OK, dabar po šios knygos galiu pasakyti tik tai, kad vėl kažkiek darosi aiškiau, kur visa tai vėl veda. Vis dėlto, jei jau taip sąžiningai, tai galvojau, kad po "Kopo Dievo Imperatoriaus" ši ir tolesnė knyga bus skirta daugiau ar mažiau vystyti Leto II-ojo „auksinį taką“, bet ne, visai ne. Šioje knygoje vėl laiko šuolis per kelioliką šimtmečių, ir vėl nauja realybė.
Ir turbūt nenustebinsiu pasakęs, kad tai gera knyga. Taip pat esu visiškai tikras, kad paskutinė Franko knyga mane ir vėl vienaip ar kitaip nustebins. Gal netgi paims ir grįš prie "Auksinio tako". Tvirtos 4*.

Zmiana bohaterów w tym tomie jest dla mnie dużym plusym, ale wciąż jestem w szoku jak dużą władzę w tym świecie dają umiejętności zaspokojania cudzych potrzeb seksualnych

Heretics of Dune
(Dune #5)
by Frank Herbert
New characters but very interesting! Duncan has been in every book! Over 5,000 years and Duncan is still there, cloned but still there! His clone is different this time! Dune is renamed. A new character that has extraordinary abilities! A child.

„Налага се да установим определена степен на искреност помежду ни, рядко допустима в дипломацията. Твърде много зависи от нас, за да си позволим повърхностни извъртания.“


„Еретиците на Дюн“ е отличен роман, в който са описани продължителните и сложни процеси, развиващи се след края на тиранията на Лито II. Около 1500 г. бившата империя се намира в състояние на мрачен посттоталитарен преход, така да се каже. Развихрили са се жестоки конфликти между могъщи организации и религията е използвана (както винаги) за налагане на власт...

В тази част от поредицата разбираме до голяма степен същността и мотивите на тайнствения Бин Джезърит, който след управлението на Бог-императора постепенно възстановява своето могъщество и отново разгръща мащабните си планове. Важна позиция в сестринството заема потомката на Атреидите Дар Одрейди. Възходът на Бин Джезърит обаче не им осигурява спокойствие, тъй като огромна заплаха за тях представляват богатите и влиятелни Почитаеми мами... Отново се заплитат вълнуващи политически интриги, чрез които читателите получаваме ценни теми за задълбочен размисъл, както във всяка книга от този страхотен фантастичен епос!







„Животът не намира основания сам да отстоява себе си, не може да бъде и източник на поносимо взаимно зачитане, освен ако всеки от нас не реши да вдъхне в него подобни качества.“


„— Грешката на погледа в бъдното… — каза тлейлаксианският Майстор. — Нали така е споменато в документа? Не се ли говори там, че умът на вярващия е в застой?
— Съвършено вярно! — възкликна Туек, благодарен за намесата, чрез която бе предадена същността на опасната ерес.“


„Бюрокрацията унищожава инициативата. Почти няма друго, което бюрократите да мразят повече от нововъведенията, особено от онези, даващи по-добри резултати в сравнение със старите практики и шаблони...“


„Манифестът на Атреидите изглежда представляваше ловка маневра. Одрейди — безспорно личността, която бе в състояние да го изготви — успя да вникне малко по-дълбоко в същинското състояние на нещата при написването на документа, но думите сами по себе си се бяха превърнали в преграда пред окончателното откровение.“


„Одрейди вече бе забелязала, че мнозина от жреците изпитват удоволствие от объркването на нечии планове, но не бе подозирала, че може да им е забавно собственото им сгромолясване. Докъде стигаше въпросната склонност към забавление? Дали за хора като тях съществуваше разлика между краха на отделната личност и смъртта на цяла цивилизация?“


„Башарът на мига забеляза колебанието и гласът му прогърмя:
— Слушай бойната заповед! Аз съм твой командир! Изреченото беше възможно най-близкото до Гласа изпълнение, което Лусила бе чувала от устата на мъж. Неволно погледна към него с искрено възхищение.
А Дънкан виждаше само лицето на стария дук, нареждащ му да се подчини. Оказа се предостатъчно...“


„Зад затворените врати на Храма вече имаше дебати за прехода в институцията на Върховния жрец. Новите ракианци говореха за нуждата „да се върви в крак с времето“. Всъщност настояваха: „Дайте ни повече власт!“


