Being a big Star Wars fan since I was young, I naturally gravitated towards other science fiction movies as well. So shortly after its release in 1984, I saw the David Lynch version of the movie Dune in the theater. The movie went over my head but it intrigued me enough to want to know more about what was going on, so I bought the novel by Frank Herbert. The book sat on a shelf for about three years. Sparked by the television broadcast of the movie with extra footage, I decided to start reading the book. And it turned out to be one of the best books I have ever read.

I was only 15 years old when I first read Dune, so it is only natural that I would think it was the best book I had ever read at the time. But I have reread the book recently and can say that my feelings about the book have not changed: it is still one of the best books ever written. The story told in Dune has it all. The story and main character of Paul Atreides echo Joseph Campbell’s mythical Hero With a Thousand Faces, and Dune is one of the first examples (that I can think of) to apply this influence to science fiction. I can’t really explain why, but to me the archetype of Campbell’s monomyth represents the pinnacle of storytelling.

Most of the best science fiction and fantasy writers create worlds with rich fictional histories and back stories, and Dune is no different. Hints of that history are interspersed throughout Dune, and events prophesized for hundreds of years come to fruition in Dune. But Frank Herbert does an excellent job of not letting the back story get in the way of the main story, and he makes the history of his world easy enough to follow that a 15 year old can understand it.

The wealth of characters only strengthens the enjoyment of Dune. Herbert does a great job of fleshing out the supporting cast while still retaining the focus of the story on Paul Atreides. There are no cardboard characters in Dune and each minor character has a role to play in the story.

The political machinations of different houses vying for power keeps the reader on their toes and serves as more than just a backdrop for the main character’s coming of age and rise to power. And there are plenty of action sequences to provide thrills throughout the book.

One of the most effective but difficult to pull off techniques of Herbert’s writing is the fact that the book is written from the third person perspective yet still provides first person glimpses into character’s thoughts. No other author I have read has been able to use this technique as effectively as Frank Herbert.

In some ways I think it may be easier to articulate a negative critique as opposed to trying to lavish praise upon something. And I can’t really come up with any more and varied ways to sing the praises of Dune. But I cannot find a single negative thing to say about Dune. Pretty much everything about it is everything you want in a book, which is why Dune gets my top rating.

Rating: 10 out of 10.