Bardzo się cieszę, że jednak nie poprzestałam na przeczytaniu "Diuny".
"Bóg Imperator Diuny" jest inny. Różni się od poprzednich tomów między innymi ilością metafor i odniesień do współczesnego świata. Nikogo nie zdziwię faktem, że swego rodzaju melanż naprawdę istnieje, a ludzie nie różnią się bardzo od tych w diunie (choć nikt nie jest tak brzydki jak imperator).

SPOILER PONIŻEJ
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Zdanie: "Będziemy czerwiem i żoną" jest najśmieszniejszym zdaniem jakie pojawiło się w literaturze.

This is one of the best books I have ever read.

I don't say that lightly. There are so many layers to this book that work. Firstly, the idea behind accurately conveying a nigh immortal being's state of mind (a being with the memories of countless people) is no easy task, I found myself fully understanding the main character, the God emperor Leto.

Frank Herbert explores so much mental territory here, the ramifications of cloning people, sexuality and gender roles as it relates to war and peace, existentialism and self-actualization, etc. What was powerful was the way that his character had troubles coming to grips with an inability to do physical love, but the writing gave you that hunger in his mind, the desire he wanted more.

Also, the unpredictable nature of his "worm" body created a slowly escalating fear in me as the reader as time passed. Page after page I waited for him to snap. It was riveting.

Highly recommended read.

This is the fourth volume of Dune saga. Just like the previous three it turns the story on its head compared with the previous volume.

Leto II and Ganima, twins of Paul Arteides overcome the plots and were victorious. However, there is no ‘happily ever after’: fast forward 3500 years. Leto is the God Emperor, half-man half-worm, reigning the Imperium with iron hand to keep peace and tranquility. Instead of desert Fremen, there are fanatically loyal Fish Speakers, instead of deserts of Dune, it is a verdant planet with just a small desert; Fremen themselves turned into museum Fremen, who try to emulate the original and fail. Leto II took over the breeding program of Bene Gesserit and breeds Arteides, hoping one day they will be able to overthrow him. The only constant is ghola of Duncan Idaho.

One of the main themes is what right now is called the end of history. I guess it is well summarized in the famous film noir The Third Man:

You know what the fellow said – in Italy, for thirty years under the Borgias, they had warfare, terror, murder and bloodshed, but they produced Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci and the Renaissance. In Switzerland, they had brotherly love, they had five hundred years of democracy and peace – and what did that produce? The cuckoo clock.

God Emperor of Dune is the red-headed stepchild of the series. Frank Herbert delves into the mind of a near omniscient god-creature. Many people feel disturbed or bored by this book, calling it the most "dull" of the series. From a philosophical point of view, this is probably the most advanced book in the series. Definitions of humanity and morality are contrasted in very personal ways in this book. Those familiar with Lovecraftian Cthulu mythos could well use this as a textbook to start thinking about "alien" motives and the human concept of "evil".

„Изблиците на интелектуална пъргавина у нея започваха да му се нравят. Притежаваше стабилното търсещо любопитство — също отличителен белег на атреидите.“


Възхитен съм от „Бог-Император на Дюн“! В нея е разгъната още по-любопитна и мащабна визия за бъдещето, а и размислите на автора отново са изключително мъдри... Франк Хърбърт е навлязъл още по-дълбоко в сърцевината на монархията, представяйки отрицателните черти на тази система, но същевременно давайки ценната гледна точка на император, който трябва да взима страшно трудни решения, за да спаси човечеството.

В книгата проследяваме управлението на Лито II, което продължава повече от 3 хилядолетия. Аракис вече не е пустинна планета и условията на нея значително са се подобрили, а пък Лито има изключително дълъг живот и е почитан като божество. Цената за това обаче е висока, тъй като се превръща в хибрид между човек и пустинен червей. Този многопластов император силно ме впечатли - както настоящите му приключения, така и откъсите от неговите дневници бяха увлекателни и предизвикваха мисленето ми... Много ми допадна Сиона, която също е доста интересен и вълнуващ персонаж! Романът обхваща твърде голям времеви период, заради което действието не е особено динамично в сравнение с предните части на поредицата, но четенето ми достави очакваното огромно удоволствие.






