for the record, like almost all big classic sci-fi, these books (dune) are remarkably bigoted and reductive. i still like space stories and political intrigue tho.
alt text: Trade Offer from Sand Worm Leto Atreides. You receive: 4000 years of planet bound subjugation. Spice, eventually. Famine. Sex ninjas from outer space. Golden Path… I recieve: Like 70 something Duncan Idahos. Gentle Hwi.
Foundation by isaac asimov is pretty solid for its time and mostly holds up today
I liked it but there’s two main issues IMO
Leans really heavily into the “If you’re smart you should get to do whatever you want”
A complete lack of women characters which is particularly telling combined with point 1
Even his male characters were paper thin. IA was more into how the sci-fi ideas affected everyone than individual characters.
It’s almost the definitive novel of classic Science Fiction, and I mean that in a lot of good and bad ways.