Should I read dune? and if so how many of the books?

[Thaidakar the Ghostblood he/him]

I am looking for more book series to read and I have found dune, cradle and star wars legends books. but this thread is just about dune. should I read it? and if so which of the books? should I just stick to the original books by the first author? should I read the extended 22 book universe?

[+Invocation]

5 minutes ago, Thaidakar the Ghostblood said:

cradle

>:)

 

But alright, for Dune specifically, it depends on how crazy you want to get. You could read the first book only and pretend the rest don't exist (which is my preferred method because some of the rest of that is uh...not normal) or you could go all the way through. I'd say read the first one and then dive into the sequel (Dune Messiah) and if that ends up heading in a direction you're okay with continuing for the rest of the series, head on down to the rest of the mainline series and make another choice at the end of it if you want to go the whole way into other territory.

[Thaidakar the Ghostblood he/him]

Just now, Invocation said:

>:)

 

But alright, for Dune specifically, it depends on how crazy you want to get. You could read the first book only and pretend the rest don't exist (which is my preferred method because some of the rest of that is uh...not normal) or you could go all the way through. I'd say read the first one and then dive into the sequel (Dune Messiah) and if that ends up heading in a direction you're okay with continuing for the rest of the series, head on down to the rest of the mainline series and make another choice at the end of it if you want to go the whole way into other territory.

k

[Quantus he/him]

It is some of the more dense Scifi out there, but it's also the basis for a lot of our generation's works, so the concepts are most likely more familiar than they once were.  Dune the novel is definitely worth it.  After that the common consensus that Ive seen is that they get progressively worse, but I couldnt really lock down in what ways. 

 

This guy has a lot of great content on Dune, so here's his Spoiler free 4 reasons to Read Dune.  He doesnt seem to be a fan of the later works by Herberts family because it takes some wildly different thematic directions.

 

[Thaidakar the Ghostblood he/him]

1 minute ago, Quantus said:

It is some of the more dense Scifi out there, but it's also the basis for a lot of our generation's works, so the concepts are most likely more familiar than they once were.  Dune the novel is definitely worth it.  After that the common consensus that Ive seen is that they get progressively worse, but I couldnt really lock down in what ways. 

 

This guy has a lot of great content on Dune, so here's his Spoiler free 4 reasons to Read Dune.  He doesnt seem to be a fan of the later works by Herberts family because it takes some wildly different thematic directions.

 

So just the mainline series by Frank Herbert himself then? also does Dune have any nudity or innuendo content in it?

[Quantus he/him]

5 minutes ago, Thaidakar the Ghostblood said:

So just the mainline series by Frank Herbert himself then?

Honestly if you make it through the main line stuff and are still interested I would say decide for yourself. 

5 minutes ago, Thaidakar the Ghostblood said:

also does Dune have any nudity or innuendo content in it?

I honestly done remember enough to say what was present or how overt it was.  There were certainly random scenes showing hyper-decadence in some of the empire ruling houses but those were relatively rare, and I dont recall if any were sexual vs violent. I think there might have been a drug-orgy scene at some point but I think it focused on the drug-visions more than the sex.

[Thaidakar the Ghostblood he/him]

Just now, Quantus said:

Honestly if you make it through the main line stuff and are still interested I would say decide for yourself. 

I honestly done remember enough to say what was present or how overt it was.  There were certainly random scenes showing hyper-decadence in some of the empire ruling houses but those were relatively rare, and I dont recall if any were sexual vs violent. I think there might have been a drug-orgy scene at some point but I think it focused on the drug-visions more than the sex.

thankyou

[Ixthos Luke/Luke]

3 hours ago, Thaidakar the Ghostblood said:

So just the mainline series by Frank Herbert himself then? also does Dune have any nudity or innuendo content in it?

I have to give you this warning, because this caught me out of left field when I first read the books as a teen, but Heretics of Dune and Chapterhouse Dune are ... more adult oriented than the previous ones, and the previous ones weren't shy on this topic either, but those two ... things get very explicit. Just be warned. To give a significant part of that story (spoilers and adult but I try to be discreet):

Spoiler

There is a major female group who are antagonists who have the ability to sleep with people and the experience is so amazing it functions as a form of mind control, and descriptions of this show up in detail in both the books mentioned.

Please be advised, while the other four books are somewhat mature, the last two should have a content warning.

[Thaidakar the Ghostblood he/him]

1 minute ago, Ixthos said:

I have to give you this warning, because this caught me out of left field when I first read the books as a teen, but Heretics of Dune and Chapterhouse Dune are ... more adult oriented than the previous ones, and the previous ones weren't shy on this topic either, but those two ... things get very explicit. Just be warned. To give a significant part of that story (spoilers and adult but I try to be discreet):

  Reveal hidden contents

There is a major female group who are antagonists who have the ability to sleep with people and the experience is so amazing it functions as a form of mind control, and descriptions of this show up in detail in both the books mentioned.

Please be advised, while the other four books are somewhat mature, the last two should have a content warning.

ok, so I probably am not going to be able to read the last two, so I guess maybe just the first four?

[Ixthos Luke/Luke]

Just now, Thaidakar the Ghostblood said:

ok, so I probably am not going to be able to read the last two, so I guess maybe just the first four?

That might be best - all the books are well written, and all do touch on some of those themes, but the last two are pretty explicit. The first four do however tell a complete tale, though in theory each book, if you stop at it, is an effective end to the series. The first book should definitely be fine though. If you have issues with it, the rest will be a problem, but if you can manage it then up to God Emperor of Dune would be fine. The series is a classic for a reason.