Dune

By: Frank Herbert

Narrated by: Scott Brick, Orlagh Cassidy, Euan Morton, Simon Vance, Ilyana Kadushin

Length: 21 hrs and 2 mins

Publisher's Summary

Soon to be a major motion picture directed by Denis Villeneuve, starring Timothée Chalamet, Josh Brolin, Jason Momoa, Zendaya, Rebecca Ferguson, Oscar Isaac, Javier Bardem, Dave Bautista, 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 Maud'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)

This is NOT a faithful recitation of the book!

A lot of the reviews listed here slam the cast for inconsistencies with voices portrayed by certain actors, but I didn't have a problem following who was supposed to be talking. Anyone who read the physical book previously should be able to follow the dialogue easily enough. What caught me off guard is that this listing takes significant liberties with what is presented to us as consumers of this product. It does not follow all the characters like the physical book does, instead focusing on Paul practically to the exclusion of the rest of the cast. This presentation leave out roughly 50% of what is presented in the physical book (that is my estimation and not an exact amount). Therefore I feel that this audio book should be re-titled to "Dune, or the Story of Paul".

This is not Dune as I know and love, and should at least be tagged as an abridged version of the story.

Leaves Out Descriptive Text of Dialogue

This leaves out all of the descriptive text surrounding dialogue so that you have to rely on the acting to understand to the dialogue, including knowing which character is speaking. I want to hear all of the author's words, not some actor's interpretation of the words.

:(

this is a dramatazation not a book reading. adding actors and music ruins it for me.

Abridged version

Mistakenly bought this thinking it was an unabridged reading. Hopefully I can get my money back.

Modified

This is an abridged book which has also been edited to Audible's moral standards. Disappointing that this was not disclosed by Audible.

Starts out great

Starts out great but then the narrations begins to vary, sometimes it sounds like a full cast performing, then it switches to a single narrator doing voices, then that narrator is switched with another who sounds totaly different. Then it goes back to the full cast w/ many voices. The changes are jarring and happen without warning often in the middle of a chapter so you are constantly confused as to who is speaking and what is going on. There is no consitency in the narration of voices- all very random and sporadic. A headache of a listen and considering the level of detail and involved plot elements this makes for a very confusing experience.
Not well executed.

Wonderful production!

WOW!! The narration in this book is always good with segments that are GREAT. There were some complaints about the changing of accents or voices. I think of this in these terms. The normal narrator goes along telling you the story, and then at times there is an 'enhanced' scene, a scene where the voices are really acted out, usually with several different voice actors. I think of this as a picture in a book, this enhanced scene has a different set of voices because of the change in actors, but at these times you are also sucked into the story a bit more. Eventually the enhanced scene ends and the story is passed back to the standard narrator. As for the sound effects and the music, I think they all add to the richness of the story. I was never distracted from the story because of them. When I first heard the change between the 'enhanced' scenes and the standard narration, I was a little confused, but I quickly recognized the extra enjoyment I got from these enhanced scenes, and looked at them as a positive factor rather than seeing them as a negative. If I had known, going into the recording that it happened this way, I don't think I would have been confused at all. I think if you go into this thinking that the story was recorded with an excellent narrator, then the producers went back and 'enhanced' certain scenes for your enjoyment, you will be able to fully appreciate the wonderfulness of this recording.

Please. Do You Really Need Another Great Review?

Frank Herbert, I OWE you. I owe you a LOT. This was one of the very first books that truly stirred my love for science fiction. You SPOILED me. You made me demand better writing from the authors I followed, and better development, as well. From this book on, I became harder on myself, to read works that challenged me, that made me ponder well after finishing the novel. I hungered for better writing that combined story, action, flow, cadence and for God's sake, CREATIVITY. Thanks, Frank.

THAT'S what good writing demands of us, and if the author excels at his or her craft, this book is the perfect example of what can happen.

In Dune, you get galaxy-sweeping politics, messianic jihads, genetically-enhanced warriors and spacefarers, pirates hiding ruling classes, clones that psychically destroy their victims, fantastic ecologies and creatures, religions that manipulate families and bloodlines, and countless castes intertwined with ruling houses that all depend upon a drug found only on one desolate planet - A planet with its own secret and massive agenda, hidden within the howling desert plains covering its surface. And wait, it's followed by yet ADDITIONAL novels in the series, some better than others, and then yet ANOTHER series by the author's SON, done decades later, that provides tremendous PREQUELS, based on his father's notes? Finally, throw in excellent male and female narrators that fit the characters they portray, and individualize each character.

Come on. Do you really need another great review to buy this audiobook?

Please.

brought an old classic to life

I first read this book in 1980 in the back seat as my family did a two week camping road trip, and I loved this story. I must have read Dune over 20 times, it was that good to me. When I heard about the audio book I was a bit hesistant that they might ruin one of my favorite stories (like they did with the movie!!).
But the narration and characterization of the actors, were wonderful, giving the story a richness and fullness, a 3D immersive experience.
It made a great story that much better.

Good book!

Overall this was a great listen. However, I was somewhat annoyed how sometimes the voice of different characters were spoken by different actors, and sometimes they weren't. At one point even within one chapter they switched back and forth which mad it somewhat confusing. I did enjoy some of the sound effects though. Great listen!

A superb production of a sci fi classic!

