Dune - Weight Of Influence
I recently finished reading Frank Herbert's Dune, book one. After unsuccessfully avoiding Denis Villeneuve's Dune trailer for fear of spoilers, I picked up the 1965 novel, mimicking thousands of others looking to equip themselves before the film comes out. I'll try to keep this spoiler-free and use some general examples throughout. If you've seen the recent trailer, I don't think I'm giving anything away that the trailer hasn't already conveyed.
Years before I read it, the book had already reached legendary status in my head. The two failed attempts to adapt the film; Jodorowsky's being too ambitious, and Lynch's just too painful to watch, had bestowed the novel with some seriously cursed energy. The hype and praise of the book's influence made me too nervous to read it. Knowing how influential the book was gave me this weird impression that I didn't need to pick it up. Like that band or movie so many people have recommended that you stubbornly avoid because of a barrier of preconceived ideas. Maybe I was just overwhelmed by the wave of influence originating from this single novel.
Were the influences really that monumental? Yep, and I was all in.
I found unexpected influences from the Fremen, the desert-dwelling warriors of the planet, Dune, being very similar to Robert Jordan's Aiel in The Wheel Of Time. Duke Leto Atreides, with his naïve sense of honour and duty is directly comparable to Ned Stark of Game Of Thrones; in the same way the Baron Harkonnen and Tywin Lannister share the same unflinching cruelty to protect the best interest of their house. These are just a few connections I made, without mentioning the well-discussed influence this novel had on Star Wars.
It was cool to see the influences that shaped the novel itself. Lawrence Of Arabia is a well documented one, visible in the protagonist, Paul Atredies and his effort to unite the Fremen against Harkonnen tyrants. I'm unsure whether Herbert intended this, but I can see how The One Ring from Lord Of The Rings could have inspired The Spice; a powerful and addictive substance capable of plunging the world into chaos.
In our series, Unegen: The Burning Tree, we've channelled this idea into The Sap. It functions differently to The Ring or The Spice, but carries a similar burdensome allure of power and heavy consequences of abuse. Like Frodo, Unegen will be challenged by The Sap's influence; and like Paul, he will discover its true power and origins. Having a highly influential substance in our series not only provides mental obstacles for our protagonist but also impacts the greater world around him. It's a useful writing tool when constructing goals for other characters, especially those that have to make important political decisions.
We'll dive deeper into The Sap in later posts.
Damien.