Hi Scott - Dune was one of the books I was requested to read, and I had already read it a couple of times before as a teen, and it was one of my favorites from that time. My favorite character in the book was Chani and I did not like it when Paul dumped her to marry the princess. I also felt somewhat sympathetic to the princess. The basic situation for my purposes as an adult writer was that it proposes a hereditary nobility or monarchy. I didn't want to write about that type of character (therefore most interested in and sympathetic to the Fremen, like Stilgar and Chani). It is not too dissimilar to any historical novel that covers the stories of monarchies and conflicts between nations. Plus sandworms.