaker. It's like the Cretan Epimenides saying, "All Cretans are liars."[19]

Zen also appears in other Herbert works outside the Dune series; The Jesus Incident cites Zen by name, and Tim O'Reilly has identified strong Zen elements in the preceding novel, Destination: Void.[30]

Reception

Reviews of the novel have been overwhelmingly positive and many consider Dune the best science fiction book ever written.[31]

Science fiction author Arthur C. Clarke has described it as "unique" and claimed "I know nothing comparable to it except Lord of the Rings."[32] Robert A. Heinlein described Dune as "Powerful, convincing, and most ingenious."[32] It was called "One of the monuments of modern science fiction" by the Chicago Tribune, while the Washington Post described it as "A portrayal of an alien society more complete and deeply detailed than any other author in the field has managed ... a story absorbing equally for its action and philosophical vistas ... An astonishing science fiction phenomenon."[32]

Tamara I. Hladik wrote that the story "crafts a universe where lesser novels promulgate excuses for sequels. All its rich elements are in balance and plausible — not the patchwork confederacy of made-up languages, contrived customs, and meaningless histories that are the hallmark of so many other, lesser novels."[33] The only weak point, she said, is the ending, in which Paul "becomes remote and a shade boring" as a result of his almost godlike status.[33]

First edition points

The first edition of Dune is one of the most notable and valuable first editions in science fiction book collecting, and copies have gone for more than $10,000 at auction.[34] A true Chilton first edition of the novel should be 9.25 inches tall, with bluish green boards and a price of $5.95 on the dust jacket, and notes Toronto as the Canadian publisher on the copyright page.[35]

Adaptations

1984 film by David Lynch

The first film of Dune was adapted by David Lynch and released in 1984, nearly 20 years after the book's publication. Though Herbert said the book's depth and symbolism seemed to intimidate many filmmakers, he was pleased with the film, saying that "They've got it. It begins as Dune does. And I hear my dialogue all the way through. There are some interpretations and liberties, but you're gonna come out knowing you've seen Dune."[36] Reviews of the film were not as favorable, saying that it was incomprehensible to those unfamiliar with the book, and that fans would be disappointed by the way it strayed from the book's plot.[37]

2000 miniseries by John Harrison

In 2000 John Harrison adapted the novel into Frank Herbert's Dune, a miniseries starring William Hurt which premiered on the Sci Fi Channel. As of 2004 the miniseries was one of the three highest-rated programs broadcast on the Sci Fi Channel.[38]

Potential 2010s adaptation

A new film based on the book was announced in 2008, to be directed by Peter Berg and produced by Paramount Pictures.[39][40][41] Producer Kevin Misher, who spent a year securing the rights from the Herbert estate, would be joined by Richard Rubinstein and John Harrison (of both Sci Fi Channel miniseries) as well as Sarah Aubrey and Mike Messina.[39] Variety reported that the producers were looking for a "faithful adaptation" of the novel, and "consider its theme of finite ecological resources particularly timely."[39] Science fiction author Kevin J. Anderson and Frank Herbert's son Brian Herbert, who have together written multiple Dune sequels and prequels since 1999, are attached to the project as technical advisors.[42] In October 2009, Berg dropped out of the project, later saying that it "for a variety of reasons wasn't the right thing" for him.[43] Subsequently, with a 175-page script draft by Josh Zetumer, Paramount reportedly sought a new director who could do the film for under $175 million.[44] On January 4, 2010, Entertainment Weekly reported that director Pierre Morel was signed on to direct, with the studio still looking for a new writer "to incorporate Morel’s vision of the project" into Zetumer's original draft.[45]

Audiobook

In 1993 Recorded Books released an 20 disk audio book narrated by George Guidall. In 2007 Audio Renaissance released an audio book narrated by Simon Vance with some parts acted out by Scott Brick, Orlagh Cassidy, Euan Morton and other performers.

