Leo

This is a fantastic piece of Science-Fiction in all respects. As my brother puts it: “It's the perfect blend of action and politics.”. However, what really fascinates me is the depth and complexity with which Herbert describes the Fremen. The harsh living conditions of Arrakis, the solutions to the harsh living conditions and the Fremen culture are so well connected they seem fully plausible, making the Fremen and their way of life seem real and natural - yet so alien and exotic.

This, combined with the depth of the ecology of Arrakis and the mysteries of the Bene Gesserit school makes Dune a work to be fully immersed in.

When reading this book, one needs to be prepared for a lot of politics. The majority of the book is strategics, feints and planning - all masterly depicted by Herbert and thus fascinating throughout. Albeit the young reader might find the pace quite slow at times between the action scenes. However I am not prepared to agree with my brother as to the “perfect blend..”; Herbert seems indecisive at times, as being pulled between writing a deep and highly compex tale of politics and conflict between mighty houses or a Sci-fi action adventure of planetary proportions where family honor and love are at stake in an exotic world. This causes some scenes in the book to become neither, falling shortly in the in-between, leaving my lust for epic Sci-fi unfulfilled. But that's just me being picky!