Set on the desert planet Arrakis, Dune is the story of the boy Paul Atreides, heir to a noble family tasked with ruling an inhospitable world where the only thing of value is the "spice" melange, a drug capable of extending life and enhancing consciousness. Coveted across the known universe, melange is a prize worth killing for...
When House Atreides is betrayed, the destruction of Paul's family will set the boy on a journey toward a destiny greater than he could ever have imagined. And as he evolves into the mysterious man known as Muad'Dib, he will bring to fruition humankind's most ancient and unattainable dream.
A stunning blend of adventure and mysticism, environmentalism and politics, Dune won the first Nebula Award, shared the Hugo Award, and formed the basis of what is undoubtedly the grandest epic in science fiction.
Staff Choice: Sophie
Well, it's not the OG space opera for nothing! A massive universe, squabbling factions, mysterious female long-game manipulators, human computers, a burgeoning fanatical religion with a very reluctant messiah, and the Spice that binds them all. Was absolutely transported the first time I read it, was absolutely transported as I re-read.
Staff Choice: Mike
How might one be moved to murder a universe? Deeply psychological with masterfully interwoven themes of imperialism, colonialism, capitalism, religion and environmentalism. It’s all brought together in a harrowing nexus which beautifully juxtaposes it with the emotional pain of loss. The films so far omitted much of this dramaturgy. Furthermore, if you saw it, did you also feel that the Fremen were mostly reduced to naive Arab surrogates (“Lisan Al-Gahib!!!”)? In the book they aren’t simply religious fundamentalists for the sake of it, they’re a planet-wide environmentalist force. If like me you felt that in the films they serve a somewhat hollow revenge story of a white American male (war on terror x Middle East, anyone?), read it. The book is a great examination of today’s urgent themes. And if you only know the films it’ll expose the shortcomings of Denis Villeneuve’s adaptation as ‘the thinking man’s blockbuster’.
Bonus: a deliciously creepy and awe-inspiring, all-female shadow faction of spies-posing-as-witches who steer civilization from the shadows
Staff Choice: Karin
Its been 20+ years since I read Dune but this book still has a prominent spot in my book case. Why? Because it brought back my love for reading right after high school. I got the first copy for my 18th birthday and then could not stop reading until I bought and finished the whole series. I was hooked and for several years I only read SF.