Amazon.com.au:Customer reviews: Dune: The breath-taking and Academy Award-nominated science fiction masterpiece (The Dune Sequence Book 1)

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Good, but not amazing

Reviewed in Australia on 28 July 2020

There is depth in here for sure, and having read the first book I am pushed to continuing on with the series, but not before taking a short break. I find this grand writing style a bit tedious at times and the works a little too arcane. I suppose the author tries to convey a sense of grandeur, and the weight of history through this style, but I find it all a bit confusing at times. It would have had more impact if explained more outright rather than having to dig for explanations in the appendix or online.

Still, a great novel (and excellent audio book), and I’m looking forward to seeing how the next 2 books of the original trilogy compare to this first one.

7 people found this helpful

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Irv Blitzer

Good, not great

Reviewed in Australia on 1 February 2020

I read this book as part of a bucket list. It has been highly recommended through lots of book lists I have seen. It didn't catch me though. While it wasn't a slog to get through I never felt like I wanted to get home and continue the story either. I could see how a sci fi fan would love the book though, if that is your genre. It was written over 50 years ago now so may be a bit dated.

2 people found this helpful

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Dune by Frank Herbert, 50th Anniversary Paperback Edition

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 1 November 2021

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When I was 16 years of age my city had some excellent bookshops that didn't focus on top twenty and other commercial publications as is so often the case today. As a result, I would scour the shelves and buy several books a week (paperback prices in those days were unbelievably low).
The paperback version of Dune appeared on the shelves and, knowing nothing at all about the book other than the blurb on the back, I bought it and hurried home to enter a literary world that was totally captivating. And, yes, I had bought my first copy of Dune as soon as it was released and I find it hard to believe that was over 50 years ago!
The story, the underlying philosophy, the culture of Dune has lived with me through the years but I only ever read the entire novel once - A levels, university, life, all took over - but I have read the opening pages numerous times down the years and still find them totally engaging, among the best openings of a novel I have ever read.
Dune has again become headline news with the release of yet another attempt to tranform it to a big screen version - I have watched them all, including the latest which I will not be watching again nor the sequels! Anyway, down the years the sci-fi genre has become big business and whilst Dune is presently in the public eye again, it has to be remembered that this book appeared before Star Wars! Not only is the first publication date so far back in time, it is as fresh and alive and educative today as it was all those years ago. Indeed, a careful reading will show that even in the 1960s Herbert was touching upon the subjects of land-conservation, ecological preservation, societal breakdown and rebuilding... the philosophy of Dune can easily be read as an advance warning of what could come.
However, leaving a deeper reading of the text aside, taken as a work of fiction this remains outstanding. It is a hefty volume, densely printed, but there is no wasted phrase, no unnecessary waffle, every sentence chosen with precision. Since I read this when it was first released and am now re-reading it fully and deliberately slowly over 50 years later, I can attest to the fact Dune has not only stood the test of time, it stands head and shoulders above so many attemps to write quality fiction, not just books with a science fiction base.
There is no need to be a sci-fi lover to enjoy this novel with its intrigues, its murders, its futuristic religious and philosophical beliefs, it's nods to past human civilisations that came close to destroying the race, the love stories, the danger, the bravery... Dune encompasses all of this in a vast landscape spreading over several planets and a huge and diverse cast of characters. In fact, I now feel it to be a real shame to classify this book as science fiction, there are other more contemporary genres that suit this work far better but, above all, it remains a work of fiction that commands attention and deserves respect.
I fell in love with Dune in the Sixties, and I read most of the sequels. Now, with an older head on these shoulders, I can see just why I found the book so important and why I can see its influence during the course of my life.
Not just a worthwhile read, this is a novel that should always be on the top 100 books to read before you die lists.

One person found this helpful

Adam Bell

Fantastic Novel, Full of Spelling Errors.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 26 October 2021

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Dune is an amazing novel with amazing scope and I recommend it to everybody. This edition however has a notable amount of spelling mistakes and grammatical errors.

The hardcover is very nice, and the jacket too.

7 people found this helpful

Dave Murray

looks great on shelf

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 9 September 2020

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There are literally thousands of reviews for dune, so only going to focus on this product (yes, dune is my favorite book, so any review on content will be massively biased too).

