By imperial decree Duke Leto Atreides has been given governorship of the desert planet Arrakis, the sole source of the geriatric spice melange. The move has the potential for fantastic riches since the spice is also addictive so regardless of anything else "the spice must flow" and they know there is an traitor in their midst. As a result Paul Atreides, his son, is thrown into commercial, political, religious, cultural, environmental and genetic intrigue. Not to mention the sworn blood feud with Baron Harkonnen and his clan.
Dune was the first non-Asimov SF novel I ever read. I was 13 and by page 30 I was completely hooked. Dune could qualify as a "coming of age" but I think the main draw that first time was how quickly the action progressed in the book. Rereading, I am surprised at how much depth Herbert was able to give the political, cultural, technological and ecological themes in the book while keeping the plot interesting and engaging. (I've heard that Dune compares well to the Lord of the Rings but I've never been able to fight my way through LOTR's introduction so I can't venture an opinion.)
