Dune

Took a chapter or two to hook me, but Dune won me over by the halfway point.

Frank Herbert's prose carried this one more than the plot did, and that was enough.

This might be my favorite science fiction read all year. Dune earns every bit of its hype.

Some genuinely great moments in Dune, buried in pacing that dragged.

Not bad, but I expected more from a science fiction book with this much buzz.

Reread this for the fourth time and it still hits different. Herbert's worldbuilding is unmatched - the ecology of Arrakis alone deserves a whole class. Paul's arc from golden boy to something much darker is the best slow-burn tragedy in sci-fi.

Dense in the best way. Took me two attempts to get into the politics but once it clicked I could not put it down. Chani deserved better in this book specifically, fix it Denis.

Picked this for book club expecting complaints about the density and instead we spent two hours arguing about prescience and free will. 10/10 discussion book.

Genuinely great, though the pacing sags around the middle third. Still one of the few sci-fi epics that earns its reputation.