Known for its accurate description of events, “Dune’s” storytelling has almost no rivals. Frank Herbert’s focus on characters and their interactions made the story the crown jewel of science fiction.
“Dune” begins 20,000 years into the future, when humanity has evolved into an interplanetary race. With the era of intelligent machines over, humans turn to other means of trying to survive.
With humans scattered across the universe, a system of governance forms. Noble families begin controlling planetary fiefs under an Emperor. Melange (spice), a psychedelic drug that grants immense powers to its consumer, is discovered. Its youth-giving and mental-enhancing capabilities make it a commodity in the known universe.
I love how “Dune’s” world feels so real and unique. Frank Herbert’s decisions to entirely remove all the current technology of humanity makes the universe feel super realistic. It even feels like he traveled to an alternate dimension where something like this has occurred and just recorded the events.
The conflict begins when the Emperor orders Leto Atreides, ruler of Caladan, and his son, Paul, to leave their world. They become the new governors of Arrakis, a desert world and the only planet known to have spice on it.
Leto realizes the Baron of House Harkonnen, Vladimir Harkonnen, will hate the order, as the Harkonnens have controlled spice mining on Arrakis for 80 years.
Meanwhile, Paul’s mother, Jessica, takes him to Reverend Mother Gaius Helen Mohaim. She is the leader of the Bene Gesserit, a group of women with supernatural abilities who control the lineage of noble houses from the shadows.
The Reverend Mother subjects Paul to a test of humanity by making him put his hand in the Gom Jabbar, a device that induces nerve pain. The Reverend Mother confirms her beliefs that Paul may be the Kwisatz Haderach. Her reasoning for it was Paul’s resilience during the test.
One thing some people fail to recognize is that the Kwisatz Haderach is not some magically prophesied savior. They were a manufactured specimen brought about by the Bene Gesserit’s thousands of years of tinkering and experimentation with the lineage of great people; this revelation keys into Frank’s desire to show how humans who seek control manufacture religious ideas.
The rising action begins when Leto travels to Arrakis to work with the Fremen as allies to help him fight his enemies. He learns of the dangers of the desert world and discovers that sandworms, gigantic organisms, threaten spice mining.
On reaching Arrakeen, Arrakis’s capital, the Harkonnen and Emperor’s soldiers, the Sardaukar, attack House Atreides.
Doctor Yueh Wellington betrays Leto by drugging and delivering him to Baron Vladimir. The doctor ensures that Jessica and Paul escape Arrakeen. He also replaces Leto’s tooth with a fake poisoned tooth and tells him he can kill the Baron.
Though Leto is close to killing Vladimir, he fails, as the Baron escapes the poison that kills Piter De Vries, his mentat. Paul starts having visions and learns they are flashes of the future.
The climax starts when Paul Atreides discovers he has hidden powers due to his exposure to spice. Jessica learns that her father is Baron Vladimir, and she and her son are captured by the Fremen and accepted into the Sietch Tabr, a Fremen community.
Paul and his mother teach the Fremen a Bene Gesserit fighting technique known as the Weirding Way, and Paul proves his manhood by choosing the Fremen’s name, Muad’Dib.
Jessica, pregnant with Leto’s child, drinks the Water of Life and becomes a reverend mother. She unknowingly gives her unborn child, Alia, the same powers she inherits. Paul falls in love with Chani, a Fremen woman, and they have a son, who they name Leto II.
Jessica’s choice to ingest the Water of Life is selfish and inhumane. It feels like she never even considered the damage taking such a poison would cause to the child she carried.
Two years pass, and Paul’s influence on the Fremen intensifies as they believe he is the messiah prophesied in their religion. He realizes the double-edginess of the Fremen because he knows they are a force he can use to end the tyranny of Shaddam and Baron Vladimir. However, he also knows the Fremen will likely start a Jihad that will consume the entire universe.
With news of a new leader spreading, Baron Vladimir becomes uneasy and intensifies his rule on Arrakis. Shaddam begins suspecting his motives, thinking he wants more power. Seeing an opportunity to create disunity, Thufir Hawat, Leto’s former mentat, starts sowing doubt in the Baron’s mind against Shaddam.
Gurney Halleck, who worked for Paul’s father, tries to kill Jessica, believing she was responsible for Leto’s death. However, Paul stops him. Realizing his powers could be more, Paul drinks the poison Water of Life and falls into unconsciousness for weeks. He wakes up with clairvoyance across space and time and becomes the Kwisatz Haderach.
A manufactured savior is not a person people should blindly follow, but again, humanity has always loved the idea of manufactured saviors, people who will take them to a place where there is no suffering.
Paul leads a massive rebellion against the Emperor’s and Baron’s troops after Shaddam sends his soldiers to Arrakis. His child, Leto II, is killed by Shaddam’s troops, while Alia is captured and taken to the Baron.
The turning point occurs when Paul and the Fremen finally attack Arrakeen on giant sandworms. Alia assassinates the Baron and escapes.
The falling action begins with Paul facing Shaddam and threatening to destroy spice production if he does not abdicate his throne. Feyd-Rautha challenges Paul to a battle in one last attempt but gets killed.
The resolution occurs with Emperor Shaddam accepting defeat and abdicating his throne. He gives his daughter, Princess Irulan, to Paul, enabling him to become Emperor.
“Dune” is an incredibly imaginative story that takes its reader to a world of immense political rivalry and change. It shows how a commodity can be abused, how religions can be altered for power, and how greed can destroy a powerful empire. Though it may seem like the events occurring are distinct, the novel is like a mirror that reflects the current problems humanity faces.
