Dune (Dune, #1)

by Frank Herbert

[empressbrooke]

I've never given a book 5 stars instantly upon finishing it. My 5-star favorites became favorites after they had time to stick around in my mind for a year or so while my devotion to them grew. It's entirely possible Dune will join them in the future, but right now it's hard to tell. If I could, I would give it 4.5 for now.

Dune has the qualities that a lot of my favorites have. It's an epic, sprawling story with its own vocabulary, a fully-realized world and deep characters. Like a lot of books with these characteristics, the first few chapters are difficult to absorb. I had to go back and reread them a few times as I learned more and had to remind myself to be patient.

Patience is also required for the rest of the book, since it's not a quick read. I can normally knock out a book in a day or two, but Dune required much more time than I expected. The perspective changes from character to character without any warning; while the book is written well enough that it's not confusing, it definitely requires close attention.

Now there's the question of whether or not to read the sequels. They don't seem to be very well-liked by Dune fans, although the same thing could be said about Ender's Game's sequels, which I really enjoyed.