by David Thill

Created on: February 02, 2009

The six books of the Dune series, written by Frank Herbert, have earned their place as one of the great works of speculative fiction.

The series is universe-creation on a grand scale. Dozens of characters, hundreds of plot lines, thousands of years and trillions of inhabitants populate the pages of the series. The story teems with all the elements of a good page turner: secret societies, thrilling battles, fascinating heroes and repulsive villains. Herbert borrows ideas widely from a range of sources, from the messiah-myth common to many human religions to the dystopic nightmare visions of peace imposed at any cost.

At its core is the future history of the human race, now spread widely across the universe. Through painful experience, humanity has learned to set strict limits on the independence of cybernetic systems, and as a result of this careful control of computing ability, has explored the depths and capabilities of the human mind. In one direction, the computational and rational abilities of the mind-as-calculating device result in the Mentats, an Order dedicated to the notion that the human mind is inherently superior to any machine, and that a machine which apes the power of the human mind is an abomination in itself. In another direction, the ancient order of the Bene Gesserit, the "Reverend Mothers," has dedicated itself to the refinement of the emotional and extrasensory abilities of the mind. Through training, self-knowledge and a high order of discipline, the Bene Gesserit are capable of exerting, at will, the maximum potential of power, grace and control inherent in the human body. Their superb powers of observation and knowledge of the human mind and body allow them to influence, manipulate, flatter, seduce and outright control those with whom they come in contact, and they have used their abilities over centuries to breed in or weed out human qualities as they choose.

In this universe, even interstellar travel is a function of the human mind. The Spacing Guild holds a total monopoly on interstellar travel and commerce through the services of their Navigators, the only beings capable of successfully guiding a vessel through the dimension of "folded space" used to bypass the lightspeed limit.

The series, from start to finish, is rich in intrigue. Noble Houses scheme against each other, against the Emperor, against the CHOAM company, which controls the trade in the mind-expanding, life-extending drug melange, and against the the various powerful Orders,

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