When the trailer first appeared for this new film, I was definitely intrigued. I had no previous knowledge of the novels, but I got a sense from the previews and the type of buzz surrounding the film, that it had to be based off of something else. When a friend invited me to join her the weekend it released, I learned from her that the original story came from a series of novels published in the 1960’s. Upon learning that there were popular novels behind the film, I immediately questioned if I should read the book before watching the movie. My friend’s advice was to watch the film first, so we weren’t tempted to pick apart the film through our knowledge of the story. Her logic was sound and I agreed. But I walked out of that theatre hungry, desperate even.
I loved the movie. I found it breathtaking. But I needed more content.
After tracking down the novel at our local Sam’s Club, I had it in my possession within two hours of watching the film.
Quick note on the novel: the first of the Dune series by Frank Herbert was originally published in 1965 and it was a commercial and literary success. It won the Nebula Award for Best Novel and tied for the Hugo Award in 1966, and the series is considered one of the best-selling science fiction novels in the world.
I’m only finished with the first book (the second of the series should be arriving any day) but let me say, it absolutely lives up to the hype! Engrossing and suspenseful with masterful storytelling, this novel is no junk food reading. The vocabulary challenges, in part because Herbert created new languages and a complex universe of characters, religions, and politics that takes focus and patience to understand. You have to be comfortable with being uncomfortable in this reading. You won’t fully comprehend all the content; you just have to keep reading to grow in your comprehension. But my goodness does it ever captivate! I’m enamored with the universe Herbert created and I am anxious to begin the second book.
I’m resistant to the cliché saying, “the book is always better than the movie,” only because it feels like an unfair comparison. The form of a film automatically inhibits it from telling the kind of in-depth story a novel affords. And a novel doesn’t offer the kind of sensory experience films provide. Books and movies serve a different purpose and engage us on entirely different sensory levels. In this case, the novel gave me all the context I was missing from the film (and then some!), but the film also added emotion and physical sensation to elements of the novel that would have felt less, diminished somehow in their effect, in my own reading. Both the film and the novel are beautifully crafted in their own way. That said, I highly recommend both the film and the novel … and I think watching the film first was the right move. It whet my appetite for the novel.
