Dune leaves me...dry

[Anayo]

I couldn't get into this book either. I found it too heavy on world details. The pace was slow, the stakes low, the characters kind of cold and impersonal. Got maybe 100-200 pages in then quit.

[vash23n]

Dune is one of the best books ever written in my opinion. Though, I could see how you could find it stale.

IMO it's the best scifi book ever written, it did for scifi what Lord of the Rings did for fantasy.

I was thinking this thought exactly. They both are an older style of writing as well and cane be a little long winded, but the universe the stories create is unbelievable. By the 6th book I felt like I knew the Dune universe as well as the US - that is to say, there is a lot I don't know, which makes it seem vast, but I guess I can grasp main features and create a clear picture of the terrain, temperature, and cultures.

I love the first three books the most, which seems common, but the others are great also. I just bought two of the sequels written by Herbert's son and another of my favorite writers (even though his stories are pretty cheesy) Kevin Anderson. Anderson's Saga of Seven Suns is my favorite series so far. He definitely borrows a lot from Frank Herbert and Tolkien (not nearly as skilled, of course). I am interested if anyone else has read those books.

Anyhoo. Anyone seen the three movies? The classic Dune with Sting is awesome! I really liked the two made for TV films as well. I thought James McAvoy was awesome as Leto II. It was the first time I had ever seen him in a role and I have been a fan ever since.

[pepharytheworm]

I couldn't get into this book either. I found it too heavy on world details. The pace was slow, the stakes low, the characters kind of cold and impersonal. Got maybe 100-200 pages in then quit.

I will totally agree with the cold and impersonal part. Duncan who is my favorite character in the series is the only character that doesn't seem cold. Gurney would be a close second.

[MrEco]

I actually thought the beginning was fine. It was interesting seeing the world the protagonist lived in and the politics were kinda cool. Some of the characters (Like the father) were pretty interesting. Over all though while the beginning was fine it wasn't anything really special either. The middle just sucked as the pacing got shot for me and the protagonist turned into a complete dick to everyone around him (Especially his mother). The ending felt rushed and the big plot twist felt out of no-where and really ridiculous.

Over all I really didn't like Dune. Kind of a waste of time too considering it was such a huge book and took so long to read.

[pepharytheworm]

I love the first three books the most, which seems common, but the others are great also. I just bought two of the sequels written by Herbert's son and another of my favorite writers (even though his stories are pretty cheesy) Kevin Anderson. Anderson's Saga of Seven Suns is my favorite series so far. He definitely borrows a lot from Frank Herbert and Tolkien (not nearly as skilled, of course). I am interested if anyone else has read those books.

I have read all of the Dune books including the ones written by his son, just finished The Winds of Dune. I actually like his son's books too, I was a little hesitent but he did a great job of finishing the series and begining it.

[RyaNtheSlayA]

I actually thought the beginning was fine. It was interesting seeing the world the protagonist lived in and the politics were kinda cool. Some of the characters (Like the father) were pretty interesting. Over all though while the beginning was fine it wasn't anything really special either. The middle just sucked as the pacing got shot for me and the protagonist turned into a complete dick to everyone around him (Especially his mother). The ending felt rushed and the big plot twist felt out of no-where and really ridiculous.

Over all I really didn't like Dune. Kind of a waste of time too considering it was such a huge book and took so long to read.

[MrEco]

I feel shunned....

[Ivo]

Dune leaves everyone dry! That is why they have to use stillsuits to survive.

(sorry)

Ivo.

[MikeyW]

Personally I found the book to really get exciting about half ways through. The first half of the book is somewhat slow, but it's completely necessary and I still found the in depth descriptions of the various characters, locations, cultures etc. to be extremely interesting.

It's a long, epic of a book that I read on-and-off for over a year and I really do think you need to commit to getting through the beginning. If you're not interested, that's fair enough, but try not to judge the whole book by the first third or so.

[weasels]

I couldn't get into this book either. I found it too heavy on world details. The pace was slow, the stakes low, the characters kind of cold and impersonal. Got maybe 100-200 pages in then quit.

I will totally agree with the cold and impersonal part. Duncan who is my favorite character in the series is the only character that doesn't seem cold. Gurney would be a close second.

i never really found the characters to be cold, well not at first at least. one aspect i love about these books is that every character is flawed. there is not one character that is considered perfect. another great thing is that there is not one main character, but rather all characters share an equal role. it never really focuses on one character forever as many other books have done.