DUNE MESSIAH

While this follow up to the original has never been as popular as the first volume, it presents a nuances re-examining of the characters and the nature of politics in general. It falls just short of 5 stars because it doesn’t quite have the same rich mythological world building of the original, but the extent to which I have highlighted and quoted its insights leaves me marveling at how prescient and timeless Herbert’s insights are as to the nature of power, religion, and politics. As he once said, the difference between a hero and an anti-hero is where you stop telling the story. The entire trilogy is even more amazing on a second read. It’s chilling to consider the relevance of this story today with the intersection of religion and the resurgence of authoritarian governments.

One supposes that it was impossible for Frank Herbert to follow DUNE up with another classic of the genre and so it seems he did not even try. This is not a criticism of him, though does point to some of the shallowness and, at times, dryness of DUNE MESSIAH, which takes place twelve years after the first book ends. Paul Atreides, now emperor, has fulfilled his distressing vision of spreading jihad throughout the universe. Billions dead, the names Hitler and Genghis Khan name-checked as amateurs, he unsurprisingly has his detractors. That is the main plotline of DUNE MESSIAH, which starts off with a meeting of conspirators to kill this dreaded and hated ruler. While lacking the richness and deep texture of the original, it nonetheless advances its story and, perhaps more importantly, the mythology of the Dune universe sufficiently to at least satisfy the fans, albeit in that manner of leaving them still hungry after finishing up and leaving the table. Like its predecessor, DUNE MESSIAH ends on an ambiguous note that allowed for either another novel or a termination of the series right then and there. Paul’s twins have been born and Paul himself wanders off into the desert. As we know, Herbert continued on. I certainly will not say that DUNE MESSIAH filled me with the excitement of DUNE itself, but I will say it held my interest enough to go along with him.

Dune Messiah is an inevitability. It is the necessary byproduct of the swirling events of the original novel. It is the ruin bred of the marrying of religion and government under one mythic, all-seeing leader. Muad'dib's Jihad is a thing of recent memory; it raged under the Atreides black and green for twelve years. The Jihad is past, but its effects are not. When destiny meets terrible purpose. When myth meets man and all is swept away in the name of righteousness. When the future reveals itself to you.. can you change it? Can you do anything when the eddies of Time grip you, other than cling for dear life and hope the path you've chosen was the right one? Twelve years after the Jihad began, it comes to an end. But rampant unrest throughout the universal Empire is just beginning to brew. Concealed conspiracies against the deified Muad'dib.. there are those who crave the old days, the old ways of the desert. Dune Messiah is a worthy successor. From the very first chapter the feeling of the novel is instilled in the reader; plans within plans within plans. Right away we are witness to pieces of Herbert's universe that we have never seen, or were perhaps only mentioned in the first novel. Guild Navigators. Tleilaxu Face Dancers. Wallach IX. There is a heady sense that there is much more to discover here; that we can go deeper. And I think at least part of the reason I enjoyed this read so much was that I already knew and was accepting of the fact that do not witness Paul's Jihad. It's a skipped piece of story. Knowing this ahead of time, I was no longer so put off by its absence. I was able to enjoy the sequel for what it is, rather than what I though it should have been. It's a brilliant piece of writing. Frank's prowess is on full display in all sorts of conversational interplay, merciless statecraft, and deep, insightful characterization. Herbert's characters are phenomenal; be the new ones like Scytale, or old like Paul and Alia. Paul's development in Dune Messiah is every bit as interesting as in Dune, as he wrestles internally with all that his Empire, and his Oracle, has wrought.

This first sequel to Dune is only about 330 pages long, but it's still a dense and complex read. Dune Messiah picks up the story of Paul Maud'Dib 12 years after Dune, now the Emperor of the Known Universe- and as powerless as he ever. While a challenging read, Dune Messiah lacks the narrative drive of its predecessor, since there is no longer compelling villains like the Harkonnens to help propel the story forward and keep things moving. Plot threads and characters from the original that were implied to be of great importance in the future only warrant a brief mention or are totally ignored; likewise, Dune Messiah continues Herbert's tendency from the original to not depict major events or plot twists, but leave them only to discussion after the fact The original Dune, for all its thematic complexity, was still a fairly straightforward "hero leads a rebellion against evil villains" tale; in the sequel, there is a conspiracy in place against Paul Maud'Dib, but the novel spends more time on philosophical discussion than it does on investigating and unmasking this conspiracy. There is, however, a lengthy section of the novel about 2/3 of the way through, which sees the main character going out in disguise among the people, deliberately walking into a trap, and fully aware of how events will proceed due to his unique prescient abilities - this section alone is some of the finest crafted storytelling I've ever read, and it alone resuscitated the novel. (Or awakened the Sleeper, if you're a hardcore Dune fan.) Dune Messiah is a quick read, despite the denseness of the work. It's still worth reading, but at times it feels more like an epilogue to a more compelling story that preceded it. (Think less Empire Strikes Back and more Scouring of the Shire from Lord of the Rings.)

Inte samma kvalité som första boken men sen var förväntningarna skyhöga. Men väl läsvärd.

Product arrived in great shape!

I have one regret. That unfortunately the children of dune book isn't in a similar format available. as a result I might make this a present to one of my nieces and buy the 3book deluxe boxed set.

I thought as good as the first. Got really good towards the end and couldn't stop reading.

Muito bom!