I must not fear. Fear is the blog-killer.

It had been too long since I had read Dune. In the intervening years since I first picked up the book, I had the unfortunate occasion to watch the trippy but horrific 1984 film adaptation (which made a lot more sense after I saw some of David Lynch's other work). The Sci Fi Channel did a much better job with the book - it's no surprise, considering they gave it six hours.

I start my post this way because upon rereading the book, I realized that I had forgot about the brilliant complexities and the fullness of the world that Frank Herbert created. This time around, I was understandably more focused on the book's social science implications. Yes, Herbert masterfully recreated the Middle East oil dynamic. What is even more impressive is that he did so in 1965, before the first oil crisis and far before our current one. When I first read the book ten years ago, I did not draw these parallels as clearly, partly because of my age, but mostly because they did not seem to be of particular concern. My, how times have changed. Truly, Dune has truly come into its own.

But I digress. The theme under which this book has been placed is that of religion and the messiah. The messiah is certainly common in all of literature - few modern novels lack some form of Christ figure. The thing about science fiction is, it lets you drop the "figure" and keep the "Christ" (insert other messiah here). We can see the generations of selective breeding come to fruition, delivering an oppressed people from their oppressors. The story gives the reader its perspective on the religious mindset and the concept of the messiah. Above all, the book notes the patience and restraint of the Bene Gesserit and the Fremen. This is, of course, vital to much of messianic religious belief because, well, the messiah isn't here yet.

My thoughts here aren't exactly as organized as I'd like. The book is too expansive to really settle down on certain points, but I'm sure that tomorrow's class will put things into a more distinct framework.