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Showing posts from June, 2024

Dune, Frank Hebert, 1965

I’ve found it very challenging to finish my review of Dune , despite finishing the book in April 2024. I think I got a bit too caught up in the Dune mania in my algorithmic bubble - simultaneously watching the second film, rewatching the first film, reading the book, seeing clips on YouTube, talking about it with friends, and more. I’ll offer a few cursory thoughts now, retaining my incomplete full review. Maybe I’ll come back to it when the Dune fatigue has worn off.  The book is really good, although there are some weaknesses, primarily in the action sequences where sequences of events can be sudden and difficult to follow. There are backstory elements which are pretty illogical and cases where characters engage in a silly level of conspiracies, plotting, and preempting each other. The world-building and characters are exceptional. The writing style is unique due to its use of total information for the reader, sapping the book of traditional drivers of suspense like mystery, bu...