Author: Frank Hebert
Synopsis by: Eithlin/ 900 / 12 July 2005 / Rating: 5
Translation by: Trinidad
The Dune saga, made up of six books, takes place in a futuristic, medieval society divided into three major social spheres; the nobles, such as House Atreides, House Harkonnen and Shaddam IV, emperor of a million worlds across the galaxy; the Bene Gesserit, a religious order made up of women who can completely control their minds and bodies, and the Spacing Guild, a group of space navigators, who transport goods, objects and people from one end to the other of the galaxy. These groups and other lesser ones, like the Suk Doctors and the Mentats (who have minds like computers) depend on Melange, a spice that is only harvested on Arrakis (Dune); this spice or drug prolongs life, intensifies mental abilities and helps certain people have visions of the future.
The story begins when Emperor Shaddam IV hands the governing of Arrakis to Duke Leto Atreides, the enemy of the former governor Baron Vladimir Harkonnen. The Atreides leave their home planet of Caladan and move to Arrakis as the Emperor has ordered. But Baron Harkonnen is not willing to leave Arrakis in the hands of the Atreides so, together with the Emperor, who at the moment is not very happy with Leto Atreides, creates a conspiracy which destroys House Atreides, except for Jessica Atreides, Leto’s concubine, and their son Paul Atreides, who is part of a long breeding program by the Bene Gesserit.
When the Harkonnen and Sardukar, (the Imperial army) take over Arrakis again, the rest of the Atreides army surrenders, and the Harkonnens gain important men, like Thufir Hawat, who will play an important role in the Atreides revenge. The Harkonnen troops settle on the planet and exploit its inhabitants to regain the money they lost in the attack. So they completely forget about Jessica and Paul Atreides, who they believe dead, having abandoned them in the desert which covers the planet, a place where only the Worms and the Fremen survive.
But Jessica, pregnant with Duke Leto’s posthumous daughter, and Paul are able to survive in the desert, thanks to Jessica’s training as a Bene Gesserit, training which her son has also received since she expects he will be like the Bene Gesserit, the Kwisaz Haderach a superhuman, the result of the Bene Gesserit breeding program.
Fortunately, a Fremen tribe finds them and takes them in believing that Paul is their Lisa Al-Gaib, a prophet who will free the Fremen and bring water to the desert planet.
To become part of the tribe both have to pass certain tests: Jessica transforms the Water of Life (the water of the worm) which is a poison, into a drug which allows the tribe to celebrate the Tau, in which Paul has visions of the future; Paul, for his part, must become a desert-rider, able to capture and dominate the king of the desert, the worm.
Several years pass, in which Jessica and Paul adapt to their new way of life, which will be important to Paul’s future. To avenge his father and to fulfill the Fremen prophecy, Paul becomes Muad’Dib, a Fremen leader, whose Fedaykin attack the Harkonnen troops and destroy their Mélange collectors.
In one of these attacks, Paul finds one of his father’s trusted soldiers, Gurney Halleck, who has lived as a smuggler during these years. Gurney Halleck, however, is convinced that Jessica Atreides is the traitor who brought downs House Atreides. He intends to kill her, but Paul stops him.
Not willing to allow this to happen again, Paul drinks the unchanged water of life, on a journey which will change him into the Kwisatz Haderach. Recovering, he decides to destroy the Harkonnen Spice collectors and their reserves of Melange, so that the Emperor will be forced to go to Arrakis to solve the problem.
Following a well-planned attack which takes place during a Coriolis storm, Paul defeats the Harkonnens and the emperor who is left alone, without thesupport of his famous army to unwillingly negotiate peace with Paul. It is the first time in his long reign over the galaxy that Emperor Shaddam IV feels vulnerable.
Finally, a Harkonen survivor, Feyd-Rautha, challenges Paul to a duel to the death, which he loses.
Since no one is willing to lose the Spice, which Paul now controls and can destroy, it is decided, against the Emperor’s will, that Paul will become the new Emperor by marrying Princess Irulan, the daughter of Shaddam IV. This award-winning novel, introduces the reader to a futuristic medieval world, filled with intrigues, plots, and marvelous characters which capture the heart. It is an ecological, novel in which politics, economics, and religion intertwine to create an unforgettable World. One of its main characteristics is the creation of different societies and religions based on an ecosystem which surrounds the people which creates them.