Books: DUNE re-read (Part I: DUNE)

#dune #books
Frank Herbert's DUNE is in three parts: Dune, Muad'dib, and The Prophet. I just finished the first part, "Dune." Let's talk about it.
One thing I forgot to mention in the video is the emphasis on CHOAM and The Guild's power, which again, both film versions gloss over to some extent. DUNE really is, in some ways, a story of sabotaging the means of production when natives are being exploited. Not that they're being exploited via labor, but their natural resources are being mined and they are not sharing in its profits. Isn't it interesting how, if something is working for a powerful group of people, they aren't too concerned if it's hurting anyone else? The Guild/Empire/CHOAM have no drive to make the world better for its inhabitants, since as it stands, Dune is what they want and think they need and changes might risk their bottom line and way of life.
And WHY do the Fremen do nothing? They've been held at bay via a planted prophecy that keeps them waiting and tame. It's the realization of this prophecy that kicks off the uprising. Whether it's true doesn't matter--the fact they believe is the key.

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Another thing that gets bypassed by the movies: Paul and his mother can't just leave Arrakis because they've become addicted to the spice after so much exposure. Leaving would mean terrible withdrawal at best and possibly death unless they can be continually provided with spice.