Cultural influence

See also: Dune (film) § Influence on popular culture

Dune has been widely influential, inspiring other novels, music, films (including Star Wars), television, videogames, and comic books.[46][47] The novel was parodied in 1984's National Lampoon's Doon by Ellis Weiner, and was the subject of The Dune Encyclopedia (1984) by Dr. Willis E. McNelly.[48]

Dune inspired the Iron Maiden song "To Tame A Land." But when songwriter Steve Harris requested permission from the author to name the song "Dune," his request was met with a stern refusal — backed up with a legal threat — which noted that "Herbert doesn't like rock bands, particularly heavy rock bands, and especially rock bands like Iron Maiden." The song was renamed and released in 1983.[49] Dune also inspired the German happy hardcore band Dune, who have released several albums with space travel-themed songs. "Traveller in Time", from the 1991 Blind Guardian album Tales from the Twilight World, is based mostly on Paul Atreides' visions of future and past.[50][51] Dune also inspired the 1999 album The 2nd Moon by the German death metal band Golem, which is a concept album about the series.[52]

See also

References

Notes

  1. ^ "The Hugo Award: 1966". WorldCon.org. Retrieved January 26, 2010.
  2. ^ Touponce, William F. (1988), Frank Herbert, Boston, Massachusetts: Twayne Publishers imprint, G. K. Hall & Co, pg. 119, ISBN 0-8057-7514-5. Locus ran a poll of readers on April 15, 1975 in which Dune "was voted the all-time best science-fiction novel...It has sold over ten million copies in numerous editions."
  3. ^ "SCI FI Channel Auction to Benefit Reading Is Fundamental". Retrieved July 13, 2006. Since its debut in 1965, Frank Herbert's Dune has sold over 12 million copies worldwide, making it the best-selling science fiction novel of all time.
  4. ^ Herbert, Frank (February 3, 1969). "Interview with [[Willis E. McNelly|Dr. Willis E. McNelly]]". Sinanvural.com. Retrieved January 26, 2010. During my studies of deserts, of course, and previous studies of religions, we all know that many religions began in a desert atmosphere, so I decided to put the two together because I don't think that any one story should have any one thread. I build on a layer technique, and of course putting in religion and religious ideas you can play one against the other. {{cite web}}: URL–wikilink conflict (help)
  5. ^ "Official Dune website: Novels". DuneNovels.com. Retrieved January 26, 2010.
  6. ^ The Road to Dune (2005), p. 264, letter by Frank Herbert to his agent Lurton Blassingame outlining "They Stopped the Moving Sands."
  7. ^ The Road to Dune, p. 272."...Frank Herbert toyed with the story about a desert world full of hazards and riches. He plotted a short adventure novel, Spice Planet, but he set that outline aside when his concept grew into something much more ambitious."
  8. ^ The Road to Dune, pp. 263-264.
  9. ^ "Official site: Dune novels timeline". DuneNovels.com (Internet Archive). Retrieved August 2, 2008.
  10. ^ Herbert, Frank (1965). "Terminology of the Imperium: KWISATZ HADERACH". Dune.
  11. ^ Herbert, Frank (1965). Dune. Jessica withdrew the blade from its sheath. How it glittered! She directed the point toward Mapes, saw a fear greater than death-panic come over the woman. Poison in the point? Jessica wondered. She tipped up the point, drew a delicate scratch with the blade's edge above Mapes' left breast. There was a thick welling of blood that stopped almost immediately. Ultrafast coagulation, Jessica thought. A moisture-conserving mutation?
  12. ^ a b James, Edward and Farah Mendlesohn. The Cambridge Companion to Science Fiction. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2003. pp. 183-184. ISBN 0521016576
  13. ^ France, Edited. Facilitating Watershed Management. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefied Publishers, 2005. p. 105 ISBN 0742533646
