It's the original sci-fi for a reason. I have never experienced a universe quite like it. Every detail in this book is thought out and explained in the way Star Wars has achieved now with 50 years of additional lore. However it isn't enough to make you lost. Granted, it's not a straightforward plot, and Herbert does have a tendency to use fancy words one-off, leaving me to look them up and find roughly half of the time they're Dune specific words (I've read most of four now and I can only think of one example where he's used the term 'faufruleches,' yet it defines an entire societal structure). However I don't feel like this style is enough to reduce the rating of this particular entry, the fact remains that Herbert has imagined one of the most fascinating universes, and also filled it with a deep, mature story all within a story which isn't all that long.