Dune

Dune is a 1965 science-fiction novel by American author Frank Herbert, originally published as two separate serials in Analog magazine. It is the first installment of the Dune saga.

Adaptations of the novel have been notoriously difficult and complicated. In the 1970s, cult filmmaker Alejandro Jodorowsky attempted to make a film based on the novel. After spending almost three years in development, the project was cancelled due to a constantly growing budget. In 1984, a film adaptation, directed by David Lynch, was released to mixed-to-negative reaction by critics, despite receiving cult following. A third film adaptation directed by Denis Villeneuve is scheduled to be released on October 22, 2021. The book was also adapted into the 2000 Sci-Fi Channel miniseries Frank Herbert's Dune and its 2003 sequel Frank Herbert's Children of Dune (which combines the events of Dune Messiah and Children of Dune), a series of computer games, a board game, songs, and a series of follow-ups, including prequels and sequels, that were co-written by Kevin J. Anderson and the author's son, Brian Herbert, starting in 1999.

Plot
The book is set in the distant future amidst a feudal interstellar society in which various noble houses control planetary fiefs. It tells the story of young Paul Atreides, whose family accepts the stewardship of the planet Arrakis.

Why It Rocks

 * 1) The idea of a young protagonist who will face the fear and the planet dune as well as Fremen having blue eye instead of white are very unique and original.
 * 2) Very lovable and excellent characters in the novel.
 * 3) *Paul Atreides. Leto's son and heir, who is fifteen at the beginning of Dune. Already a young man with massive genetic potential, Paul has been trained in weaponry, the ways of the mentats, and the Bene Gesserits. As a result, he displays intelligence and prescience beyond his years, which makes several people wonder if he may be a prophesied Chosen One.
 * 4) *Chani. At one point towards the end of the book, Paul is constantly interrupted by people who want a Duel to the Death with him to see if he's really any good. Chani puts a stop to it by taking one of the challenges herself... pointing out, correctly, that a lot of challengers will be dissuaded by the certain knowledge that if a girl can beat them, the husband who trained her can certainly do it too.
 * 5) *Duncan Idaho. Described as having a devastating masculine appearance and animal magnetism. Brought back to life as a ghola hundreds of times to be used as a stud in various sex-related schemes that resulted in thousands of children and eventually millions of people with his genes.
 * 6) The titular planet (more formally known as Arrakis) is original and amazing.
 * 7) *This is a Death World in every sense of the term with its laundry list of dangers.
 * 8) *The planet is dry. Very dry. So much so that the local Fremen have to recycle and purify the water from both themselves and their own dead. In fact, spitting is considered a gracious compliment in their culture. Storms of static electricity that often predict the coming of a worm. Flora and fauna actively compete for what little moisture can be found. There are sandstorms strong enough to tear a human being to shreds. Explosive "pre-spice masses." And last but not least, the source of the Spice itself: massive, kilometers-long worms that violently react to any kind of rhythmic vibration - even walking. And they can devour spice harvesters whole.
 * 9) The title. Can you say about it? Dune. Nuff said.
 * 10) We only learn of this long after the deed's been done, but when Duncan Idaho was forcing the Sardaukar away from Paul long enough to get away from the office, he apparently killed nineteen of them. At that time, the Sardaukar were powerful enough that a single one of them could slaughter ten house regulars, and even a Bene Gesserit adept. They were impressed enough to hold onto his body and contact the Tleliax to get them to make a ghola.
 * 11) *Of course Duncan's a badass, he's the Swordmaster for House Atreides, one of the more highly-rated noble houses in the Empire. His being the target of cloning fodder also means he is effectively immune to the more long-lasting effects of death, though it also gives him an Iron Woobie status verging on Cosmic Plaything.
 * 12) Excellent story of the novel, since it is one of the very original book by Frank Herbert.
 * 13) Paul Atreides gets his early on when he successfully pilots a (possibly crippled) ornithopter through an Arrakis sandstorm (which, keep in mind, have winds capable of reaching up to 500 mph and carry sand with enough force to shred metal), while reciting the Bene Gesserit Litany Against Fear.
 * 14) And just afterwards: "Him against Jamis and not a mark on him!" Even Stilgar was impressed that a fifteen-year-old kid could take on a seasoned Fremen fighter and win — never having killed in single combat before.
 * 15) *Paul Atreides just has moment after moment once he becomes the Kwisatz Haderach.
 * 16) **"It is not necessary for her to convert the water."
 * 17) **"You will think back to the gentle ways of the Sardaukar!" — when speaking of the Emperor's fanatic-soldiers trained in the uttermost ruthlessness and feared throughout the universe.
 * 18) **"How would you like to live billions upon billions of lives? There's a fabric of legends for you! Think of all those experiences, the wisdom they'd bring. But wisdom tempers love, doesn't it? And it puts a new shape on hate. How can you tell what's ruthless unless you've plumbed the depths of both cruelty and kindness? You should fear me, Mother. I am the Kwisatz Haderach."
 * 19) **"Try your tricks on me, old witch. Where's your gom jabbar? Try looking into that place where you dare not look! You'll find me there staring out at you!"
 * 20) **We can thus conclude that the Kwisatz Haderach is a Crowning Moment of Awesome for all humanity.
 * 21) Baron Vladimir Harkonnen is grotesquely obese, but counteracts this by wearing small anti-gravity devices that make him as agile as a healthy young man. In the original novel, his weight is indicated to be the result of gluttony, but the prequels (written later by different authors) retcon this - they have it that in his youth he was a slender and handsome man and his obesity was the result of a rare disease inflicted by the Bene Gesseret mother of his daughter Jessica.
 * 22) "I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain."
 * 23) Its impact. Dune was starting the legacy from the franchise and has been widely influential, inspiring numerous novels, music, films, television, games, and comic books as well as turning into adaptations, like movies for David Lynch and Dennis Villeneuve. It is considered one of the greatest and most influential science fiction novels of all time, with numerous modern science fiction works such as Star Wars owing their existence to Dune. Dune has also been referenced in numerous other works of popular culture, including Star Trek, Chronicles Of Riddick, The Kingkiller Chronicle and Futurama. Dune was cited as a source of inspiration for Hayao Miyazaki's anime film Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (1984) for its post-apocalyptic world. Also, the book was an inspiration for the song "Desert Rose" by Sting and Cheb Mami.

Reception
Dune has been regularly cited as one of the world's best-selling and popular science fiction novels of all time.