DUNE by Frank Herbert

Narrated by Simon Vance (main text), Scott Brick, Katherine Kellgrin, Ewan Morton

…..First Dune Book and Still the Best

I have read the print version of Dune twice in the distant past and thought it was time to revisit the story to determine if my original impressions still held.  When I first read it as a young boy I thought the story very difficult to engage with but ended up enjoying it very much. Reading it a second time was a revelation; everything seemed so vivid and well-described. I remember finishing that second reading on the very day the David Lynch movie was released. I remember being enthralled at seeing the sandworms come straight out of the book and onto the big screen. I am now undertaking the task of listening to all six of Frank Herbert’s Dune books.

As of this writing I am in the middle of book six, Heretics of Dune and believe I can safely make some assessments of the first in relation to the rest. The first is still the best. In this first Dune novel Frank Herbert obviously has a real spark of genius. His original creation is so vivid, so vast that it takes on the quality of myth. I really enjoy the narrow scope of this Space Opera. This may seem like a complete non-sequitur, but hear me out! Except for the first few opening scenes all the action takes place on Arrakis. The central character Paul becomes more and more isolated; his personal domain reduced from a planet-wide Dukedom to an outcast given refuge by the Fremen. Herbert focuses on storytelling in this book, building and borrowing heavily from Sunni Islam legends of the Twelfth Imam. So the scope of this book may masquerade as a Space Opera but it is really quite narrowly focused on the central characters.

Listening to Dune was a grand experience.  This is a very fine production of this classic novel. Many key scenes are given a full cast performance, which really brought the story to life. I only wish this full cast was in place for each and every scene. Simon Vance handles the balance of the text in his trade-mark perfect and clear diction.