I won't dwell on the book itself - it is for many the highwater mark of the sci fi genre; superbly written, richly detailed, boiling with wonderful ideas and concepts, and giving an impression of historical depth that (almost) rivals Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. Rather, I'd like to comment on the audio presentation. Potential listeners should have no hesitation in downloading this immediately! Simon Vance is the main reader, and - as always! - his reading is of the highest calibre - clear, faultless pronounciation, and with a fine balance of character voicing without over-acting. Although it's billed as a full-cast reading (from the superb Audio Renaissance team), the full cast are only used on some chapters, while Simon Vance reads many chapters solo. And while I love the Audio Renaissance team, I actually found the solo Vance chapters even better. A very highly recommended listen! And what great news that the sequels will be available over the upcoming months!

read and heard now!!!!!

I first read this book years and years ago. After getting an iPod, to while away the hours at work, cnc programmer and operator, I decided to try an audio book. I went for Dune with the thought of 'I've read it, so lets see how it listens' so to speak. AMAZED. I loved every minute, got totally engrossed, beautifully read, good background mood music, thoroughly enjoyed it. Next audio book please!

Rather fragmented production of a wonderful book

I read 'Dune' in my teens and adored it - the complexities of the story and the depth to which the eco-system of the desert planet is planned are quite breathtaking. So I was looking forward to having the audiobook so I could re-live the wonder. Unfortunately this is a bit of a fragmented production. The main narrator has a voice fitting to the scope of the book and reads well. However, my guess is that originally the production company brought in other actors to read the dialogue - but for an ABRIDGED version. But they didn't bother to use them to complete the unabridged recording. Therefore, at some points, we have dialogue of the main characters read by other actors (often with some annoying 'atmospheric' sound effects, music or irritating echoic effects in the background). Then at other sections of the story all the voices of dialogue are provided by the main narrator, which makes the whole thing sadly disjointed. Ironically, I think it works far better with the narrator alone providing all dialogue - so the company could have saved themselves the cost and trouble of getting other people in and would still have ended up with a better, more choherent performance of the book. I will still finish listening to the audiobook, just to enjoy the marvellous story, but I feel the oddities of the recording will always keep me from being completely immersed in the tale.

The narration wasn't for me.

I do like Dune. It is a classic of science fiction. Given the current warnings from prominent scientists about AI, and the impact of religious violence on our world, it raises interesting speculation about the future. I've read the book in print several times over the last 30 years.

The narration didn't really work for me, however. The main narrator had a kind of 'grand' tone to his voice, a little too reverent, as if every sentence was a morsel of deep importance. I found myself turned off. His female voices suffered that problem many male readers have, of making them too 'fluffy' (surely not, for Jessica!), but it was the overall tone that defeated me. I didn't make it through to the end, it became a chore, so I finished it off in my printed book.

A lot of people here seem to disagree, and thought the reading was exceptional. I am very willing to accept it just didn't work for me. I prefer readers who sound like they're enjoying the story.

High drama but more of it please

Dune is a book of high tension, filled with treachery, suspicion and dangerous characters with dark motives. The early scenes of this audiobook are dramatised and they capture the mood expertly. This is edge-of-the-seat stuff and makes for compelling listening. I could feel the 'gom jabar' at my own neck as my hands went all clammy! What a pity the dramatisation lessens, giving way to straight narration as the book progresses. It is read very well throughout but it could have been so much more gripping if the full cast had been retained. Another annoying gripe, common to so many audiobooks. Why can't the audio 'chapters' correspond with those in the book instead of ending randomly mid paragraph? It makes navigating a long book unnecessarily difficult.

A new dimension

When I was a teenager I thoroughly enjoyed (and found myself transported to) Dune and appreciated it as much as Catch 22 and Asimov's Foundation series. When I was a thirty-something I tried to enjoy the film version without much success. As a fifty-something I am amazed by the richness of the experience provided by this audiobook. The combination of straight narrative and dramatisation works to bring the book to life in a way I did not expect. I recommend listening via an iPod/MP3 player with headphones. If the spoken word can evkoe pictures in your mind, your are in for a cinematic treat!

Dune is to SciFi, as what LOR is to Fantasy

I loved the 1984 film adaptation of Dune as a child, but I have never read the book.

I went through this audio book, Twice! In one week. What a story and to think it was published in 1965.

I really loved the way this book is written and audio production is the best I have every heard, and adds to the entertainment value.

There is a the main narrator Simon Vance who is brilliant, but the additional narrators and ambient sounds used add more colour to the sound.

Scifi may be back drop to this story, but the main drama is in the relationships and the characters. I urge non Scifi readers looking for a good book with great intertwining plots, varied characters told in a oracle like voice to listen to this story.

I enjoyed this more than Lord of the Rings, which I do like. I like a long story that is well written and this is one of the best.

Incomplete adaptation. Not the full novel.

I've only got about two minutes in but have already had to stop. This is not the complete novel. It is an adaptation. When there is dialogue the words of the narrator are omitted, as if it were a play. Not what I wanted at all for such an amazing book.

confusing

Overall very good, but the inconsistency of the voices really bugged me. Simon Vance is great, so are the others, but having randomly cut in and out was kinda strange.

Outstanding

This is a superbly read, expertly-produced audiobook that draws the listener headlong into the world of Arrakis and the adventures of Dune. The narration, acting, music and effects all compliment each other beautifully to create an experience that does true justice to this Sci-Fi epic.