My notes as I read:
It's clear right from the opening dedication that he's going to be fond of the Arrakis folks - dedicating the book to the hard work of people like them
AI talk at the start
Wealth wealth wealth
Corporate interests in government
Fish out of water story
Loved the sci fi idea of having decorations in the room control the environment - push the fish for lights, twist a carved wave for temperature etc. Terrible UX, but fun
Yueh very sympathetic. Poor guy.
Space travellers luggage is called spacebags and I love that
It's very practical - all logistics and inventories and diplomacy - so you kind of are willing to follow it when it goes a bit more creative because you trust that it has a solid foundation
Some lovely language
"The stars were a sequin shawl flung over blue-black"
As things are falling apart a bit, after the attempt on Paul's life and subsequent setback the Duke looks up at the night sky
"The night's second moon peered through a thin dust haze... an unbelieving moon that looked at him with a cynical light"
Just before the Duke resolves to stand his ground against the Harkonnens
The book does tension really well - you're never relaxed and feeling safe because of the long term political situation on a knife edge, the threat of the Harkonnens and their assassin ways, and the threat of thirst - such an urgent, primal, desperate thing, made all the worse by the immediacy of relief that a drink would bring - it's so cruel.
The duke recognises the wealth in water - at the dining table in one scene he realises there's enough drinking water to sustain a family for a year.
Ahhh the dinner scene was so good. The body language thing is a great angle - very Sherlock Holmes
With it being a planet it feels so much more dangerous - they are trapped, and can only leave at someone else's say-so (the guild etc.)
I love that it's a nerd about its own universe. The Duke's talk at dinner - a maxim familiar and dear to everyone at the table: "Business makes progress! Fortune passes everywhere!"
This was later repeated when Gurney had a favourable meeting, joining with the smuggler's son, as a farewell message at the end of the meeting
Lots of the characters struggle with training and expectations vs reality "I was trained better than this" etc. Lots of self recrimination and self imposed pressure
Lots of bang on assessment of the danger posed by man to the environment - kynes' dad
"You cannot go on forever stealing what you need without regard to those that come after"
Death of Kynes - "that the biggest forces in the universe... accident and error... Even hawks understood that". Great bit. Wish the movie had included that sentiment.
The Fremen were constantly harried and anxious as well, moving at night and hiding in the day like criminals, working at great expense to keep their secrets at the mercy if the guild
Things have taken a dark turn
"The concept of progress is a mechanism to shield us from the terrors of the future"
I love the way Jessica Shelock Holmeses everything
No poison snoopers in the Fremen homes etc. - it's a real culture shock for Paul as they just do things so differently to the false pleasantries and (literal) back stabbing of Paul's former world(s)
Lorne Lanning's memory vs writing idea as Jessica becomes the new Reverend Mother
The ecology project gives the Fremen purpose beyond their angry old routine
it's the multiverse!
Love how efficient and well-edited the book is. The scenes you get are long and detailed, but it's very selective about which scenes you get to see, and you don't have ti follow every second to understand how Gurney ended up with the smuggler or Hawat ended up in Harkonnen custody etc.
