Frank Herbert’s Science Fiction Masterpiece: DUNE

DUNE by Frank Herbert 412 pp. Chilton Books, 1965.

by Jennifer Wilson

Frank Herbert’s Dune is widely regarded as the top science fiction novel of all time and it is a declaration that is hard to argue with.  Originally published in 1965, the novel was both of and ahead of its time. Layered with themes of addiction, environmentalism, feminism and patriarchy, and the age-old struggle for power among mankind, Dune stays incredibly relevant in today’s socioeconomic and cultural settings.

Dune has an elaborate, fully – fleshed out universe with inter-stellar intrigue wound about planetary political battles between royal houses. There is classic romance to rival Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, and abject betrayal worthy of a Greek tragedy. Dune’s relevance is truly found in the reader’s ability to relate and find themselves within the characters and story.