The most exciting part of this book was the cigarette burn toward the end of the paperback, from when my dad read it. I used to buy him the latest in the Dune series for his birthday - now I know I was punishing him.

To summarize Chapter House:

People talk with each other, then remember earlier conversations, go back to the current one, recall another earlier conversation - all the time talking about absolutely nothing of consequence.

There is no plot, other than people talking about whores vs witches, including witches talking about whores and whores talking about witches.

That is the sum of it, the end.

A terrible book, but at least I know get the wear the badge of (dis?)honour for having read the complete Dune series.

The first book is a masterpiece, the rest are weak echoes that offer ever decreasing returns.

Buddy Read withMarkus

*** 2022 reread –

Love this series and the Denis Villeneuve film has only intensified my admiration for Frank Herbert’s vision and literary accomplishment.

I published the below review seven years ago when I finished this the last of Frank Herbert’s “original six” and the last published before his death in 1986. I’ve amended some of my earlier critical language as I now LOVE! all of the series an YES! I will read them on a train, and in a plane, and with a fox and in a box, I LOVE Dune Sam I Am!

Chapterhouse: Dune was the last Dune novel that Frank Herbert completed and published before his death in 1986. Though he had written notes and the series would continue with his son Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson, most Dune fans regard the six Frank Herbert publications as the “Original Series”. After many books written since his death, pundits have stated that the only notes left is a post it note that says, "write more books."

In this installment the direction taken in Heretics of Dune, the fifth book in the series, published in 1984, continues with the Bene Gesserit front and center. Heretics had followed a thousand five hundred year hiatus following the events in the fourth novel, God Emperor of Dune(published in 1981) and had taken a new direction, resurrecting much of the intensity and charisma of the original. The reign of the God Emperor, Leto II, son of Paul Muab ‘Dib Atreides, has ended and the story has been taken up with political and economic intrigue between the Bene Gesserit and the Bene Tleilax and a new power, the Honored Matres. Chapterhouse involves action between the Bene Gesserit and the rising power of the Honored Matres.

Some of the writing in Chapterhouse: Dune demonstrates Herbert’s best writing. “Power attracts those who are corruptible” muses Herbert and his Dune work represents an accomplished skill that highlights his remarkable powers of observation, detail and complex characterization. “Truth is an empty cup” is another line that I enjoyed and which provoked much thought.

If I was asked for a recommendation, I cannot endorse the original 1965 publication higher, it is in a rare atmosphere, populated by such classics as Fahrenheit 451, Childhood's End and 1984. If you loved Dune, by all means read the original series and even the other books by Brian Herbert and Kevin Anderson.

So … what to read now?

A discussion of what to read next by personalities of Lyn’s READER MIND.

Frank Herbert purist: That’s it, stick with what Frank wrote, go back and reread the original Dune. Then read the original six over and over again until you die.

All things Dune fan: I agree with rereading over and over, always keep a Dune book on your currently reading stack, but you need to reread Hunters now, that cliffhanger at the end of Chapterhouse needs to be sorted out!

Goodreads Reviewer: Over and over? Guys, we’ve got a lot of other books to read besides Dune and we’re trying to read books from more diverse writers and genres. Right? Isn’t that our goal?

Lawyer: We’re really busy at work right now, we need easy to read, simple stuff. Stick with the graphic novels and comic strips, Herbert is great but too heavy and too provocative, we need easy reading in our very sparse leisure reading time.

All things Dune fan: You’ve still got some other Herbert-Anderson books to read, Frank’s vision has been expanded and you want to read them all!

Frank Herbert purist: Abomination! Frank wrote six Dune books. Period. That’s the Dune universe.

Self Help reader: You also need to reread Covey’s Seven Habits –

Everyone else: SHUT UP!!!

Goodreads reviewer: OK, let’s get back to our international reading and then we’ll come back to which Dune book to take on next. Also, we need to read –

All things Dune fan: LET’S DO THIS!!! HUNTERS! LYYYYYYYYYYYYYNNNNNNNNYYYYYYY JENKINS!!!

All things Dune fan crashes through the door and slams into Hunter of Dune, the seventh in the expanded series and sequel to Chapterhouse for a reread.

Goodreads Reviewer: All things Dune went in! OK, let’s follow him.

Frank Herbert purist: Abomination!