„Колко точно е наблюдението — помисли Лито, — че оръжието поставя човека в предсказуем модел на поведение.“


„Много трудно е да убеждаваш младите, независимо за какво. Те се раждат, знаещи всичко.
— Досега не съм чувал никой Атреидски да се отнася така подигравателно към младите.
— Може би, защото съм невероятно стар — старост върху много още старост. И задачата ми става все по-трудна с всяко отминало поколение.“


„Познавам един дълбоко вкоренен модел на поведение, който хората отричат с думите си, същевременно потвърждавайки го със своите дела. Те говорят, че търсят сигурност и спокойствие — състоянието, наричано от самите тях мир. И още неизрекли това, подготвят семената на безредието и насилието.“


„— Направиха ли ти впечатление първостепенните прегрешения?
— Какво?
— Опит за корумпиране на член на моето управление, както и явната корупция на член на същото това управление.
— А що е то корупция?
— Преди всичко — несъобразяване и отказ от боготворене на светостта на Бог-Императора Лито.“


„Идеята за града ме привлича и очарова, формирането на биологическа общност без подкрепата на функциониращо в социален аспект общество води до безредие и разруха. Цели светове са се превръщали в обособени биологични общности, но отсъствието на взаимодействаща социална структура винаги е довеждало до тяхното сриване. В условия на пренаселеност подобни случаи стават драматично назидателни. Гетото въздейства унищожително. Психическият стрес причинен от пренаселването, създава напрежения, които неотменно довеждат до взрив. Градът е опит за овладяване на тези сили. Социалните форми, ползвани от градовете при въпросния опит, има защо да бъдат проучени.“


„— Всичко, което знаем за нея, е, че може да бъде посветена и отдадена на специфично начинание, на модел, овладял без остатък сетивата й. Разбира се, тя е аристократка, но аристокрацията е обърната предимно към миналото. Оттук идва сривът. Няма как да видиш много нито напред, нито назад, освен, ако не си двуликият Янус, гледащ едновременно и в двете посоки.
— Кой Янус? О, да, богът с противостоящите лица! — Тя овлажни с език устните си. — Лито, ти Янус ли си?
— Да, Янус съм, но умножен милиарди пъти. Същевременно съм и нещо по-маловажно. Например, бил съм и онова, което за моите административни ръководители е обект на най-голямо възхищение — взимащият решения, всяко, от които може да бъде приведено в действие.“


„Каква досадна упоритост има в искането боговете да бъдат съвършени. Гърците са били много по-разумни за тези неща.“


„Внезапно очите на Монео се разшириха; навярно бе осъзнал как стоят нещата благодарение на точно зададения въпрос. Сам бе виждал как си взаимодействат полюсите — познание за нещо, благодарение на действието на противостоящото му.
Ето как това, което търсим, се откроява на фона на всичко определящо го — помисли Лито. — Монео непременно ще го забележи.“


„Привилегията, се превръща в арогантност. Арогантността подтиква към неправда. И тогава семената на разрухата и унищожението покълват и разцъфтяват.“


„Моделът на монархиите и на подобни на тях системи съдържа в себе си идея, която е ценна за всички политически форми на управление. Събраните в мен спомени ми дават увереност, че управляващите и правителствата, независимо от своя вид, могат да се възползват от посланието, скрито в тази идея. Управляващите са полезни за управляваните само докато присъщият им стремеж за установяване на тирания бъдат ограничавани.“


„Не престава да ме удивява фактът, че хората се крият от спомените, останали от техните предшественици, издигайки масивни митологични прегради.“