„— Може да се окаже прекалено късно! Дар, проклето да е съглашението ви! Дала си възможност да имат влияние над нас, както и ние над тях… И нито една от страните да не дръзва да задвижи нещата.
— Не е ли това идеалният съюз?“


„Паметта не е в състояние да върне реално станалото някога. Тя възстановява само спомена за него. Но всеки подобен акт променя оригинала и се превръща във външни отправни рамки, които неизбежно се оказват неточни.“


„Въпреки че свръхбогатите нерядко биваха поразени от пълна безнравственост. Причиняваше я вярването, че парите (или пък властта) могат да купят всичко и всички. А защо да не го вярват? Ставаше всеки ден пред очите им. Най-лесно се вярва в абсолютни истини.
Надеждата във вечен е цъфтеж…
Беше също като с която и да е вяра. С пари може да се купи даже невъзможното.
Тогава идва и пълната поквара.“

Pretty intense addition to the Dune hexalogy. Frank Herbert was not afraid to go all out with this one, and the story reaches new dimensions of epicness as a result. At times this was a bit hard to follow, but I chalk that up to reader error. Excellent book overall.

I had no idea that ‘Sandworm’ is a nickname for Unit 74455, a notorious Russian cybermilitary outfit. Sounds just like the kind of thing that would have pounced on humanity from the darkness of the Scattering.

By the way, this idea of the Scattering – an edge of the known universe where criminality, smuggling, rebellion, deviance, illicit tech, ideas, and people flourish – is one that both Star Trek (DS9) and Star Wars (Han Solo) have capitalised heavily on. While a lot of attention has been paid to the influence of the original ‘Dune’ on the genre, it is clear that even with ‘Heretics’ in 1985, Herbert was still planting the seeds of ideas that would impact the next generation of SF writers and artists.

If you look at the ratings and review tally for the books on Goodreads, you will see a marked drop off from ‘Children of Dune’ onwards. Yes, the sequence does technically conclude with ‘Dune Messiah’, which is a perfect point at which to stop reading if you want closure on the Paul/Muad’Dib saga. While ‘Children’ was a bit of a hot mess, it did set up what is arguably the best half of the six books. And if you look at each book, they are all uniquely different.

However, it is highly unlikely that every reader of ‘Dune’ will persevere through to ‘Chapter House’. Which is a great pity, because in my view ‘Heretics’ is the best of the sequence up to this point, a tautly plotted sociopolitical thriller that, strangely, largely consists of extended verbal jousts between the wonderfully diverse cast in a range of exotic locations, from desert to snow, and even the beguiling world of Chapter House itself. But it makes for utterly compelling reading.

This makes me think that Herbert might well be the Henry James of SF, because ‘Heretics’ is such an inward-looking chamber piece of a novel, where the sporadic bursts of violent and bloody action are all precipitated by words, glances, gestures, and the hidden intentions behind unstated meanings.

With ‘God Emperor’, the question was how to write an entire book focused on a man-sandworm hybrid that rules over the Duniverse with a tyrannical flipper. And to transform it into both a love story and a tragedy. ‘Heretics’ poses an even more interesting question: How on Rakis do you top that premise?

The opening sentence of ‘Heretics’ is one of the most arresting in the entire sequence to date: “Taraza told you, did she not, that we have gone through eleven of these Duncan Idaho gholas? This one is the twelfth.” (In my Gollancz paperback, this is preceded by a three-page Prologue that I see is excluded in the e-version, and which contains the famous aphorism: ‘In the name of the Bene Gesserit Order and its Unbroken Sisterhood, this account has been judged reliable and worthy of entry into the Chronicles of the Chapter House.’)

Referencing the precise number of Duncan gholas to date (the character played by Jason Momoa in the 2021 adaptation of ‘Dune: Part One’ by Denis Villeneuve, for visual reference) is a neat trick of Herbert to indicate the considerable passage of time that has passed since the events of ‘God Emperor’. So much time that common names like Arrakis and Caladan have been shortened to ‘Rakis’ and ‘Dan’ respectively.

Also, the mysterious sandworms that roam the reconstituted desert of the former planet, said to each contain a pearl of the mind of Leto II, is now known as the Divided God. Sandworms, of course, are at the heart of the mythology of ‘Heretics’, which features some of Herbert’s most lyrical writing about these evocative beasts.

