#1 Dune

1. Dune

Simply put, "Dune" is the most epic saga of all science fiction.

While this may seem like sacrilege due to my love of "Star

Wars" I assure you that "Dune" as a concept is a crown jewel

of sci-fi. Frank Herbert's novel, "Dune", was the first to

win both the Hugo and the Nebula Awards in science fiction.

However, the movie was long and complex (which lost many

viewers) and because it only depicted a portion of the novel as

well as some significant differences, even fans were not overly

fond of the film. However, the film is still a masterpiece and is

ground breaking cinematography. Nothing like "Dune" had been

done before nor has been done since.

The strength of "Dune" is in its complexity and attention to

detail. Comparing "Dune" to "Star Wars" is almost like

comparing apples to oranges. The success of "Star Wars" is

primarily in its visual presentation to the general audience. "SW"

is an fantasy epic of good v. evil parading as science fiction.

"Dune", however, is more hard core sci-fi. If one were to

compare the two novels "Dune" would simply kick the shit out

of "Star Wars". "Dune" is an epic about an entire culture on a

different scale. I have only read the first of the six book saga

and since that is what the movie covers I will confine my

discussion to that.

"Dune" is the story of Paul Atreides, son of Duke Leto

Atreides. The "Dune" universe depends on a spice which is only

found on one planet: Arrakis, a desert world. The spice is used

by the three groups which affect the balance of power. The

Guild navigators use it to bend space allowing ships to travel

great distances without moving. The Mentats use it to train their

"human computer" minds (because man was once conquered by

machines Mentats have replaced computers). The last group are

the Bene Gesserit who attempt to breed the Kwisatz Haderach

(a near perfect being who has the abilities of all three groups).

The basic story: House Atreides is sent to Arrakis to take

over the spice operations which had originally been mined by

House Harkonen (the enemies of House Atreides). Duke Leto

is betrayed by the Emperor who is afraid of Leto's son Paul and

what he may become as the son of the Bene Gesserit, Lady

Jessica. Paul survives with his mother ,Jessica ,and finds a place

among the indigenous people of Arrakis: a nomadic tribe called

the Fremen. Jessica becomes their reverend mother when she

drinks the "water of life" and Paul is transformed into what is

believed to be the Kwisatz Haderach. As the new leader of the

Fremen Paul (Maud'Dib) revolts against the Emperor and

topples the Empire by seizing control of Arrakis and its spice.

The saga goes on from there and, of course, there is much

fine detail to become immersed in. It could take pages and

pages to describe this background so you may wish to go here

as a starting point for more info. I highly recommend that any

lover of science fiction should read this book and see this movie

at some point. It is well worth the effort. I also highly

recommend the two computer games based on "Dune" published

by Virgin Games and Westwood Studios.

I could go on and on about this story. I like it because it both

is, and is not, a grand space ballad. "Star Wars" relies heavily

on technology and large scale space battles. "Dune", however is

more representative of what real battles are like and will always

be like with hand to hand and infantry combat. More

importantly, this saga is not the typical doom story, but rather

focuses on the post doom story. Here, it is the triumph of the

human spirit that drives the story. Paul leads the fight of good v.

evil both in physical and mental growth. This is a terrific quest.

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Simply put, "Dune" is the most epic saga of all science fiction.
While this may seem like sacrilege due to my love of "Star
Wars" I assure you that "Dune" as a concept is a crown jewel
of sci-fi. Frank Herbert's novel, "Dune", was the first to
win both the Hugo and the Nebula Awards in science fiction.
However, the movie was long and complex (which lost many
viewers) and because it only depicted a portion of the novel as
well as some significant differences, even fans were not overly
fond of the film. However, the film is still a masterpiece and is
ground breaking cinematography. Nothing like "Dune" had been
done before nor has been done since.

The strength of "Dune" is in its complexity and attention to
detail. Comparing "Dune" to "Star Wars" is almost like
comparing apples to oranges. The success of "Star Wars" is
primarily in its visual presentation to the general audience. "SW"
is an fantasy epic of good v. evil parading as science fiction.
"Dune", however, is more hard core sci-fi. If one were to
compare the two novels "Dune" would simply kick the shit out
of "Star Wars". "Dune" is an epic about an entire culture on a
different scale. I have only read the first of the six book saga
and since that is what the movie covers I will confine my
discussion to that.

"Dune" is the story of Paul Atreides, son of Duke Leto
Atreides. The "Dune" universe depends on a spice which is only
found on one planet: Arrakis, a desert world. The spice is used
by the three groups which affect the balance of power. The
Guild navigators use it to bend space allowing ships to travel
great distances without moving. The Mentats use it to train their
"human computer" minds (because man was once conquered by
machines Mentats have replaced computers). The last group are
the Bene Gesserit who attempt to breed the Kwisatz Haderach
(a near perfect being who has the abilities of all three groups).

The basic story: House Atreides is sent to Arrakis to take
over the spice operations which had originally been mined by
House Harkonen (the enemies of House Atreides). Duke Leto
is betrayed by the Emperor who is afraid of Leto's son Paul and
what he may become as the son of the Bene Gesserit, Lady
Jessica. Paul survives with his mother ,Jessica ,and finds a place
among the indigenous people of Arrakis: a nomadic tribe called
the Fremen. Jessica becomes their reverend mother when she
drinks the "water of life" and Paul is transformed into what is
believed to be the Kwisatz Haderach. As the new leader of the
Fremen Paul (Maud'Dib) revolts against the Emperor and
topples the Empire by seizing control of Arrakis and its spice.

The saga goes on from there and, of course, there is much
fine detail to become immersed in. It could take pages and
pages to describe this background so you may wish to go here
as a starting point for more info. I highly recommend that any
lover of science fiction should read this book and see this movie
at some point. It is well worth the effort. I also highly
recommend the two computer games based on "Dune" published
by Virgin Games and Westwood Studios.

I could go on and on about this story. I like it because it both
is, and is not, a grand space ballad. "Star Wars" relies heavily
on technology and large scale space battles. "Dune", however is
more representative of what real battles are like and will always
be like with hand to hand and infantry combat. More
importantly, this saga is not the typical doom story, but rather
focuses on the post doom story. Here, it is the triumph of the
human spirit that drives the story. Paul leads the fight of good v.
evil both in physical and mental growth. This is a terrific quest.