„— Някогашните свободни бяха пълни с живот — каза Лито. — И усетът им към красивото бе ограничен само до действителната полза. Никога не видях лаком свободен.
— Какво би трябвало да означава това?
— По онова време преди излизане в пустинята се взимаше единствено необходимото за запазване на живота. Днес вашият живот не е освободен от жаждата да притежавате.“


„— Службата на по-нисък пост поддържа силата, но раздува истеричните забежки — отбеляза икономът. — А изкуството на атреидите е в умението да се управлява без истерия; и да се поема отговорност за начина, по който се използва властта.“


„— Думите рядко са ти нужни — рече Хви. — Защото говориш пряко на сетивата със собствения си живот.“


„Предпазливостта като линия на поведение е равнозначна на посредствеността. Плавно носещата се безстрастна посредственост е всичко, което в представите на повечето хора е върхът на техните достижения.“


„Преживяхме заедно някои неща. Бяхме свързани по-скоро с достойнствата си, отколкото със своите слабости.“

I've decided that one can't really unpack everything in these books in a single reading. As before, there is a lot of philosophy of mind, society, science, and religion integrated throughout. There is more here than in previous books, probably because the main character is 3500 years old and has had a lot of time to think. About everything.

Compared to the previous three books, Dune, Dune Messiah, and Children of Dune, this one is the most opaque, and while I enjoyed it, it was not my favourite of the four I have read so far. That said, it should be kept in mind that Herbert's grand story and his incredibly literate writing still make for an amazing book. God Emperor of Dune continues to reflect the ambitiousness present in the previous books in the series.

Note on the audiobook: I continue to enjoy the audio versions of these books. Simon Vance and Scott Brick have the whole feel of the characters down pat by this point, and they are so enjoyable to listen to.

Czwarty tom nie dorównuje poprzednim. Niestety. W porównaniu z wielowątkową i wielowarstwową trzecią częścią ta wypada słabo.
Nie dość, że "akcja" rozgrywa się 3 tys lat po wydarzeniach z poprzedniego tomu (a tak bardzo chciałam poczytać co będzie dalej...) to dzieje praktycznie w jednym miejscu, wokół kilku tych samych bohaterów. Wszystkie dyskusje krążą cały czas wokół tego samego tematu. Nie wiem czy było to aż tak potrzebne. W tej części nie ma za bardzo knucia, spisków i zwrotów akcji. Choć nadal czuć klimat serii to już nie jest to to samo, gdy fabuła nie nadąża i jest zwyczajnie nudna i płaska. Mam poczucie, że w tym tomie niewiele się wydarzyło i był on trochę taką zapchaj dziurą. Finał obiektywnie mocny, ale mnie w ogóle nie zaskoczył, a Herbert przecież umie w zaskakiwanie...
Serię będę kontynuować, ale mocno liczę na więcej akcji. Kolejnego takiego tomu jak ten sobie nie wyobrażam.

With this book I ran out of energy to read the Dune series any further. Reading this book drained life out of me, until I died and abandoned reading science fiction (for the second time). Nowadays of course one can just read the gist of it on Wikipeadia, but in the dim and distant past, curiosity about a story could only be satisfied by the personal turning of the pages of an entire book.

The opening I thought was great and it was interesting to see the outcomes of the Fremen's plan, outlines the previous thousand or so pages of the three preceding volumes, to irrigate the surface of Dune - and for a book series with such a focus on ecology it was completely indifferent to the number of trees that would need to be sacrificed to the paper-mills and the release of waste water into rivers and lakes...I think I would have enjoyed this more if Herbert had followed the technique that Asimov used in the Foundation series of using short stories and novellas to create a narrative that spanned great reaches of time rather than having great blocky narratives bound into print bricks based around single points in time. One can see the problem, the writer has a vision of a mighty story with deep roots, whose branches sweep across immeasurable distances with a trunk that grows through time to support the universe, but can't realise this without dropping wedgy slices in to the lap of the reader. After a few hundred pages I found myself without interest in a super brained spaceworm using eugenics and captive breeding to plot against itself, or in perpetually reincarnated characters who didn't amuse me the first time they were alive. Possibly best consumed via the medium of Wikipeadia rather than in person.

