Dune

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Set in the distant future amidst a feudal interstellar society in which noble houses, in control of individual planets, owe allegiance to the Padishah Emperor, Dune tells the story of young Paul Atreides, whose aristocratic family accepts the stewardship of the desert planet Arrakis. As this planet is the only source of the oracular spice melange, the most important and valuable substance in the universe, control of Arrakis is a coveted—and dangerous—undertaking. The story explores the multi-layered interactions of politics, religion, ecology, technology, and human emotion, as the factions of the empire confront each other in a struggle for the control of Arrakis and its spice.^[7]

1965 Chilton Books hardcover first edition book cover of Dune by Frank Herbert, with art by John Schoenherr.

I was looking for a book to read.  There wasn't an excellent opportunity to go to the library, and I couldn't think of a public domain book that I wanted to view, so I checked out the library's app.  I was surprised at the number of ebooks that were available.  The first one to pop up was Dune.  Dune is a sci-fi literary classic, but I had never read it.  

Dune is a beautiful novel.  Herbert must have had a significant influence on George Lucas.  Aspects of Paul translate directly over to Luke.  And Arrakis and Tatooine could be the same planet.  The 'worms' of Arrakis are repeated in the 90's movie Termors. (Does this give Frank Herbert a Bacon number?)

Dune is now one of my favorite novels.  Not just sci-fi, but beloved of all fiction novels.  Herbert developed all the characters thoroughly with a dept that would only be revealed later.  His choice of language and foreshadowing rivals literature's greats.  The book is long, but with good reason.  There is no word filler.  Herbert's words are well chosen, and nothing can be skipped.

Dune is not in the public domain, but most libraries have a copy in the stacks; some like mine may have a digital copy to check out.