When comparing Zen and the Art of MotorCycle Maintenance vs Dune, the Slant community recommends Zen and the Art of MotorCycle Maintenance for most people. In the question“What are the best books you've ever read?” Zen and the Art of MotorCycle Maintenance is ranked 2nd while Dune is ranked 4th. The most important reason people chose Zen and the Art of MotorCycle Maintenance is:
How do we know how much to tighten a nut ... and then stop? Lovely stuff on fixing things...
Ranked in these QuestionsQuestion Ranking
Pros
Pro Because he has a wonderful riff on 'gumption'
How do we know how much to tighten a nut ... and then stop? Lovely stuff on fixing things...
Pro Omits some common genre staples to create a unique world
It's one of the very rare science fiction books (especially ones set in a far away future) that doesn't include robots or computers.
Pro Huge scope
The book covers topics such as ecology, politics, religion, humanism and war and touches on subjects like artificial intelligence, gender dynamics, nuclear weapons, architecture, engineering, heroism and many many more. All of these aspects are intertwined and executed on a grand scale.
Pro Cult book
This is an old series, several video games have been inspired by this book. Dune, Dune 2, dune 2000 and more.
Pro Complex and unique ecology
Dune is one of the first sci-fi books to have as detailed fictional ecology that plays a big part in the overall story.
Cons
Con Later books weren't finished by the original author
The original author, Frank Herbert, died after finishing the first few books. His son Brian Herbert and co author Kevin J. Anderson have since finished the series based on his scribblings, notes, and voice memos. A gargantuan task. The result can be a bit "weird" at times, but they have done an amazing job finishing the books.