Dune - Audio Book Review

Audio Book Review

Rating: 5.0

Dune By Frank Herbert

Narrated by Scott Brick, Orlagh Cassidy,

Euan Morton, Simon Vance & 8 more

Series: The Dune Sequence, Dune

Release date: 31-12-06

Language: English

Format: Unabridged Audiobook

Length: 21 hrs and 2 mins

Audio Sample - Listen Now

Audio Book Review Technical Scores

What?	Details	Score	My thoughts
Vocal Quality & Tone	• Clarity and pleasantness • Consistent tone throughout • Voice suits genre/characters	5	An amazing British storyteller, like sinking into a warm bath of pleasure and fantasy
Characterisation & Performance	• Distinct voices • Genuine emotion • Avoids exaggeration or stereotype	5	Great distinctive voices for the Bene Gesserit, and an authentic and all too real inner voice for Paul Atreides
Pacing, Rhythm & Flow	• Natural pacing • Smooth phrasing • Effective pauses	5	Perfectly paced, the great epic unrolls between your ears like the great sand dunes of Arrackis, I was mesmerised.
Technical Production Quality	• Clean audio • Stable volume • Professional editing	5	Excellent
Engagement & Listener Experience	• Holds attention • Enhances story • Re-listen appeal	5	Okay this one is a keeper. The thing I have heard all month, and I can't wait to waste hours and hours listening and relistening to its every twist and tunr. Fabulous

Audio Book Review

The narrator of Dune delivers the story with the refined ease of an amazing British storyteller, the sort whose voice feels like sinking into a warm bath of pleasure and fantasy.

From the very first chapter, the clarity, warmth, and restraint in his tone create a listening experience that feels almost ceremonial—perfect for a tale saturated with prophecy, power, and political intrigue. His voice suits Herbert’s world so well that you’d be forgiven for assuming he was born reciting the Litany Against Fear. This is narration designed not merely to accompany the text, but to elevate it.

Characterisation is equally compelling. His distinctive Bene Gesserit voices capture both the mysticism and menace of that shadowy sisterhood, while Paul’s inner voice feels startlingly authentic—all too real, exactly as you described. There is no exaggeration, no melodramatic flourishes—just a grounded emotional through-line that makes Paul’s transformation from anxious heir to mythic figure genuinely moving.

The pacing is exquisite: a perfectly unrolled epic, spreading in your ears like the great sand dunes of Arrakis, slow enough to savour, steady enough to immerse, and mesmerising throughout. It’s rare to find a narrator who understands that Dune is less a story and more a landscape.

Technically, this production is flawless—clean audio, stable volume, impeccable editing—and the engagement level is off the charts.

This truly is a keeper, the audiobook that has dominated my month and, frankly, threatens to dominate the next one as well. It begs to be revisited, re-examined, re-adored, each twist and turn offering new rewards. If spice extends life, this performance extends joy. By the time you emerge, one thing is certain: fear is the mind-killer, but finishing this audiobook is the soul-killer—you’ll wish it never ended. Audio Book Review Nov 2025