Geçmişi hatırlamayanlar onu tekrarlamaya mahkumdur.
.
Dune serisini kaç zamandır okuyorum artık bilemiyorum ama nihayet sonunu görebildiğim için memnunum. Kesinlikle ilk kitaptan itibaren yokuş aşağı ilerleyen bir seri. Serinin diğer kitapları ilkinde yaşanılan macera, şaşkınlık, gizem ve özgünlük havasını taşımıyor. 2. kitap da fena sayılmaz aslında ama dediğim gibi seride ilerledikçe beğeni çoğu okurda azalıyor ki bende de aksi olmadı. 6. kitap en azından okuması 4 ve 5’e göre daha kolaydı. Ama aynı karakterler ve benzer konular üzerinde dolanılmasından o kadar bunalmıştım ki okuduğumdan keyif alamadım. Idaho ve rahibelerin oradan oraya koşuşturmasını, güç kavgalarını okumaktan sıkıldım doğrusu. Ama inkar edemem gerçekten enteresan bir havası var bütün serinin. Galaksi macerasında bu kadar ufak çaplı düşünülmese daha memnun olurdum sanırım ama yazarın niyetinin en başından merkezinin ufak olduğu bir efsane anlatmak olduğunu da biliyordum. Sonu biraz havada kalıyor çünkü yazarın ömrü yetmemiş seriyi tamamlamaya ama benim için yeterli bir sondu. Herbert’ın oğlu tarafından yazılan devam kitaplarını okumayı düşünmüyorum zaten çoğunlukla beğenilen kitaplar değiller. Onun yerine bilimkurgu klasiklerinden okumaya devam edeceğim. Bu arada sonsözde eşine yazdığı kısım oldukça duygusaldı. Bilimkurgu açısından önemli bir seri ama bütün kitapları okumasanız da olur ilk 3 kitaptan sonra eğer çok beğendiyseniz devam edebilirsiniz ama içinizde şüphe kaldıysa bırakın gitsin.

Chapterhouse: Dune (Dune #6), Frank Herbert

The situation is desperate for the Bene Gesserit as they find themselves the targets of the Honored Matres, whose conquest of the Old Empire is almost complete. The Matres are seeking to assimilate the technology and developed methods of the Bene Gesserit and exterminate the Sisterhood itself. Now in command of the Bene Gesserit, Mother Superior Darwi Odrade continues to develop her drastic, secret plan to overcome the Honored Matres.

The Bene Gesserit are also terraforming the planet Chapterhouse to accommodate the all-important sandworms, whose native planet Dune had been destroyed by the Matres. Sheeana, in charge of the project, expects sandworms to appear soon. The Honored Matres have also destroyed the entire Bene Tleilax civilization, with Tleilaxu Master Scytale the only one of his kind left alive. In Bene Gesserit captivity, Scytale possesses the Tleilaxu secret of ghola production, which he has reluctantly traded for the Sisterhood's protection. The first ghola produced is that of their recently deceased military genius, Miles Teg. The Bene Gesserit have two other prisoners on Chapterhouse: the latest Duncan Idaho ghola, and former Honored Matre Murbella, whom they have accepted as a novice despite their suspicion that she intends to escape back to the Honored Matres.

تاریخ نخستین خوانش: روز بیست و چهارم ماه مارس سال 2019 میلادی

عنوان: دفترخانه: کتاب ششم تلماسه؛ نویسنده: فرانک هربرت؛

اوضاع برای «بنه گسریت» ناامید کننده است، زیرا آنها خود را اهداف ماترس محترم میدانند، که فتح امپراتوری قدیم تقریباً کامل است. ماترس به دنبال جذب فناوری و روشهای توسعه یافته «بنه گسریت» و نابود کردن خود خواهران است. در حال حاضر به فرماندهی «بنه گسریت، مادر برتر داروی اودراد به تدوین برنامه محرمانه و مخفیانه خود برای غلبه بر افتخارات ماترس ادامه میدهد. ...؛ ا. شربیانی

+ Pagaliau baigėsi.
- Kaip galima tiek daug rašyti, absoliučiai nieko nepasakant??

