Dune by Frank Herbert

After Shogun, this was another visit to a book that I read as a teenager and hadn’t been back to since. I had remembered it being hard going, but this time it was a lot easier to get into. Some of that is probably due to familiarity with the setting from the movies, because this is a book that dumps a lot of information on you at the start.

The synopsis is that we are about 10,000 years into the future in a universe where great noble houses vie for control of spice - a substance that is the key to navigating between the stars and yet is only found on a single planet - Arrakis, better known as Dune. The book opens with House Atreides being gifted control of Dune by the Emperor, taking over from the oppressive Harkonnens. However, this turns out to be a poison chalice leading to treachery and betrayal, with Jessica, consort of Duke Leto Atreides, and her young son Paul escaping into the unforgiving desert and seeking shelter with the Fremen, native inhabitants of the planet who hold the key to survival.

The book deals with the themes of ecology and religion, unusual in SF. It explores how the harsh environment has shaped the lives of the Fremen but is key to the linked ecosystems that support the monstrous sandworms and the production of the essential spice. The spice, in turn, unlocks prescient powers in Paul as he becomes the fulfillment of an ancient prophecy in the religious beliefs of the Fremen. 

Some elements are a little uncomfortable nowadays. Paul is somewhat of a Lawrence of Arabia white savior figure to the noble savages of the Fremen people. His war against the Harkonnen (and eventually all the worlds of the galactic empire) is described as jihad which has a different resonance now than when I first read it. The Harkonnens are cartoonishly evil - grossly overweight and pustulent - which doesn’t really make much sense in context. 

Some plot elements are not explained - how did space travel work before the discovery of spice? How does wearing a stillsuit that captures all bodily moisture stop you from overheating in the desert sun? Did nobody ever wonder where the enormously valuable and critically important spice came from? Is there really a Fremen warrior with the exotic name of Geoff? I imagine that these points are covered in one of the numerous prequels and sequels written by Frank Herbert and others.

In conclusion, the book still stands up as a cracking read, with the little chapter headers as extracts from text books written from a future perspective being a nice touch.