Review: Dune, The Graphic Novel Book 1 by Brian Herbert

Dune: The Graphic Novel, Book 1 by Brian Herbert

Recommended: yes!
for a lot of help understanding the story through visuals, for condensing some of the weird longwinded parts in the prose novel, for a simple color palette that conveys so much of the world and characters

Summary

Dune, Frank Herbert’s epic science-fiction masterpiece set in the far future amidst a sprawling feudal interstellar society, tells the story of Paul Atreides as he and his family accept control of the desert planet Arrakis. A stunning blend of adventure and mysticism, environmentalism, and politics, Dune is a powerful, fanstastical tale that takes an unprecedented look into our universe, and is transformed by the graphic novel format. Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson’s adaptation retains the integrity of the original novel, and Raúl Allén and Patricia Martín’s magnificent illustrations, along with cover art by Bill Sienkiewicz, bring the book to life for a new generation of readers.

Set on the desert planet Arrakis, Dune is the story of the boy Paul Atreides, heir to a noble family tasked with ruling an inhospitable world where the only thing of value is the “spice” melange, a drug capable of extending life and enhancing consciousness. Coveted across the known universe, melange is a prize worth killing for….

When House Atreides is betrayed, the destruction of Paul’s family will set the boy on a journey toward a destiny greater than he could ever have imagined. And as he evolves into the mysterious man known as Muad’Dib, he will bring to fruition humankind’s most ancient and unattainable dream.

A stunning blend of adventure and mysticism, environmentalism and politics, Dune won the first Nebula Award, shared the Hugo Award, and formed the basis of what is undoubtedly the grandest epic in science fiction.

Thoughts

Boy am I impressed with this one! I have a weird relationship with Dune at this point, because I started reading the novel, stalled on it about halfway through before finally allowing myself to give up and admit it wasn’t for me, then I saw the movie, and now I’ve read the graphic novel. So through it all I’ve had a lot of confusion, understanding, disappointment, appreciation, intrigue, and more. I’ve loved it and hated it at various points.

This graphic novel has me firmly on the “loving it” side! Yay!!

I’ve now consumed this part of the story in 3 ways with the novel, movie, and now this graphic novel. The novel had me kind of confused about what was going on, the movie sort of made more sense because I had read the novel but was still kind of unsure about it in general, and now, finally, with this third kind of consumption, I think I understand the plot. The story in this one is conveyed pretty well, but cuts down on some of the weird rambling visions and trances in the novel. The ethereal vibe is still there and the result of the trances is given, but without so much strange meandering.

The art is quite clearly defined, which I appreciated. Even in scenes of action, it’s easy to follow what’s going on. In those moments, words are often eschewed in favor of movement conveyed by the placement of the panels and character expressions. The page layouts were well done, and some were so creative that I simply looked at them with a technical view for a minute or two and appreciated how well designed they were. The color was similarly utilized and often contrasted to give a very striking result. Scorching winds could practically be felt from the color alone.

AND THE WORMS. Y’all, the artists in this one know how to make a moment feel BIG. My jaw dropped on that first reveal.