It also seems like we have waited five books for him to use the sentence: “Let sleeping worms lie”, which is particularly apt as a range of factions seek “to meddle with the worm-bound remnants of the Tyrant.” Chief among these is the hidebound priesthood that adopts the seer Sheeana, whose lineage can be traced back to Siona in ‘God Emperor’ (and even further back to the aristocratic Atreides themselves.)

Sheeana, it seems, is able to communicate with the sandworms of Rakis, in accordance with an ancient prophecy from the days of Leto II about the appearance of a mysterious ‘sandrider’. You would think that everyone in the Duniverse would have had their fill of ancient prophecies by now, but alarmingly this is not the case, and so the juggernaut of history rolls on.

But the Bene Gesserit, given their secretive and reclusive nature, know a good bit of religious propaganda when they see it, and set out to investigate the claims, which sets in motion a remarkable domino of events.

If it happens to be true, they will simply incorporate Sheeana’s genes into their breeding programme, referred to memorably as a Stud Book at one point. If she proves to be a fake, then it will be equally simple for the Bene Gesserit to dismiss her and trundle along their seemingly diminishing version of the Golden Path.

This would not be ‘Dune’ without it being creepy or over the top, or both. ‘Heretics’ begins with a rather queasy scene on Gammu, the former Giedi Prime, where the Reverend Mothers Schwangyu and Lucilla debate the potential sexual awakening of the latest Duncan ghola, who is on the cusp of manhood, as it were.

Another key character we are introduced to early on is Reverend Mother Superior Taraza, whom Herbert wastes no time to highlight has already borne 19 children for the Bene Gesserit, an ‘essential service’ we are pleased to learn has not ‘grossened’ Odrade’s flesh, whose full mouth “promised a passion which she was careful to bridle.”

Remember how Reverend Mother Mohiam was referred to as a ‘crone’ and a ‘witch’ in ‘Dune’? Well, now Herbert has gone full circle just like poor old Leto II, and gives us a supremely seductive Sisterhood that counts its sexual wiles as a key weapon in its feminine arsenal, as dangerous even as the Voice. And probably even more pointed than the Gom Jabbar.

We are informed that the Bene Gesserit ‘speciality’ is “the management of procreation and all of its attendant necessities.” There is a wonderful scene near the end where Sirafa gets Lucilla’s hackles up by trying to disguise her as “a fifth-stage adept in the Order of Hormu.”

“Do I presume that you need no explanation of sexual variations?”
“A safe assumption,” Lucilla said.

Indeed, not only can Lucilla administer ‘vaginal pulsing’, she can control genital temperature, and arouse the 51 excitation points (the sequencing plus the combinations number 2 008), in addition to the 205 sexual positions.

Sirafa was clearly startled. “Surely, you don’t mean – ”
“More, actually, if you count minor variations. I am an Imprinter, which means I have mastered the 300 steps of orgasmic amplification!”

There you have it. If you are thinking that poor Duncan has no idea what is, er, coming for him in terms of his sexual awakening at the hands of the Bene Gesserit, you are partly right. The fact that the Bene Tleilax have produced so many gholas to date must mean that they are after an elusive something in their own breeding programme, just as the Sisterhood (accidentally, mind you) ended up with a Kwisatz Haderach …

The Bene Gesserit are so sanctimonious in the unquestioned presumption of their own moral authority that at first they do not even comprehend the existential threat posed by the Honoured Matres, who return from the darkness and chaos of the Scattering to, well, wreak havoc. And fuck around a lot.

The fact that they might be seen as an unbridled force of creative and enabling passion leading to ultimate destruction is kind of undercut by Herbert’s dodgy sexual politics coming to the fore when he has the Sisterhood constantly deriding the Honoured Matres as “Whores!” (Herbert even makes liberal use of the exclamation mark to emphasise this point.)

Apart from weaponising sex, the Scattering has also resulted in a lot of really weird tech filtering through into the Duniverse, much of it copies of, and yet infinitely superior to, Ixian manufacture. By now the monopolies on space travel by the Guild and on spice by Rakis have long been broken by technology itself, which has flowered to its full maturity in the secrecy of the Scattering, and in ways that the old Butlerian Jihad days could only have dreamed about.

And so the stage is set for a classic confrontation in the wild sands of Rakis, a confrontation that will (again) determine the fate of the known universe.

