The Excellent Worldbuilding of Frank Herbert's Dune - by Will

      

        Dune is a sci-fi novel written by Frank Herbert and published in 1965. It follows the story of a young man named Paul Atreides, heir to House Atreides, one of the great houses which rule the universe. His mother is a woman named Jessica, a member of a religious order called the Bene Gesserit. The Bene Gesserit are spies and assassins with psychic abilities, who control the great houses from the shadows, in order to ensure humanity’s continued survival. Early in the book, House Atreides is given the mission of ruling over the planet Arrakis. Arrakis is a dangerous, inhospitable desert world. It is of great importance to humanity because it is the one place where melange can be found. Melange is a drug that enhances the mental capabilities of the user, allowing them to navigate space. Since there are no computers in Dune, artificially increasing navigators’ mental capabilities with melange is the only way to travel through space. Unfortunately for House Atreides, their stewardship of Arrakis is a trap set for them by their rival House Harkonnen, who invade the planet, kill Paul’s father, and take over. Now Paul and his mother must learn to survive the desert, so they can avenge Paul’s father and defeat House Harkonnen.

        Dune is known for its excellent worldbuilding. It has many different factions, each with interesting goals, beliefs, and motivations. The great houses are in a state of constant competition with each other, trying to win the emperor’s favor. The emperor himself is trying to maintain his own power, to make sure his family stays on the throne. The Spacing Guild is a mysterious organization with a monopoly over interstellar travel. Its members are never seen face to face, because they are mutated by their use of melange.

        One difficulty in sci-fi worldbuilding is managing the role of technology in a story. How can a story have an interesting conflict, if it can be resolved quickly using an atomic bomb? Either these sorts of weapons exist in the story’s world, but are never used, and readers are left wondering why they are left out of the plot. Or, they are simply not included in the story at all.

        Dune takes a different approach to solving this problem. Weapons like atom bombs, lasers, and energy shields do exist, but there are consequences to their use. Energy shields and lasers are almost never used, because when a laser hits an energy shield, they form a feedback loop which causes both to explode violently. Atomic weapons exist, but there is a treaty in place to prevent their use. If any faction uses an atomic bomb, the others will turn on them, and they will be destroyed. Interstellar travel is possible, but it is controlled by one faction who demand a high price for it. This way powerful weapons and technology do exist, but they do not ruin any conflict in the story.