Dune

By: Frank Herbert

Narrated by: Scott Brick, Orlagh Cassidy, Euan Morton, Simon Vance, Ilyana Kadushin, Byron Jennings, David R. Gordon, Jason Culp, Kent Broadhurst, Oliver Wyman, Patricia Kilgarriff, Scott Sowers

Length: 21 hrs and 2 mins

Publisher's summary

Long-listed, Audible.com Best of the Year, 2007

Long-listed, Audible.com 100 Audible Essentials, 2007

Audie Award winner, 2008

NOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE directed by Denis Villeneuve, starring Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, Rebecca Ferguson, Javier Bardem, Josh Brolin, Austin Butler, Florence Pugh, Dave Bautista, Christopher Walken, Léa Seydoux, Stellan Skarsgård, and Charlotte Rampling

Set on the desert planet Arrakis, Dune is the story of the boy Paul Atreides, who would become the mysterious man known as Muad'dib. He would avenge the traitorous plot against his noble family—and would 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. Frank Herbert's death in 1986 was a tragic loss, yet the astounding legacy of his visionary fiction will live forever.

©1965 Frank Herbert (P)2007 Audio Renaissance, a division of Holtzbrinck Publishers LLC

Critic reviews

Audie Award Winner, Science Fiction, 2008
Nebula Award winner, Best Novel, 1965
Hugo Award winner, Best Novel, 1966

"Unique...I know nothing comparable to it except Lord of the Rings." (Arthur C. Clarke)

"One of the monuments of modern science fiction." (Chicago Tribune)

"Powerful, convincing, and most ingenious." (Robert A. Heinlein)

Essential Science Fiction/Fantasy

A bit slow in the beginning, but hits an amazing stride. The book itself tackles issues like transhumanism, post-singularity technology, and religious futurism in ways I've never even thought of before. Truly a spectacular piece of fiction!

great start of the series

great story and narration this was one of the best I listened looking forward to listen other books in series.

beautiful story

beautiful book, beautiful story, slow start but once it got on the way it was nonstop imaginative beauty. thanks audible audiobooks

Whatchya Dune?

One of the finest sci-fi tomes ever.
Great voice talent! The intricate details in this unabridged version really come to life.

there is just something annoying about this produc

So Dune is awesome and you should read it for sure, as far as listening to this production its not a full dramatic reading, there are chapters where voice actors do the dialogue but then there are plenty of chapters just read by the narrator and there seems to be no rhyme or reason. The narrator is good but it is just odd and almost feels like they ran out of money to do a full dramatic reading

Mixed bag

It's very clear that they supplemented a full cast reading of an abridged version, which made it difficult to keep characters straight since they were performed differently in the supplemented sections.

Dune is still amazing.

Dune mixes science fiction, religion and ecology in a way that creates a fantasy world that is both wondrous and terrifying. One moment you will be swept up in the valorous call to follow a holy messiah and the next you will question the roles such super heroes play in our lives. The Dune series will make you question strong men and super heroes of all political philosophies. I will also make you rethink what role we all play in making such people so powerful.

Great story

I've chosen not to read the future stories based on reviews. This story had so many interesting elements and I enjoyed it despite not really liking the main character.

Excellent Story, Good Performances, One Drawback

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I would certainly recommend this audiobook. Dune is a fantastic story that draws you into an immersive world and the performances were very entertaining.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Unless something really outrageous happens with the tone or plot of a story, I usually stick with the protagonist as my favorite character. I feel most connected with Paul as I travel along this story, though at times it is hard to relate to him. And Alia was awesome-wasn't expecting her.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I laughed in several places and felt strongly for characters as they went through their trials. The performances were great at tugging on heartstrings as well as making you clench your fists in rage-it would have just helped if they were consistent.

Any additional comments?

The only reason I don't give this excellent book a perfect score is because of its inconsistent use of performers. In some chapters the narrator will only read the action while other actors will voice the characters' dialogue, in other chapters the narrator will voice those same characters. It gets distracting. Almost as if randomly-half way through a movie-the actor for a main character was replaced by someone else. Don't get me wrong, the performances are good. The narrator and other actors are all talented performers that give great renditions of the characters. It would just feel more professional if the production chose a style and stuck with it.

Amazingly done

This political science fiction drama is an amazing book. Frank Herbert wrote a fascinating tale about how Paul Atreides came to become Muad'dib and the Emperor of all the galaxy. IT is full of mystery and political intrigue, a flight from death, survival in the desert. Unlike many authors of his time, Herbert brought forth strong female leads in addition to his strong male leads. Simon Vance does an amazing job narrating this book and bringing it to life. His voice is smooth and pleasant to listen to. The rest of the cast add contrast and color I was not expecting and was happy to hear. They worked well together, blending the story into one cohesive oration. Loved!