1) In the original Dune book, what’s Paul’s relationship to the Fremen. Do they use Paul to achieve their ends, or does Paul use them?
2) Dune has been referred to as “science fiction’s supreme masterpiece,” yet science-fiction author Arthur C. Clarke said only J. R. R. Tolkien’s fantasy trilogy, The Lord of the Rings, could match it. Are the Dune books a work of science fiction or a work of fantasy?
3) What role does loyalty play in the Dune series?
4) How does the climate of Arrakis affect the everyday life of those who live there? What values and symbols are important on this desert planet?
5) The main source of water on Arrakis are the polar ice caps, but even melting every glacier on the planet would not release enough water to turn Arrakis into a paradise. The original novel states that there was once water on Arrakis. Where did the water go?
6) In both the novel and the miniseries, the political system of the Empire is referred to early on as an unstable tripod. If the emperor is seen as the executive branch of our own government, and the Landsraad as comparable with the Congress, what aspect of American politics could the Spacing Guild be seen as?
7) Are the Dune novels analogies to current events? Is the original Dune story about oil in the middle-east?
Where are the aliens? Humans from earth populate the universe but there are no other life forms on any other planets.