Softly, she called down to him: “Hey! Old worm! Was this your design?”
There was no answer but then she had not really expected an answer.

Heretics of Dune, the book fifth in the Dune series, is a sequel to God Emperor of Dune but it takes place a long time after the rule of God Emperor Leto II. When I say a long time, I mean one thousand five hundred years after the rule of Leto II Atreides (that also lasted for a rather long time). In that sense, the universe it describes is quite different. As a reader, you need to be aware of that books five and six in the series are somewhat different from the rest.

The previous novel covered a long period of time (3, 500 years long reign of Leto II) , but it was a time dominated by a single man/god/tyrant so it was pretty monotonous (even if very interesting from some points of view). In contrast, the world of Heretics of Dune is full of unknown. You could even say that this book requires some imagination and patience from its reader. It demands of its reader to understand the Golden Path and its implications. Still, there are many familiar players. You could say that the known world is reverting to its old Dune ways, for example with the spice remaining as important as ever). The Bene Gesserit are stepping on the stage again. The sisterhood is perhaps the only force that is fully aware of the golden path. However, they might struggle with deciding on their role. The sisterhood must evolve or perish.

Heretics of Dune witnesses humanity in a new light, no longer imprisoned by Leto II's rule but rather walking on the Golden Path. Even if nobody is really sure what the future will bring, it seems that emperor Leto's plan to save humanity from destruction has worked out- at least to an extent. By imprisoning the human race under his rule for more than three thousand years, Leto II caused humans to 'go boldly forward where no man has gone before' i.e. the Scattering- his plan all along. The human kind has scattered into space we are made to see- but we are not shown what it really means, but rather as readers we are invited to ask some questions ourselves. Moreover, as this novel opens some of the scattered are coming back- and they do not hold much love for the Old Empire. The Honored Matres, a violent female organization that enslaves males sexually so it could control them, seek to destroy the sisterhood and just about anyone who opposes them. The Honored Matres are extremely dangerous and violent, so drunk on power that they are willing to turn entire planets into dust on any provocation.

Heretics of Dune is closely tied to its sequel Chapterhouse: Dune. Don't expect a clean ending in this one. Many of the subplots will be develop in the following novel. This novel introduces us to a new Dune universe that will be expanded (but possibly not fully explained) in the final novel. There are many interesting characters in this novel. Like its sequel, the emphasis is on female characters, with the exception of Miles Teg and Duncan Idaho.

The leather of Bene Gesserit in this novel is Taraza, a strong Mother Superior who seems to always be one step ahead of others. A Fremen girl Sheena who learns that she can control the worms will became an important figure once Bene Gesserit gets hold of her as well. As always, there are Atreides characters. Miles Tag, the genius military strategist working for the sisterhood and his unorthodox daughter Odrade. Taraza and Odrade become closely associated, known under nicknames Tar and Dar, despite doubts that sisterhood places in Odrade who remains something of a romantic.

..“Taraza cleared her throat. “No need. Lucilla is one of our finest Imprinters. Each of you, of course, received the identical liberal conditioning to prepare you for this.” There was something almost insulting in Taraza’s casual tone and only the habits of long association put down Odrade’s immediate resentment. It was partly that word “liberal,” she realized. Atreides ancestors rose up in rebellion at the word. It was as though her accumulated female memories lashed out at the unconscious assumptions and unexamined prejudices behind the concept. “Only liberals really think. Only liberals are intellectual. Only liberals understand the needs of their fellows.” How much viciousness lay concealed in that word! Odrade thought. How much secret ego demanding to feel superior.”.

I found this novel a fascinating and a quick read. The events take place quite quickly and the plot makes sense. Miles Teg, in particular, was a very dynamic and interesting character. However, perhaps I enjoyed the sequel to Heretics of Dune a bit more than this book, just because it was a bit more philosophical. Moreover, in the final book, there is a more detailed analysis of power, government and Bene Gesserit. Still, I would recommend this one just as much. These two novels would be really hard to understand one without the other. It is always best to read the Dune books (I mean the original Frank Herbert series) in the chronological order, that is, the way they were published- and especially so with these two. In some sense, Heretics of Dune and Chapterhouse: Dune feel like the same novel to me, perhaps because they feature almost the same set of characters. Apart from those characters that are killed or perish, all the main characters repeat in the sequel Chapterhouse: Dune, so these two novels are definitely closely connected. I recommend taking on the sequel right after you finish Heretics of Dune, or you could forget some important details. To conclude, this is another novel in the Dune series that I enjoyed immensely.

