Author Gush: Frank Herbert and DUNE

The Spice Must Flow

Alright I’m going to be honest with you, dear reader: I’m not a huge fan of what most people would style as science fiction.

I know ,I know, but put down your torches and pitchforks, set your lasers to “stun,” and let me explain.

This is a particularly awkward topic for me because I love fiction and fantasy but, for the most part, science fiction simply isn’t my thing. I think a lot of the time it’s because they mix pseudo- magic with advanced tech while using some pseudo future speak to dismiss some gaps in logic and I just end up rolling my eyes.

Strange, then, that Dune hits essentially all those notes and I fucking love it.

The Movie Was Also Quite Good

Stranger still that those tropes (and my love of them) are sprinkled not just through the titular Dune but the entire Dune series and universe.

Whether it’s the descriptions of the harsh living conditions of the planet Arrakis or the reverence the locals hold for Shai-Hulud, Frank Herbert captures a certain mysticism that makes even the most tropish of science fiction tropes a joy to behold.

And the spice. Ah, dear reader, the spice! He who controls the spice controls the universe indeed.

The amount of meme material in these books is unparalleled I assure you.

And Paul Atreides? Paul Muad’Dib? This is six year old seeing a Jedi for the first time levels of thinking a main character is cool, man. You don’t even know (unless of course you’ve read this book in which case you obviously do).

The seamless blend of prophecy, political intrigue, magic, and tech is kind of like chicken and waffles: you wouldn’t think it would work at all, but it does. Not only that but it ends up being a lot better than it has any right to be.

That’s right I’m throwing down the gauntlet: Frank Herbert’s Dune is literary chicken and waffles.

Get to my level, internet.    

The Syrup Must Flow