Dune Read-Along discussion

I know February's pages ended on a real cliffhanger, but you made it. And now we've hit an exciting milestone: the final part of our read-along!! You've read, and hopefully enjoyed, most of Dune and now it's time to bring it all home.

For March 1-31, please read the final half of Book Three: The Prophet. You'll be reading from where you left off to the end of the book. That's page 575 to the very last one in Penguin Random House's Dune: Deluxe Edition.

I'd love to know your general thoughts about Dune to this point. Is it what you expected? If not, how has it differed (for better or worse)? Which characters are you most invested in at this point?

I'll be honest, it didn't age well for me. The straightforward underdog-to-hero story is a classic for a reason, and the world-building brings strong visuals. In high school I found it easy to imagine myself as Paul. As an adult, I'm thinking a lot more about how navel-gazing the world-building is, how little is actually explained outside of appendices, how inconsistent Paul's powers are, how little Chani matters to the story. (I can't get over the rapid acceleration from "Paul can see timespace" to "he can magically tell the soldiers are fighting in groups of three".)

Megan wrote: "I'll be honest, it didn't age well for me. The straightforward underdog-to-hero story is a classic for a reason, and the world-building brings strong visuals. In high school I found it easy to imag..."

Megan, I appreciate your candor. It is a very chosen one story, with as you point out, straightforward tales. Paul's progression has flown by. Which I guess given what he's been through I can understand, but I'd like to...experience more of it if that makes sense.

I always had a fondness for lady Jessica, and that still holds true in this read thru, though a bit of the shine has worn off. I have also frown weary of the chosen-one story, especially when it often plays out so much the same. However, I take this book for what it was, a beginning to a truly magnificent bit of worldbuilding that we only get tiny glimpses of here.

And I also have issues with the inconsistencies of Paul's power, but that is often a problem in many of the chosen one stories.

I read through to the end a while ago, so I was refraining from commenting to avoid spoilers. I must say I have a different appreciation of Dune now than the last time I read it. Some of that might be because this is my first reread after reading the sequels. (Don't worry, I won't spoil anything for anyone who hasn't read beyond the first book.)

Like Megan, I was originally drawn to story of Paul's journey to a hero against all odds. This time through, it struck me how his Chosen One story played out, because it was all taken as an inevitability, partly because that's the kind of story it is so of course the hero is the Chosen One, but also because of the framing device of Princess Irulan basically revealing the endgame immediately and saying this is the how we got there.

Also, this time around I noticed how much Paul and Jessica were playing into the Fremen prophecy. Jessica even uses it to their advantage when they need the Fremen's protection. And Paul goes through the trouble of not having his name be exactly how it was in his vision. On a metatextual level, Paul understands he is the hero of a Chosen One story, and he seems genuinely wary of living up to that expectation. His powers accelerate so fast, I think it comes at the cost of his own humanity in a way.

And I will admit, Chani has always felt a bit thin to me on the page. In a way I think it speaks to Paul's gradual distancing himself from humanity, but it doesn't excuse it.

Glenn wrote: "I always had a fondness for lady Jessica, and that still holds true in this read thru, though a bit of the shine has worn off. I have also frown weary of the chosen-one story, especially when it of..."

Lady Jessica makes some choices along the way I don't agree with, but I try to think about her circumstances and what else she could do in the impossible situations she finds herself in. I don't know that I could do any better.

And agreed on the Chosen One kind of stories. I think other books do this particular trope better, especially in a more modern era, but I like how Dune takes a simplistic base and makes it incredibly complicated. Sometimes unnecessarily complicated?

Peter wrote: "I read through to the end a while ago, so I was refraining from commenting to avoid spoilers. I must say I have a different appreciation of Dune now than the last time I read it. Some of that might..."

I want more of Chani. My brain had increased her role in my memory, so in this reading I am like, "But... what else does she do?" I may be thinking of sequels, but my recollection's so shaky I'm not sure.

The way Jessica doesn't hesitate to manipulate others when she believes it's for the best is something I get hung up on again and again. Maybe because it makes me reflect on my feelings about it. I find myself cheering her on, but then I'm not sure if I should be and what does that say about me, etc.