More than likely three and a half stars, but I don't round up unless I think it warrants the upgrade. Three-fourths of this book was quite enjoyable, but the final one-fourth was tedious and messy. Too much action in too many places to keep track of, especially when significant time passed from one to the next. I get the feeling Herbert expected to continue/finish this saga in future books because this ended with plenty of important and unanswered questions. Luckily Brian Herbert doesn't have access to an axlotl tank, else he'd probably make a FrankHerbert ghola and force him to write more books. As unseemly as that may be it is most assuredly better than the shitefest of "Dune" books assembled by Herbert fils and that other guy. Anyway. I loved the battle of wills and wiles between the Bene Gesserit and the Honored Matres in this book. Nothing like two groups of colossally badass females working things out for control of the universe!! As in previous books, Herbert gives you plenty of major ideas to consider. Thinly veiled - and obviously bald-faced - attacks and debates on religion, democracy, authority, bureaucracy, passivity, power, sexual mores, education, social structures... Yes, this is just as meaty and wide-ranging as one has come to expect. I will say things got rather bogged down towards the latter part of the book, a bit heavy on the behind-the-scenes scheming and backstabbing and plotting. Still, the worms are back, and how can that be bad?!? Melange!!! So all the superlatives of the first 5 'Dune' books, but a few negatives. Sadly, I leave the Dune-iverse disappointed since I will never know what Frank Herbert planned to do with his creation. But I can say what he put to paper stands proudly among the great epics of fantasy, quite near the top to boot.

I busted ass to finish this book in 2022 as probably my biggest goal was to complete all of the Dune that Frank Herbert himself wrote before the end of the year. I DID IT! Sadly, this was my least favorite of the whole gig, I think this is the “middle book syndrome” book as there was supposed to be another book in this era of the Dune saga. There was the “original” trilogy then God Emperor of Dune was kind of a bridge book then another trilogy. So anyway, we never got the end of that and I really believe that based off where Herbert ended things here the last one would have been great. I have absolutely zero desire or intention to read anything that Brian Herbert wrote so I will never know, I don’t even think Brian really knew lol, that’s what I hear anyway.

I did not know that Dune would become such an integral piece of literature in my life but it definitely did. I am sentimental completing it. Never in my wildest dreams did I think any piece of classic literature would become an all time favorite let alone a SciFi as I wasn’t a SciFi girl before all this. Hell, my puppy is named Chani, that’s how much this series means to me. I know that I will revisit it many times in the years to come but there will never be that special magic if reading for the first time. Here’s a fond farewell to my maiden journey through the Dune saga and cheers to my future self revisiting this extremely special universe in the future.

Oh, and HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Administration Dune should be the title. Written as if it's half rambling draft, half like it's on a tight deadline, this is Dune at its most mundane. I read this out of the perverse desire to see what happened and it was a slog. It takes the mysticism out of the bene geserit order and makes the whole book about a day of checking emails at the office.

Oh, finally Herbert breaks the pattern up. His sixth and final Dune book, Chapterhouse, is brilliant, on par with the first, if you will. At the end of the book there is this little dedication to his wife, recently passed away, in which he thanks her for the beautiful years they had together. He describes her as his muse, basically. Perhaps that tragedy was what prompted such quality in the book. Or maybe it is just my personal preferences that make me see it as such a masterpiece.

The basic plot is that the Scattering is encroaching upon the centre, with the Honorate Matre being these vindictive tyrannical bitches that destroy everything in their path while flaunting a parody of Bene Gesserit organization. They are many and they have a lot of wealth and ships. Teg Myles returns as a ghola, Duncan Idaho is sexually bonded with the Honorate Mater Murbella, only bidirectionally, and there is only one last Tleilaxu master (thankfully Scytale, not that dolt Waff) under the protection of the Bene Gesserit. The book is all about survival; I liked that.

Now, there were some issues I had with previous books. The supreme arrogance and pomposity in Prophet of Dune and God Emperor of Dune was one. The ridiculous behaviour of Tleilaxu masters was another. Others can be overlooked, but these were really annoying for me. I am happy to say that Scytale appears as a cunning and intelligent opponent of the Bene Gesserit in Chapterhouse, while the supreme confidence the witches flaunt is proven to be a front, something that allows for their survival, rather than separate them from the human race. The ending is also quite interesting, but I can't spoil it for you.

Unfortunately, the year 1985 was the end of Dune and Frank Herbert. He died of a pulmonary embolism while fighting cancer. He had just re-married and Lynch's Dune movie had just been released. The film had little success in the US, but a lot in Europe and Japan (proving again that their audiences really stink :) ). Just in case you are considering watching the movie rather that reading the book, remember that, while Lynch really got the feel of the Dune book, the script makes the story unrecognisable.

