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[–] cstoli 0 points 1 point (+1|-0) ago 

I've tried Dune three times now. I've never been able to make it more than about 50 pages deep. What am I missing? Do I just need to push through to get to better storyline?

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[–] RayLomas ago 

First 50 pages are merely an introduction, to get you to start grasping the universe where the whole thing is taking place. Dune actually has a lot of action, which unfolds quickly, once the "intro" part is over, but you need to get to at least 60% of the book before you start to see amazing things.

I remember that when I was ~18 I struggled with Dune, and dropped it. Later started once again when I was 25, and in one month binge-reading episode I've finished the whole series (6 books, ~2-2.5k pages) during less than 1 month.

It's a pretty similar thing to what I remember from the Lord Of The Rings... first pages about Hobbiton, Bilbo, Bilbo's party is boring as hell, but serve a great purpose of introducing you to the completely alien universe. Unlike LOTR, though, I would advise you not to try to make sense of everything you read, not to memorize terms and characters - it's pointless and distracts you from bigger concepts. Dune universe is very strange (hell... sci-fi, space flight and interplanetary wars without computers, who'd think of that in any sci-fi?) so it's perfectly fine to not understand a lot of things. Later, either after rereading, or getting a "woah!" moment when thinking about during a shower, it'll start to fall into place.

Another reason to read and love it, is that this whole book serves a great motivating purpose, at least for me. Some of my favourite quotes:

  • Mood? What has mood to do with it? You fight when the necessity arises — no matter the mood! Mood's a thing for cattle or making love or playing the baliset. It's not for fighting.
  • Arrakis teaches the attitude of the knife — chopping off what's incomplete and saying: "Now it's complete because it's ended here."
  • The mystery of life isn't a problem to solve, but a reality to experience.
  • You should never be in the company of anyone with whom you would not want to die.
  • Enemies strengthen you. Allies weaken.
  • Confine yourself to observing and you always miss the point of your own life. The object can be stated this way: Live the best life you can. Life is a game whose rules you learn if you leap into it and play it to the hilt. Otherwise, you are caught off balance, continually surprised by the shifting play.
  • Seek freedom and become captive of your desires. Seek discipline and find your liberty.