  14. ^ Lorenzo, DiTommaso (November 1992). "History and Historical Effect in Frank Herbert's Dune". Science Fiction Studies. #58, Volume 19, Part 3. DePauw.edu. pp. 311–325. Retrieved July 21, 2009.
  15. ^ Bahayeldin, Khalid (January 22, 2004). "Arabic and Islamic themes in Frank Herbert's Dune". Baheyeldin.com. Retrieved July 21, 2009.
  16. ^ "To name one recent example, the political imbroglio involving T. E. Lawrence had profound messianic overtones. If Lawrence had been killed at a crucial point in the struggle, Herbert notes, he might well have become a new "avatar" for the Arabs. The Lawrence analogy suggested to Herbert the possibility for manipulation of the messianic impulses within a culture by outsiders with ulterior purposes. He also realized that ecology could become the focus of just such a messianic episode, here and now, in our own culture. 'It might become the new banner for a deadly crusade--an excuse for a witch hunt or worse.'
    Herbert pulled all these strands together in an early version of Dune. It was a story about a hero very like Lawrence of Arabia, an outsider who went native and used religious fervor to fuel his own ambitions--in this case, to transform the ecology of the planet." pg 41, O'Reilly 1981 ibid.
  17. ^ Andersen, Margret. "Science Fiction and Women." Mother Was Not a Person. Montréal: Black Rose Books, 1974. pp. 98-99 ISBN 0919618006
  18. ^ Delany, Samuel R. Shorter Views: Queer Thoughts & the Politics of the Paraliterary. Hanover: Wesleyan University Press, published by University Press of New England, 1999. p. 90 ISBN 0819563692
  19. ^ a b Herbert, Frank (July 1980). "Dune Genesis". Omni. DuneNovels.com (Internet Archive). Retrieved June 16, 2008.
  20. ^ a b Hourihan, Margery. Deconstructing the Hero: Literary Theory and Children's Literature. New York: Routledge, 1997. pp. 174-175 ISBN 0415144191
  21. ^ Herbert liner notes quoted in Touponce pg 24
  22. ^ Tilley, E. Allen. "The Modes of Fiction: A Plot Morphology." College English. (Feb 1978) 39.6 pp. 692-706.
  23. ^ Hume, Kathryn. "Romance: A Perdurable Pattern." College English. (Oct 1974) 36.2 pp. 129-146.
  24. ^ Attebery, Brian. Decoding Gender in Science Fiction. New York: Routledge, 2002. p. 66 ISBN 0415939496
  25. ^ Clareson, Thomas. Understanding Contemporary American Science Fiction: the Formative Period,. Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 1992. pp. 169-172 ISBN 0872498700
  26. ^ Prieto-Pablos, Juan A. (Spring 1991). "The Ambivalent Hero of Contemporary Fantasy and Science Fiction". Extrapolation. 32 (1). The University of Texas at Brownsville: 64–80. {{cite journal}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  27. ^ "This move, in April 1949, was to prove significant, for it was in Santa Rosa that Herbert met Ralph and Irene Slattery, two psychologists who gave a crucial boost to his thinking. Any discussion of the sources of Herbert's work circles inevitably back to their names as to no others. They are the one exception to the principle that books loom larger than people as influences on his self-educated mind. Perhaps it was because they guided his reading into new avenues as well as sparked thoughtful conversation. "Those wonderful people really opened a university for me," he says. Ralph had doctorates in philosophy and psychology. Irene had been a student of Jung in Zurich. And both of them were analysts... . They really educated me in that field."...The Slatterys also introduced Herbert to Zen, the teachings of which have had a profound and continuing influence on his work." O'Reilly, Frank Herbert[1]
  28. ^ WM: Well, I caught those Zen elements from time to time, I thought ... in Dune, and in fact, the whole Zensunni school line thought was an aspect of that ...
    FH: You know, don’t you, that one element of the construction of this book ...it’s all the way through there…that I wrote certain parts of it in haiku and other poetical forms, and then expanded them to prose to create a pace.[2]
