Dune

Man, where to even start with Dune?

Science fiction can be hit or miss, even the ones that everyone tend to love. I went into Dune with a knowledge of the plot, characters and everything else surrounding it expecting to kind of like it. I can't say enough good things about this book, though.

Paul Atreides is one of the most frustrating characters I can think of. You know what he's capable of, you know what he's walking into, you know what he wants to do, but you can feel things go off of the rails. The system is broken, there is no way for it to be fixed, yet Paul will start going on about his birthright and how he deserves to be the Duke.

You know that he's trying to work over the crowd, but something about it is eerie, like you are beginning to feel like he believes it. Even Gurney noted that Paul had seemingly lost his way and was lacking the compassion that his father was so well-known for. By the time I had finished the book I felt like I really didn't like Paul anymore and that he was headed down a dark path.

That was probably one of the most satisfied feelings that I've ever had with a book like this. The easy way would be for Paul to make all of the right choices, for Paul to cast aside the power and live his life with the Freman, leaving them in peace and harmony out of the reach of the Guild and the Imperium. Instead he chose to become a Messiah, for good or for bad.

You can feel bad for Paul, because he didn't choose that path, it was chosen for him. He was built for greatness and no one was able to contain him, but it was also what led him down this dark path. The best part is that Herbert doesn't outright say that it's a dark path. When I was reading this, I thought to myself, “is this supposed to be good? People actually want Paul to be this conquering hero?” It just made for Dune Messiah to be that much more interesting.