Finished listening to Dune a week ago.
I read Dune twice, once when I was 13, another when I was 22. Not is the third time.
It feels like what I’ve read was a strange Russian translation both times, as I didn’t remember most of the nuances.
Storytelling is sometimes weird. For example the fact that Jessica is daughter of Vladimir Harkonen is just a revelation that came to Paul during their escape, without much buildup.
Or like at one point Paul decided to drown a 9 meter long worm and drink the “water of life”, falling into comma for 3 weeks and everyone thinking that Harkonens poisoned him. Like, did you miss 9 meter long worm lying dead there, somehow?
There are interesting nuances I previously missed. Like the fact that Freemen are not just obsessed with water, but with the idea of terramorphin Arakis.
There is much obsession of how Freemen are even better than Sardukar, because both live in harsh environments.
Also, I remembered the obsession with poison needles, and the impression stays. In the last 5% of the book (I know because that’s how the audiobook shows it), first Alia stabs Vladimir Harkonen with it (how did she get it?). Thufir Hawat is ordered by the Emperor to stab Paul with a poison needle, but instead stabs himself as the last act of loyalty. And finally Feyd-Rautha has a poison needle in his tight (sic) when he tried to rub against Paul during his fight.
Alia is such a weird character that I’m glad they didn’t have her directly in the Dune movies. She reminds me of Virgin Mary child stories, where she “destroys adults with facts and logic”. It’s a deus ex machina in a deus ex machina world.
So, the first two movies end exactly where the first book ends. I’ll give “Dune Messiah” a try at some point as well.
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