Rex Anderson recently posted his opinion of Herbert's DUNE after his reread
of the book. He claims that DUNE is only classic space opera. Although I
rather agree that there are a lot of scientific impossiblities or unlikely
suggestions in the novel, I still think DUNE should be classified as a
classic because of the issues that it deals with. My personal opinion (and
as the idea has been batted around a good bit now that every reading
experience is somewhat subjective, I feel like I can say that) is that DUNE's
strength lies in its scope. Herbert creates a universe that feels complete
despite its weaknesses. Within the first novel alone there are religious,
economic, political, ecological, psychological, and gender issues all being
addressed. In addition, one could make an interesting argument about
Herbert's use of language and naming. I recently even did some work on how
the novel readdresses the issues brought up by Aeschylus' ORESTEIA since
Herbert chose to use Agamemnon's family name--Atreides--in his work. All in
all, I would think that Herbert was driving more for ideas and issues than
for scientific realism. Anyway, just my two cents. (Btw, I agree that Islam
doesn't really play a big role in the novel. The religious issue Herbert
brings up is simply the downfalls/weaknesses of a "messiah" figure.)
Joi Tribble
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