An oldie but a goodie…

Description from Amazon:
“This Hugo and Nebula Award winner tells the sweeping tale of a desert planet called Arrakis, the focus of an intricate power struggle in a byzantine interstellar empire. Arrakis is the sole source of Melange, the “spice of spices”. Melange is necessary for interstellar travel and also grants psychic powers and longevity, so whoever controls it wields great influence.

The troubles begin when stewardship of Arrakis is transferred by the Emperor from the Harkonnen Noble House to House Atreides. The Harkonnens don’t want to give up their privilege, though, and through sabotage and treachery they cast young Duke Paul Atreides out into the planet’s harsh environment to die. There he falls in with the Fremen, a tribe of desert dwellers who become the basis of the army with which he will reclaim what’s rightfully his. Paul Atreides, though, is far more than just a usurped duke. He might be the end product of a very long-term genetic experiment designed to breed a superhuman–he might be a messiah. His struggle is at the centre of a nexus of powerful people and events, and the repercussions will be felt throughout the Imperium.”

Dune was initially published in 1965. I wasn’t kidding when I said it was an oldie, but it is also a real sci-fi classic. Every fan of science fiction should read it. It started it all. There would be no fame for the likes of Gibson, Stephenson or Scott-Card without the path blazing prose of Herbert. Now, don’t get me wrong, it can be difficult to fall into pace with Dune. I know this puts some people off. A good bit of the book is written in dreamscape, and until you get comfortable switching between dream dialogue and ‘reality’ it can be hard to follow. It is absolutely worth it though. The characters are deep and complex. The landscapes are vivid and imaginable. Even the the psychic aliens and space travel don’t seem so unbelievable in Dune. Read it. Read it now.