Plot Overview: The only planet capable of sustaining the valuable 'spice,' Arrakis is envied by all who do not sit on the throne. Paul Atreides, son of the ruling Duke Leto, is forced into the desert after an invasion usurps the House. Now, Paul must find his place among the Fremen, illusive natives of the deep desert, or die.

Critique: Dune is a great book and I see why people love it so much! At first, I was a little skeptical because there were a lot of new words that are unique to the Dune universe (Dune-iverse?), and I found myself struggling to remember them all. However, it was like my first introduction to Star Trek. After I learned the phrases that made the world unique, I was hooked. My favorite part was following Paul's journey as he had to find his place on Arakkis. There were other storylines, but they didn't captivate me as much as Paul's did. =

Cover Critique: I love how simplistic the cover is, with the blue and white of Paul and the letters contrasting with the orange and black of the planet. It also gives the story a much more updated feel, as compared to other covers over the years (Dune was published in 1965).

Star Rating: 4.5/5 (Would definitely read again)

Additional Comments: I can't think of another book that is quite like Dune. With the amount of care and research that Herbert put into his world, I would probably consider it the sci fi version of J.R.R. Tolkein's works in that regard...

More from Ms. Yang: Did you know there are 6 books in the Dune saga and close to 20 more prequel-ish books co-written by the author's son Brian and another novelist Kevin J. Anderson? That's a lot of world building!