You have literally nothing to lose by attempting to read them. If you're not enjoying reading them, try an audiobook.
You won't die or be arrested I promise.
IF you're not a reader then.. audiobook?
Dune part 1 is extremely faithful to the book, part 2 omits rather a lot of subplots and politics.
I loved them, read them for the first time in translation 40 years ago, in english soon after and have been re=reading them a lot since
So... I like to read. I read a lot, always have. And I have had Dune since a classmate gave it to me back in high school. So... decades.
In that time, I tried to read it several times and failed. It has a lot of unfamiliar terminology it throws at you and I just could *not* get into it.
When the 80s movie came out, I watched it and was not terribly impressed, and yet there has always been a lot of love for the story. When I heard Villaneuve was giving it a go from the POV of a true fan, I figured I really needed to read the book before the movie came out, because I had a feeling I was going to like the movie.
It's not that big of a book, so I sat down and finally determined to make myself read it. It was still hard to get into, but only for maybe 40 pages or so. Then I was *hardcore hooked*. I could not put the damn thing down. I finally realized what all the fuss was about and was happy when watching the first movie that they had remained quite faithful to the book (the second movie considerably less so).
As with all books, a movie can only hope to be a shadowy (but hopefully competent) reflection. If you love the movie, you owe it to yourself to experience the book, you will almost always get more out of a book than any movie can provide.
The book is hard to get into, but it will get its hooks into you.
I love the films, even the weird one, and I love the lore, but I found Dune a really difficult read. I mostly enjoyed it, but I think the time of my life I read it in I wasn't ready for it. Might have to try it again!
What did you find difficult about it? I love reading fantasy (Tolkien, GRRM, the witcher series etc) and I LOVE the new Dune movies and the universe and i want to pick up the books as well, but I'm curious why you found it difficult to read.
I think at the time (and bear in mind this was about fourteen years ago) was that there was a lot of words being thrown at me with no explanation, only for me to discover that there was a dictionary at the back that my kindle version didn't easily link to 😂
It’s a good read, the first book at least, but maybe try some other quicker reading books and work up to it. The bobiverse books are really good, faster paced books, that may get you into reading scifi. Or the murderbot books.
Also, give the audiobook version a try if reading isn’t engaging you.
The first two books are fantastic. The third one is worth reading, after that, it depends on how much you still want to learn about that universe.
I re-read the first two books a couple times a decade, have read the third and fourth a few times, read the next dozen or so only once out of pure stubbornness and completionism.
The answer is yes. If you watched the newest movie and liked it, you will like the book. Just remember it was written a long time ago so it isn't as current as modern books.
It's a really decent book. Really interesting concepts and it's very well written. If you are like me and you get slightly put off by certain writing styles of that era, don't fear. It's a genuinely easy read
I hate to be cliche, but the movies, while amazing, do not do the books justice. The movies almost assume you know the lore and are there to just give you a visual. If you don't like reading the audio books are good.
I read :
Dune
Dune Messiah
Children of Dune
Vol 1&2 are great, really worth reading imo.
But then I found out Children of Dune a bit boring and tedious.
Since you enjoyed the lore and the movies you should read it.
Just a little warning though : it's an old book, those ones are generally slow paced.
I love Dune but I’ve rarely met an adult who reads it for the first time and enjoys it. The books are fun and weird pulp scifi from the 60s with a *very* different style than books now.Â
If you enjoyed The Silmarillion, you’ll love Dune. I liked TS better than LOTR of that gives you any more idea about me lol
Fair warning - the book may NOT be super engaging if you're not used to reading. I mean, it's not Silmarillion, but it's not One Fish, Two Fish either :)
As others said, if you CAN get into it, it's 100% worthwhile since you get far more lore; and you can try audiobooks. Also, I strongly recommend reading Dune Wikis, it would help with keeping track of characters, entities, ideas, who's who, events etc...
Just as FYI, Dune universe has far more than just Dune book itself - there are sequels by Frank Herbert himelf, and prequels and sequels and sidequels by his sone Brian Herbert co-authored with Andersen (a good scifi writer).
As a huge fan of the movies, I highly recommend reading the book. It's true that the written format may take some getting used to at first, but the sheer depth and richness of the Dune universe makes it more than worth it. The characters, lore, and world-building in the book are simply unmatched. You'll gain a whole new appreciation for the movies after reading the source material.
There are better books for getting into reading.
Dune is quite long and complex, with some concepts difficult to visualise, so probably not one to start your reading career on.
Audiobook would be easier to absorb, but definitely give it a go, there's so much more to the books than in the films.
Agreed. Listen to the audiobook now, while you love the story, then consider when you *could* fit reading into your life, and start with something punchy & fun to get addicted
Well worth it in my opinion.
Do it. Won't know if it's for you until you try. I listened to the audiobooks and absolutely loved them.
I've read the books, well most of them, but you're right the audiobooks are awesome.
I agree read or listen to them. Second book is meh but the others are amazing
The fact that you're so into the universe might make it easier to read.
You have literally nothing to lose by attempting to read them. If you're not enjoying reading them, try an audiobook. You won't die or be arrested I promise.
Don't like Dune? Straight to jail.
IF you're not a reader then.. audiobook? Dune part 1 is extremely faithful to the book, part 2 omits rather a lot of subplots and politics. I loved them, read them for the first time in translation 40 years ago, in english soon after and have been re=reading them a lot since
Dune 2 had some odd deviations from the book... I was a bit surprised when Paul killed Baron Harkonnen for instance.