I am a fan and have read this many times, but thought I would try a new version of this fantastic book to read again before the movie comes out.

Nice page thickness and feel; and large font size.

Sleeve artwork and cover look great.

As a negative, maybe i am just used to small, thick paperbacks, because it just felt different reading this... somehow I was not as drawn in and immersed reading this edition.

But regardless, for me, this was still worth it as a treat and to have on my shelf.

One person found this helpful

Tarx

Recommended. A solid hardback edition for less than the average paperback.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 20 September 2016

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An attractive edition of one of Science Fiction's great works. Striking cover artwork doesn't disappoint upon arrival. Strongly recommended both as a wonderful read AND as a particularly impressive edition of the book; And as a novel that genuinely deserves to be viewed as a classic - I have read it four or five times over the years and each time it has stood out, dwarfing those books I happened to be reading before and afterwards. Absolutely one of the top ten, and high on that list, too.
I paid around £8, incidentally. Price is creeping up.

One person found this helpful

JugemuJugemu

Typos, how the...

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 3 March 2016

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I am not giving the novel itself a review. I am reviewing the product, specifically the edition.

The 2 star rating comes from the fact that despite being a 50 year edition this copy has 3 or so notable typos. I mean seriously this landmark novel has been printed in countless editions from many review exits of the same script how in all that is holy did they manage to let typos slip into such a copy. It's not like when Ian banks hammering out a novel a year, sure maybe the editor misses something.

NO, here the editors took a previous script of a book that I doubt had misprints, and somehow added typos. The typos themselves don't bother me as much as the mind boggling question of how they ended up in a 50th year edition.

3 people found this helpful

Mike A.

Classic science fiction at its best

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 19 February 2017

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The spice melange is the rarest and most valuable element in the universe, and can only be found on the desolate world of arrakis. It is a waterless world of monstrous worms, sand storms which rip the skin of anyone caught in them. Mining the spice is dangerous work as vibrations of any sort attract the giant worms who swallow everything. When the emperor transfers stewardship of arrakis from house harkonnen to house at resides it sparks a massacre with Paul Atreidedes, young son of the Duke rescued by the Fremington, the native people of Arrakis. With their help he must raise an army an retake Arrakis from the Harkonnen. This is the 50th edition of this classic November. I read it when it first came out, and it is just as enjoyable now. This is classic Sci fi at its best. If you are a sci fi fan you will love this. Recommended.

One person found this helpful

Mr. E

A Great Edition

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 26 July 2014

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I purchased this book as a gift for a teenager. I wanted something slightly special, and this lovely hard-backed edition was perfect. It is well-bound, and lovingly presented on quality paper, with all the maps and appendixes that you expect.

The story needs no re-telling here, there is a summary, and plenty of other reviews to do it justice - suffice to say, it is a real literary masterpiece, and a genre-defining work. The scope and scale are of epic proportions, and have not been done justice (yet) in any film or TV show, sadly.

A real classic, and a perfect collectable in this version, or a perfect gift.

One person found this helpful

Good cover art, nice paperback copy, fantastic book

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 31 July 2021

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You don't need me to tell you that Dune is a great piece of science fiction. The paperback edition is good quality, printed well with nice cover art.

J P Maiden

Dun??196

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 7 February 2016

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The book of course, is a magnificent tour de force; a rollicking adventure but leavened with enough thought-provoking philosophy to satisfy readers who like to immerse themselves deeply in other worlds. Unfortunately, this particular (Hodder + Stoughton) print, despite being billed as the 50th anniversary edition, contains some typo's: a quite for a quit and on p179 the substitution of '[??196]' for, what I assume, should be the 'h' in though. I'm only halfway through so there could be more, to say nothing of possible omissions, which would be impossible to detect without a perfect copy with which to compare. Knowing what I know now, I'd have bought a different copy, a book of this quality; a work of art, deserves to be properly presented.

3 people found this helpful

R. Jackson

A si-fi must.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 3 April 2010

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This is a truly excellent read. Frank Herbert keeps the pace at exactly the right tempo to make you not want to put the book down. The future he depicts is very well thought out and continuously shocking.

This particular edition does feature some quite obvious typos throughout though; this may be the same over all the publications.

One person found this helpful

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