Getting back to the book, it was a shock, the first time I read it, to know that it was the last. There are other Dune books, though, written by Brian Herbert, the son of Frank Herbert. I read none of those. The reason is that I believe the depth and subtlety in Dune was more important than the story itself. Instead I would urge the reading of other Frank Herbert books. Some were rather banal, but others (and here I include the WorShip universe and Hellstrom's Hive) were brilliant.

Reread in 2022
This was not supposed to be the last book of Dune. A seventh one was planned, but death stopped Herbert from achieving his goals. There was an old childhood friend of Herbert's who described him as always ahead, blazing trails, one step ahead. After reading all of the Frank Herbert Dune books, I feel that this is how the man really was, always thinking of the consequences of the past going into the far future. You would learn as much chess as you could, but when it was time to play Herbert, he would be inventing a new game.

I can't help but feel a sense of loss for everything that he didn't get to write. He died at 66 years old. He had at least ten more good years left. I am planning now to read the Brian Herbert books, as well, and then maybe continue with rereading all of Frank Herbert's books.

The man was not perfect - I know that there are people out there who write much better than he did - but Dune is truly a masterpiece, an ode to human ingenuity, a manifesto against stagnation, bureaucracy and the trap of repeating the past. Packed with some really astonishing wisdom, I do believe is one of the most rereadable books out there.

I'll keep this short. I think that this final novel is the perfect conclusion to the best sf series in history. First time I've read it I liked it, but when I've reread it I loved it. I guess that I had to process it a bit. Maybe because I was sitting in front of split city museum when I was reading it for the first time, and Split is so beautiful it can be distracting. Anyway, all of suppleness that you can find in Herbert's best novels- it's definitely there. Now, I'm not sure how many times I've read it so far, maybe four of five. I'm rereading it right now, I think that says all. How many books are out there that you can reread so many times?... for me, not that much, ten at best.

Chapter house Dune is an amazing novel!

Dune Rahibeler Meclisi (Dune Evreni)

“Hayat bir oyundur; kurallarını öğrenmek istiyorsan içine dalıp oyunu sonuna kadar oynamalısın. Yoksa sürekli değişen bu oyun karşısında şaşırıp bocalarsın. Oyuna katılmayanlar sızlanır ve daima şanssızlıklarından yakınır genellikle. Şanslı olmanın biraz da kendi ellerinde olduğunu görmeyi reddederler.” Sayfa 61
-Nihayet altıncı kitap olan Dune Rahibeler Meclisi ile Dune serisini bitirmiş oldum. İlk beş kitabı arka arkaya okumuştum ama beşinci kitaptan sonra seriye uzun bir ara vermiş olabilirim. Son kitapta Saygın Analar ile Bene Gesseritler arasındaki mücadeleye odaklanıyoruz. Öncelikle karakterlerin düşünceleri kitap boyunca ortaya atılıyor tabii daha sonrasında hamleleri… Özellikle son yüz sayfa daha akıcıydı diyebilirim.
-Dune serisini okumak genel anlamda oldukça keyifliydi. Ben seriye sadece bilim kurgu olarak bakmıyorum. Ekolojiden tutunda din, siyaset, politika, bilim, sosyal kültürler hemen hepsi iyi bir şekilde oluşturulmuştu. Hatta bazı karakterlerin ölümden sonra tekrar bir bedene dahil olması ve onu tekrardan görmemiz güzeldi. Bu arada şüphesiz ilk kitap açık ara en iyi kitaptı diyebilirim. Okuyucular da bunda hemfikirler zaten. Ben ondan sonra dördüncü kitap olan Dune Tanrı İmparatoru’nu beğendim. Altıncı kitap ise üç ve beşinci kitaptan daha derli ve topluydu. İkinci kitap da serinin en rahat okunan kitaplarından bir tanesiydi. Tabii bunda en ince kitap olma özelliği de vardır.
-Herhalde bazı sahneler unutulsa da Duncan Idaho, Leto, Kumsolucanları ilelebet hafızalarda kalacak. Çevirmen Dost Körpe’yi de anmadan geçmeyelim altı kitap boyunca çeviri bana gayet güzel geldi.
-Belki bu yıl Asimov’dan Vakıf serisine el atabilirim…