Dune is a classic science fiction book from 1965. It tells the story of Paul Atreides, the son of Duke Leto. Their family is taking control of the planet Arrakis near the start of the novel. Due to an arrangement with the emperor, the Baron Harkonen who currently rules the planet is handing it over. It is clear to everyone involved that this is a trap, and that they cannot be trusted. The opportunity is too great to pass up however, and the first section of the book is detailing the training that Paul receives and planning the move.
There is very little technology in this sci-fi book. Computers and robots are banned, due to a historical war called the Butlerian Jihad where the people rose up against them. Instead there are people called mentats who have been trained to think something like computers. There is some technology: there are shields, lasers, and spaceships however they are very much not the focus.
The actual focus of the story is on the politics, and on the machinations of various families and groups to try and gain and keep power. I think Game of Thrones is a more recent series which did something similar for fantasy. There is a female religious order called the Bene Gesserit who have been guiding the bloodlines of royal families for generations in an attempt to raise a messiah called the Kwisatz Hadderach. Paul is suspected to possibly be this figure.
After the trap is sprung, and many of the main characters are murdered, Paul and his mother end up among the local population of the planet. These fremen are obviously inspired by the people of the middle east. The Bene Gesserit order have planted belief systems into these people such that they believe in a messiah who will make their desert planet an oasis. Paul actually becomes this figure, through the trauma of what he experienced, and the spice on the planet he develops an ability to see potential futures. If the story was to follow usual tropes he would be the hero figure who saves this oppressed population. The story takes a darker turn than that though. Paul is at turns angry and then emotionless about his pre-ordained fate. He spends much of the rest of the book attempting to avoid the future he sees where he leads the fremen across the galaxy murdering countless people in a Jihad.
In the end the emperor and the Harkonnens are pawns of the guild and the companies which are trading across the galaxy. They in turn are just slaves to the spice resource that is being extracted from the fremen. There are some very on-the-nose parallels with the real world. It’s eye-opening how relevant this is given the age of the book.
I remember enjoying the 1980s David Lynch adaptation, which is apparently hated. One day I’ll go back and re-watch it I guess. The more recent version is actually the only film I’ve ever seen in IMAX. The film was a great fit, the scenes with sandworms were awe-inspiring.