After awhile I was feeling that I was back at my Philosophy classes back in High School, but hey, I can't argue against a best-selling author.

Reviews for this book have called it "heady" and "deep." I cannot concur more. Few books have mastered this combination of deep material with a hurtling plot, and this is one of them.

Of the Dune Chronicles so far (this is book 4), God Emperor of Dune is my clear favorite. This profoundly philosophical installment in "the bestselling sci-fi series of all time" explores the now-verdant world of Arrakis thirty-five hundred years after the events in Children of Dune.

Leto, the nine-year old son of Paul "Muad'Dib" Atreides, has assumed control of the galaxy-spanning empire described in the first three books, and has transformed himself into a grotesque synthesis of worm and human in an effort to avert a terrible catastrophe which would render all of humanity extinct. To be sure, Leto's transformation is both disturbing and uncomfortable (and yes, the full physical ramifications of this transformation are explored thoroughly), yet it feels quite naturally based in the mythology that Frank Herbert has laid out thus far in the series. It is the logical conclusion of a mythology steeped in the surreal and otherworldly.

God Emperor of Dune explores nature of despotism, the conditions under which it's called for, and the attendant concerns that such a dictator would have (amongst them the nature of religion, government, trade, rebellions, mythology, armies, sexuality, war, family, duty, and sacrifice) and depicts Leto's difficult - near impossible - choices and the poignant destiny which results from them.

The portrait of Leto - God, Emperor, saint, tyrant, martyr, human, sandworm - is a portrait of one of the most complex, sympathetic, and lonely characters I have ever encountered. I loved, Loved, LOVED this book. Highly recommended.

A deep and unflattering meditation on the human condition and whether near absolute tyranny can free mankind from certain of these trappings, Frank Herbert's God Emperor of Dune is my favourite novel of what is a monumental series and one of the greatest in all of science fiction.
This review offers an excellent and concise summary of what the book does for the story.

Be warned however that this novel doesn't offer a smooth silk thread of a plot where characters are affixed colourful and appreciable beads sliding along through well-paced curves and loops to a conclusion. The structure is unorthodox and consists mainly and most significantly of digressions from the eponymous God Emperor, Leto II, whose sacrifice in order to set humanity on the Golden Path his father deferred, has physically and mentally alienated him from it. In something of a reversal of the fate Frazer gives for the Sacred King, the God Emperor suppresses and goads the various factions of his new empire to force the end he desires in order to jolt civilisation out of stagnation.
Another reviewer briefly notes how this is a glimpse of 'alien motives' à la Lovecraft, which is a very astute observation. At times Leto thinks of the Golden Path as a necessity for humankind's survival quite independently from the transient viewpoint of his human subjects, almost as an intellectual problem. Rarely do we find gods written about intimately in literature. The pitfalls are obvious. This is why all the facets and complexity Herbert bestows on his eponymous character here such a feat- unparalleled in my view.

Numerous, often coy insights into the past that leads to doom if not for his Golden Path are ruminated upon by Leto alongside ambiguities which must be addressed at this late stage in his plans before his own necessary demise. To appreciate these requires a broad view of the complex social dynamics in Herbert's universe and an almost cynical openness to how a technologically advanced species might adapt economically, culturally and politically to the long reign of such a threat as the God Emperor. That Herbert was able to distill such far-reaching machinations and give voice to them through Leto instead of letting the narrative unravel more disconnectedly (but perhaps as effectively) as in Stapledon's and Asimov's work is a feat of daring which still strains credulity as I look back on this work.

It isn't that the other characters are particularly flawed compared to the other novels, but their shortcomings and struggles of limited scope, given our view through Leto's eyes, appear to condemn the whole of humanity, past and present, which has accepted, but moreover was found desperately needing Leto's direction.

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