It's really difficult trying to rate this book but I am going to give it a 4 star. 
 This is an epic. I felt like I was on a journey. The only other time I have felt like this was when I was reading the LOTR series back to back. 
 This book has so many things going for it. Politics and religion and how they are entwined, science-fiction, suspense and romance. The book definitely has a dark setting and from the first page you keep waiting for things to go wrong for the Atreides family. And it does. The book is as much about the journey of Paul Atreides as it is about his near and dear ones. 
 What I liked: 
 1. The characters are so complex with unique personalities. Some of them I liked and some I hated only because they were truly devious. The author has done an amazing job with them through out the book. 
 2. The story is very good. With enough twists and turns to keep you engrossed. Although there isn't any humor in it I think pretty much every other emotion is covered. A lot of the religious references in this book I think came from Islam and Christianity. The body soul connection made me think of Yoga and certain references in Hindu religious texts. 
 3. The setting. I loved the way Aracus has been described. I read somewhere that George Lucas has acknowledged that Star Wars was inspired from Dune and while reading I could see certain similarities in both not in terms of story but the setting and betrayal. 
 4. I enjoyed the commentaries of Princess Irulan Though initially they had me very confused I think they added a nice tough to the book. 
 The fact that the author has so painstakingly written such a detailed book alone has me won over. 
 What I didn't like 
 1. Although this book is engrossing it is really huge and at times it did get a bit tedious to read. 
 2. The ending feels very rushed considering how much effort was spent in telling the story before that. 
 I think it could have used some editing or it should have been split into 2 parts. 
 All in all well worth the time spent reading this book.