Men with superhuman analytical abilities called Mentats have taken the place of Computers. Since there are no computers, the essential working of the galaxy is still medieval and feudal with heavy reliance on men and their dallying around. Herbert's genius manifests itself in his ability to combine the past, the present and the future in one sweeping elegant move called Dune.ĭune is set in a futuristic technologically advanced world which after the Butlerian Jihad (the bloody war between Man and Machines) has eliminated all computers and passed a decree declaring 'Thou shalt not make a machine in the likeness of a man's mind'. The issues he tackles are as modern as the colour television. the plot is driven by political mind games reminiscent of The Game of Thrones.

The setting of the book is arid futuristic. However, the real merit in this effort lies in the commentary on our lives in the present. This is a serious effort at predicting how our world is going to look two thousand years from now and by God, it's a bloody good and detailed prediction. The foreword makes it pretty clear that Frank Herbert isn't kidding around. 'To the people whose labours go beyond ideas into the realm of 'real materials'- to the dry-land ecologists, wherever they may be, in whatever time they work, this effort at prediction is dedicated in humility and admiration.' However, of course, I plodded on and could feel the gap closing in with every page much to my joy and relief.

I felt a yawning chasm between Herbert's vision and my limited understanding of it. I knew there were dialogues which meant much more than their superficial meaning and was unable to grasp at it. The challenge was the complexity and depth of the plot, which left me perplexed, in the beginning. It was intriguing and challenging and heck, since I live for challenges I decided to take this one up too, gladly. The tone was umistakably sombre and I realized Herbert was not here to merely entertain me, he was here to make me part of the legend of Muad'Dib. The very first stirring I felt upon opening the yellowed pages of Dune was that of stumbling upon an English translation of an ancient Arabic manuscript of undeniable power and potence which had an epic story to narrate. All this set in a mind-boggling, frighteningly original world which Herbert ominously terms as an 'effort at prediction'. Machiavellian intrigue, mythology, religion, politics, imperialism, environmentalism, the nature of power. In my head, the purpose of this review is very clear.

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