Muazzam başlayan Dune serisi bence ilk üç kitabın ötesine geçmemeliymiş. Çünkü dördüncü ciltte başlayan irtifa kaybı, beşinci ciltte çakılma emareleri göstermiş. Okurken öyle zorlandım, öyle sıkıldım ki bunu doğru kelimelerle izah etmem zor. Yazar ilk 4 cildin ardından bu beşinci cildi yeni bir üçlemenin ilk halkası olarak planlamış. Yeni üçlemenin ikinci, serinin altıncı kitabından sonra yazarın ani ölümüyle de tamamlanamamış bir seri aslında Dune. Yani toplamda 7 cilt olacakken 6. ciltle nihayete erememiş. Frank Herbert'in ölümünden sonra oğlunun tamamlayıcı çalışmaları var seriye ilişkin. Neyse, Frank Herbert yeni bir üçlemeye yelken açtığı serinin beşinci cildinde bu sefer dördüncü ciltten 1500 yıl sonrasına gidiyor. Dördüncü ciltte de bir 3500 yıl atlamıştı. Orijinal hikâyeden neredeyse tamamen kopuyor bu ciltte yazar artık. Hâliyle hikâyenin ana temaları da değişiyor. Başka bir şey okuyoruz, atmosfer değişiyor. Kadın karakterler, hamilelik, doğurganlık, cinsellik gibi unsurlar öne çıkıyor. Karakter sayısı artmakla kalmıyor, karakterizasyonlar da bayağı zayıflıyor. Bu kadar hacimli bir kitapta tek bir karakterle bile yakınlaşamamam beni şaşırttı. Diyaloglar da tavan yapıyor, bu da metnin ritmini olumsuz etkiliyor. Olay örgüsü ve kurgu oldukça zayıf kalıyor bu şartlarda. Takip etmek benim açımdan çok güç oldu bu dağınıklığı. En azından ilk üç ciltte saat gibi işleyen birçok artı özellik dördüncü ciltte ortalama seyrettikten sonra bu ciltte, yeni bir başlangıç aşkından mı bilmiyorum, baş aşağı gidiyor. Üstelik serinin en hacimli cildi, 627 sayfa ne anlatıyorsun be Herbert demekten kendimi alamadım çoğu zaman. Seriye olan saygım olmasa Dune Sapkınları'na bakışım ☆, okurken o kadar sıdkım sıyrıldı romandan. Acaba dedim sona doğru mu açılacak, çünkü insan ister istemez bu çorba sonda tatlanacak herhalde diye düşünüyor okurken. Ama o da yok, vasatın altında ve aceleci bir final var. Her şeyi tadında bırakmak lazımmış, bu seri de bana kalırsa üçüncü ciltle son bulmalıymış.

3.75 stars

Well, I thought The God Emperor of Dune was bad, but in Heretics of Dune, it got worse. Somehow full of even more misogyny than the previous novel and now with a dusting of anti-progressive political vitriol, this book is a dumpster fire in my opinion. I am not looking forward to reading Chapterhouse: Dune, I will only do so because of my stubborn resolve to not leave a series unfinished, but after that, thankfully I will be done.

First thing let me say that I've read this book three times over the years and in my opinion Heretics of Dune is one of the best books in the saga, up to par with the first one. While the previous book, God-Emperor was quite philosophical heavy and some might say action-less, the fifth book is nothing like that and returns to original form, with lots of action, different character focus, various plots, combined with the mysticism, religion and philosophical discourse we were used to. The events in the book are some thousand years after the death of Leto II and this time the main focus of the book is on the Bene Gesserit. Old players like Bene Tleilaxu, the Guild, Ixians and Duncan Idaho (who is yet again resurrected as a ghola) are still present. However, we also have some new ones, like the Priests of Rakis and the Honored Matres (which are the main evil characters of the book). All of them have their different schemes and goals, they plot and fight against each other and it all culminates with quite an unexpected outcome. But, the best thing I liked about this book is Miles Teg, Bene Gesserit’s veteran Bashar. He is my favorite character from all Dune books.
Heretics of Dune is a must read and people who by any chance stopped reading the saga after God-Emperor of Dune are making a grave mistake.

*** 4.43 ***