Dune – Book Review – Thinking in English

Tom Wilkinson

Host and founder of Thinking in English, Tom is committed to providing quality and interesting content to all English learners. Previously a research student at a top Japanese university and with a background in English teaching, political research, and Asian languages, Tom is now working fulltime on bettering Thinking in English!

Rating – 9/10

Difficulty for English Learners – 8/10 (1 is easy, 10 is very difficult)

“It is a challenging read, but well worth taking your time and discovering Frank Herbert’s incredible world and captivating plot!”

What is Dune About?

Dune, Frank Herbert’s science fiction masterpiece, follows the story of Paul Atreides and his life on the planet Arrakis. Arrakis is a desert planet, with an inhospitable climate, and terrifying giant worms that travel under the sand and attempt to eat anything that moves on the surface. Yet, the planet is also home to the universe’s most valuable resource: the “spice melange.” Controlling Arrakis allows you to control the spice; and controlling the spice allows you to control the universe!

Born into a noble family who are assigned the task of governing the distant world and extracting the spice, Paul must embark on a great journey after the House of Atreides are betrayed and murdered. After finding refuge with the secretive Fremen, who thrive against all odds, Paul must evolve into the mystical figure Muad’Dib and avenge the deaths of his family and friends.

Is Dune a Good Book?

Dune had been on my reading list for years, and after watching the excellent movie adaptation in the autumn (which I recommend to all of you) I finally took the plunge and ordered a copy off Amazon. I was certainly not disappointed. Dune is regularly described as science fiction’s answer to The Lord of the Rings and lays the framework for all that followed in its footsteps.

The intelligent writing, amazing world building, and amount of detail Frank Herbert included in the story create an entertaining, interesting, and thought provoking plot. Dune contains undertones of colonialism and exploitation, religious influence, and introduces the Fremen, a group of people who live according to ideas of efficiency, sustainability, and openness.

How About For English Learners?

It would be a challenge, but not impossible for an English learner to pick up Dune! I guess the best way to describe the book would be “dense” – it’s a big book, with a lot of big words, which may lead to big confusion.

The themes and ideas may also take a little time to get used to, and often a dictionary is not going to help you understand what they are talking about (although at the back of my copy there is a glossary with some of the most difficult terms). The grammar is not overly complicated, but the vocabulary and context may be confusing for people not familiar with the genre.

If you are a person who loves to read fantasy and sci-fi books, or watch such movies, then I think Dune is definitely worth trying. If this is going to be your first attempt at reading an English book – I’d wait until you are a little more experienced (why not check out some of the books for English learners here or here)! Or, why not read Dune in your own native language, and listen to the audiobook in English on Audible?

Amazon Links!!

Buy Dune Here – https://amzn.to/3qARvik

Books Recommendations for English Learners!!

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59. 5 Books Recommendations to Improve Your English!

I believe the reading is an excellent tool for improving your language ability – it can help develop your understanding of sentence structure and grammar, build your vocabulary, and learn something new at the same time!

So… I thought why not review books on the blog? One of my resolutions for 2022 was to read more books this year, so after each book I read I will post a review on here!

Let me know if you choose to read any of the books!!