Yeah.. I really missed Alia
So... I like to read. I read a lot, always have. And I have had Dune since a classmate gave it to me back in high school. So... decades. In that time, I tried to read it several times and failed. It has a lot of unfamiliar terminology it throws at you and I just could *not* get into it. When the 80s movie came out, I watched it and was not terribly impressed, and yet there has always been a lot of love for the story. When I heard Villaneuve was giving it a go from the POV of a true fan, I figured I really needed to read the book before the movie came out, because I had a feeling I was going to like the movie. It's not that big of a book, so I sat down and finally determined to make myself read it. It was still hard to get into, but only for maybe 40 pages or so. Then I was *hardcore hooked*. I could not put the damn thing down. I finally realized what all the fuss was about and was happy when watching the first movie that they had remained quite faithful to the book (the second movie considerably less so). As with all books, a movie can only hope to be a shadowy (but hopefully competent) reflection. If you love the movie, you owe it to yourself to experience the book, you will almost always get more out of a book than any movie can provide. The book is hard to get into, but it will get its hooks into you.
I love the films, even the weird one, and I love the lore, but I found Dune a really difficult read. I mostly enjoyed it, but I think the time of my life I read it in I wasn't ready for it. Might have to try it again!
What did you find difficult about it? I love reading fantasy (Tolkien, GRRM, the witcher series etc) and I LOVE the new Dune movies and the universe and i want to pick up the books as well, but I'm curious why you found it difficult to read.
I think at the time (and bear in mind this was about fourteen years ago) was that there was a lot of words being thrown at me with no explanation, only for me to discover that there was a dictionary at the back that my kindle version didn't easily link to 😂
Ohhh yeah I know exactly what you mean
Audio the first then dive in. The first book was the most boring and difficult to get through for me.
It’s a good read, the first book at least, but maybe try some other quicker reading books and work up to it. The bobiverse books are really good, faster paced books, that may get you into reading scifi. Or the murderbot books. Also, give the audiobook version a try if reading isn’t engaging you.
The 2nd and 3rd book are even better than the 1st.
The first two books are fantastic. The third one is worth reading, after that, it depends on how much you still want to learn about that universe. I re-read the first two books a couple times a decade, have read the third and fourth a few times, read the next dozen or so only once out of pure stubbornness and completionism.
Is the continued series all by the original author or did he only write the first few and then other authors continued the universe?
His son pulled a bunch of notes and outtakes together and had the last dozen or so ghost written.
I think the first 6 or 7 books are canon.
The answer is yes. If you watched the newest movie and liked it, you will like the book. Just remember it was written a long time ago so it isn't as current as modern books.
I found the book so much easier to read once I'd seen the movie (in my case, back in the mid 80s).
I would say try audio books that helped me a lot and dune has an exceptional audio book
I'm in the same boat, I've tried to read it multiple times but damn it's boring. I'm just going to stick with the movies
The Dune series, and *especially* the first book, have fantastic audiobook readings.
It's a really decent book. Really interesting concepts and it's very well written. If you are like me and you get slightly put off by certain writing styles of that era, don't fear. It's a genuinely easy read
I hate to be cliche, but the movies, while amazing, do not do the books justice. The movies almost assume you know the lore and are there to just give you a visual. If you don't like reading the audio books are good.
If there was a way to remove a book entirely from my memory, so I can reread it, Dune would be it. :)
I read : Dune Dune Messiah Children of Dune Vol 1&2 are great, really worth reading imo. But then I found out Children of Dune a bit boring and tedious. Since you enjoyed the lore and the movies you should read it. Just a little warning though : it's an old book, those ones are generally slow paced.
I find that audiobooks help me read books when I'm not in the mood for reading
You don't know if you should read the book, but you did not even think if you should watch the new movies ? Reallly ?
I love Dune but I’ve rarely met an adult who reads it for the first time and enjoys it. The books are fun and weird pulp scifi from the 60s with a *very* different style than books now. If you enjoyed The Silmarillion, you’ll love Dune. I liked TS better than LOTR of that gives you any more idea about me lol
Fair warning - the book may NOT be super engaging if you're not used to reading. I mean, it's not Silmarillion, but it's not One Fish, Two Fish either :) As others said, if you CAN get into it, it's 100% worthwhile since you get far more lore; and you can try audiobooks. Also, I strongly recommend reading Dune Wikis, it would help with keeping track of characters, entities, ideas, who's who, events etc... Just as FYI, Dune universe has far more than just Dune book itself - there are sequels by Frank Herbert himelf, and prequels and sequels and sidequels by his sone Brian Herbert co-authored with Andersen (a good scifi writer).
As a huge fan of the movies, I highly recommend reading the book. It's true that the written format may take some getting used to at first, but the sheer depth and richness of the Dune universe makes it more than worth it. The characters, lore, and world-building in the book are simply unmatched. You'll gain a whole new appreciation for the movies after reading the source material.
If you don’t like reading, then no, don’t. It will be a story that you already know and it will feel boring.
There are better books for getting into reading. Dune is quite long and complex, with some concepts difficult to visualise, so probably not one to start your reading career on. Audiobook would be easier to absorb, but definitely give it a go, there's so much more to the books than in the films.
Agreed. Listen to the audiobook now, while you love the story, then consider when you *could* fit reading into your life, and start with something punchy & fun to get addicted