  29. ^ "They also introduced Herbert to Zen, the teachings of which had a profound influence on his life and work. The Dune series is full of Zen paradoxes that are intended to disrupt our Western logical habits of mind." pg 10, Touponce 1988
  30. ^ "Zen Buddhism shows up in the emphasis on hyperconscious awakening in the crewmembers. At one point Flattery notes, "The question of Western religion is: What lies beyond death? The question of the Zen master is: What lies beyond waking?" (It is interesting to note in this context that the original magazine title for this piece was "Do I Wake or Dream?")...
    Another concealed tribute to Zen is the name Bickel gives to the device he hooks up to the computer: the Ox. One of the most famous works of Zen is the "Ten Bulls" of the twelfth-century Chinese master Kakuan, in which the individual search for enlightenment is mirrored in the mastery of man over ox. The ox, in one interpretation, represents the body, and the man who rides him, consciousness. This is reflected exactly in the computerized solution to the consciousness problem. Bickel at first thinks that the Ox is the computer's "organ of consciousness," but later, Prue realizes that the seat of consciousness is actually the AAT module, "the manipulator of symbols." She adds, "The Ox circuits are merely something this manipulator can use to stand up tall, to know its own dimensions." One could say that the Ox is the "body" of Kakuan's metaphor."[3]
  31. ^ Frans Johansson (2004). The Medici effect: breakthrough insights at the intersection of ideas, concepts, and cultures. Boston, Mass: Harvard Business School Press. p. 78. ISBN 1-59139-186-5.
  32. ^ a b c "Dune 40th Anniversary Edition: Editorial Reviews". Amazon.com. Retrieved January 26, 2010.
  33. ^ a b Hladik, Tamara I. "Classic Sci-Fi Reviews: Dune". SciFi.com. Retrieved April 20, 2008.
  34. ^ Books: First Editions, Frank Herbert: Dune First Edition. (Philadelphia: Chilton Books, 1965), first edition, first printing, 412 pages, ba... (Total: 1 )
  35. ^ Currey, L.W. Science Fiction and Fantasy Authors: A Bibliography of First Printings of Their Fiction. G. K. Hall, 1978.
  36. ^ Rozen, Leah. "With another best-seller and an upcoming film, Dune is busting out all over for Frank Herbert." People Weekly. (25 Jun 1984) Vol. 21 pp. 129-130.
  37. ^ Feeney, Mark. "Screen of dreams." The Boston Globe. (16 Dec 2007) p. N12.
  38. ^ Kevin J. Anderson Interview ~ DigitalWebbing.com (2004) Internet Archive, July 3, 2007.
  39. ^ a b c Siegel, Tatiana (2008-03-17). "Berg to direct Dune for Paramount". Variety.com. Retrieved 2008-04-03.
  40. ^ ""New Dune Film from Paramount."". DuneNovels.com. 2008-03-18. Retrieved 2008-04-03.
  41. ^ HT Syndication. "Peter Berg to direct Dune adaptation." Hindustan Times. March 18, 2008.
  42. ^ Neuman, Clayton (August 17, 2009). "Winds of Dune Author Brian Herbert on Flipping the Myth of Jihad". AMCtv.com. Retrieved August 19, 2009.
  43. ^ Roush, George (December 1, 2009). "Special Preview: El Guapo Spends A Day On A Navy Destroyer For Peter Berg's Battleship!". LatinoReview.com. Retrieved January 5, 2010.
  44. ^ Rowles, Dustin (October 27, 2009). "Pajiba Exclusive: An Update on the Dune Remake". Pajiba.com. Retrieved January 5, 2010.
  45. ^ Sperling, Nicole (January 4, 2010). "'Dune remake back on track with director Pierre Morel". Entertainment Weekly. EW.com. Retrieved January 5, 2010.
  46. ^ Star Wars Origins: Dune - Moongadget.com
  47. ^ Roberts, Adam. Science Fiction. New York: Routledge, 2000. pp. 85-90 ISBN 0415192048
  48. ^ Weiner, Ellis. Doon. New York: Pocket, 1984.
  49. ^ "To Tame A Land" commentary - MaidenFans.com
  50. ^ St. James Encyclopedia of Pop Culture by Craig T. Cobane Retrieved 12 July 2008.
  51. ^ Has Dune inspired other music? - Stason.org Retrieved 12 July 2008.
  52. ^ "Golem lyrics and info: The 2nd Moon (1999)". Golem-metal.de. Retrieved July 10, 2009.

Bibliography

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