How One Book Became a Centrepiece in Sci-fi literature

Regarded as one of the greatest science fiction novels to come out of the twentieth century, Frank Hubert’s Dune has sold millions of copies around the world and is still incredibly influential to this day. After being released in 1965, Dune has been ranked next to J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings for the sheer contribution the book has made in its genre. The well-beloved Star Wars series would not have even been made without it. The narrative vastness, the richness of invention, and world-building have irrevocably changed science fiction as J.R.R. Tolkien’s work did to fantasy. A movie adaptation to the award-winning book has also recently come out enjoying the best debut of any day-and-date release in 2021, but even that pales in comparison to the book itself. 

The Story

For anyone who has not read the book, which I quickly recommend you do, here is a brief overview. Dune is set far in the future where humanity has spread far throughout the universe. However, despite how advanced the civilization might appear, there are some surprisingly regressive qualities, including the banning of all computers such as artificial intelligence. Some other humans have been augmented to replace such technology. Politically, different warring houses are kept in line by a ruthless galactic emperor. The main protagonist of the book, Paul, is from one of these warring houses: House Atreides. 

One of the key resources to this entire interplanetary empire is a substance known as Melange, or more simply, “the spice”. Spice is a drug whose many useful properties include the induction of a kind of enhanced space-time perception in pilots of interstellar spacecraft. Without this substance, the communication and transport system of the Imperium will collapse. This spice is only produced on one planet in all of the universe called Arrakis, or as it is colloquially called, Dune. Dune is only governed by one feudal house under the discretion of the Emporer, and it is the responsibility of that ruling house to acquire and process the spice for the rest of imperium, making it an incredibly important and lucrative position. However, the task is not without its difficulties. Dune is a dangerous planet, with the spice only being found in the deep deserts of this near water-less planet, guarded by creatures attracted by the noise; Sandworms, behemoths many hundreds of meters in length that travel through the dunes like whales through the ocean, protect the spice in addition to the raging sandstorms and indigenous nomads. 

At the beginning of the novel, the rule of Dune is being passed to House Atreides from another feudal house (the dangerous and scheming Harkonnen). There are suspicions that the Harkonnen will try to attack to regain control, and unfortunately, Paul gets caught in the center of all of it. After barely escaping the eventual attack of the Harkonnen with his mother, Paul allies with the native inhabitants of Dune, known as the Fremen. Soon, due to his enhanced abilities as a product of both his genetics and the spice, he is recognized as a messianic figure by the Fremen and is made their leader. He then leads them on an attack against the Harkonnen and the Emporer. 

The Lasting Appeal

What really sets Dune apart from other science fiction, was its incredible detail to the world and its inhabitants. Herbert, like Tolkien, helpfully provided a glossary for further enrichment into the world, and later on, helped guide full encyclopedia for the Dune world. Not only that but considerable attention was also given to the imagined ecology of Dune. He created one of the first speculative fictional works to take up the issue of environmentalism.

What makes the book even more fascinating is its ability to continue to relate with the modern world of today, with themes of ecological exploitation and colonialism being identified. The main allegorical comparison came in the form of the spice-based economy was seen as a parallel to our own global oil dependence, much of which involved exploiting the desert-like parts of the earth. All of this and more makes Dune a fascinating read for anyone.

In all honesty, I could go on about the appeal of this book for hours, but with respect to the ever-approaching word count, I will end with one note. Give the book a try, and I promise you will not be disappointed. 

Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6]

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