> you have to get through a lot of world/universe building before anything really happens I'm re-reading the novel right now and there really isn't that much w

> you have to get through a lot of world/universe building before anything really happens I'm re-reading the novel right now and there really isn't that much world-building. It's a slow burn (in a very short novel), but akin to the set up to the drama in, say, Hamlet; characters making their moves and preparing their traps, and it bears fruit in the second half. The world building is way less complex than Lord of the Ring or A Game of Thrones. I know people also complain about those, but they are also wildly successful novels so they must be doing something right. Way less obscure than Dune, in any case.