Frank Herbert’s “Dune” revolutionized the sci-fi genre in the same way that J.R.R. Tolkien’s “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy changed how audiences and authors engage with fantasy. Whether you like “Star Wars,” “Star Trek” or anything in between that’s star-related, their content, themes or creative concepts will almost always be traced back to “Dune.”
For being 60 years old, the novel holds up in every way for an engrossing and exciting read. With the release of Dennis Villeneuve’s critically-acclaimed “Dune: Part One” and “Dune: Part Two” adaptations, Herbert’s work has stepped back into the limelight of cultural consciousness. As Villeneuve works to adapt the second story of Herbert’s saga — “Dune: Messiah” — now is a better time than any to visit the actual novel.
The story itself looks to analyze Paul Atreides and his place as the Emperor of the Imperium, but also as a god-like figure in the Fremen’s religion following a galactic-wide jihad that cemented Paul’s status. As such, there is significantly less action than the first novel, but much more political and religious intrigue, introspection and questions of identity and destiny.
What becomes of freewill when one can see all pathways into the future and their inevitable outcomes? What choices are left to be made? How do you kill the idea of a person? Do the ends justify the means, at the cost of billions of lives?
Paul is far from the hero that audiences have mistaken him for in the first “Dune,” actively pointing out that the death caused by Ghengis Khan and Adolf Hitler is child’s play compared to the jihad led in his name yet entirely out of his control. Finding out where he goes from here — if there are really any choices for him to make in this regard at all — and the assassination plot against him, fueled by subterfuge, is where the stakes reveal themselves.
When a major complaint against the first two “Dune” movies was directed at the lack of action, I worry how “Dune: Messiah” will be adapted, almost entirely consisting of conversation and inner-dialogues. However, the lack of action does not signify a lack of tension or interest.
“Dune: Messiah” is one of the best books I’ve read, and easily recommended, especially before the next movie releases.
“Under the (Hard) Covers is an opinion column by Ethan Reisler — a published author, satirist, and journalist — reviewing modern and classic novels alike for their craft, storytelling, and general enjoyability.”