Okay, this was my second read of God Emperor of Dune. Honestly, it was quite an useful read because now I understand more precisely what was Leto's goal and the exact purpose of his Golden Path. To make a long story short the Golden Path is nothing more than the survival of the human race. At the end of the old empire (period described in the previous books) the human race has become doomed beyond hope with a corrupt and decadent feudal ruling system, stagnant and with an major addiction to substance ( the spice) that influenced almost all aspects of life (transportation, science, technological advancement, religion, food, etc) across the universe. The Bene Gesserit has foreseen humanity's disaster and they hoped to avoid it with the Kwisatz Haderach, the prescient messiah who will save us all. As we know, they lost control of it and Paul Muad'dib became Emperor on his own. Paul with his ability to see the future also saw the end of humanity and acted on it and he tried to save it with his Jihad. But wiping all resistance to his rule was not enough and something more drastic was needed. Because of Paul's love for his wife and because he still had his thirst for his humanity Paul couldn't make the ultimate sacrifice. Instead his son, Leto did it. Leto transformed himself in to a half man-half sandworm creature that permitted him to guide humanity on the Golden Path journey. The Golden Path acted on several different aspects. First, he needed to free the humanity from the spice addiction, thus during a long period of time he wiped out the sandworms, which wore the only source of spice and could live only in one place: Dune. Upon his foreseen death, Leto would breed a new kind of sandworms, with conscience and more intelligent and also with the ability to live on other planets besides Dune. Second, Leto also begun oppressing humanity like no ruler, (thos the Tyrant nickname) before him. This had also several reasons behind it: he slowly started reducing the spice addiction of humanity, by the end Leto's rule people wore almost free of it and the spice influenced only a few essential aspects of life (ex: space travel) . Also oppressing the people for long enough, he created a longing to be free of him, a desire for freedom (which is basically, the Scattering, in the following books). In particular, by oppressing the ixians and tleilaxu and not destroying them entirely, forced these two factions to be more inventive, creative and eventually it will lead them to discover space travel without the need of spice and the invention of artificial spice. Third, Leto had to be sure that in the future no other will ever posses the power he had possessed and that no person, no matter how prescient, would ever be able to track down all humanity and control like he did. So, he took from the Bene Gesserit their prized breeding plan and with Siona he managed to make a new kind of Atreides, free of the prescience vision. Fourth, with his all-female army, the Fish Speakers, Leto ensured that after he was gone, these women (with their training, discipline and life philosophy) will guaranty humanity's survival and guide them along the right path.
God Emperor of Dune might not by so actioned packed like the previous or the following books in the Dune Saga but it is most certainly the center one and the most important one of all.

Caution only read this review, if you have already read Dune Trilogy and wondering should I read this sequel (also if you read the book lol). The trilogy has a fantastic conclusion and the premise of this novel, depending on the person is a tough pill to swallow. Consider this novel more of an interesting introspect epilogue of that trilogy. Anyways this will contain MAJOR spoilers for Dune 1-3 as this novel is set 3500 years in the future. Now people who read the novel hope you like my review of this fantastic piece of literature.


Introduction

“The bottom line of the Dune trilogy is: beware of heroes. Much better [to] rely on your own judgment and your own mistakes." He wrote in 1985, "Dune was aimed at this whole idea of the infallible leader because my view of history says that mistakes made by a leader (or made in a leader's name) are amplified by the numbers who follow without question." (source other sites)

The themes I’ve stated above is only becoming more explicit with God Emperor of Dune. His son Brian surprisingly says some insightful stuff in the introduction.

Frank Herbert was exploring some of the layers of Dune, Dune Messiah, and Children of Dune that he had already established, taking the dangers of government and organized religion to new levels, merging them, and extrapolating to an extreme, providing a scenario of what it might be like if a holy tyrant led humanity and if that despot could not die. The stakes could not be any higher. And what a fantastic concept, combining human flesh with supernatural elements of nature to create a godhead. A frightening notion—and even more terrifying than the dangers of following a charismatic leader that Frank Herbert wrote about so eloquently in the second and third books of the series.

Leto following with the Golden Path. In the process, stagnated Humankind for over millennia. This novel is difficult to keep spoiler-free because its existence is such an anomaly. However, I do my utmost best to talk about it.
A noteworthy aspect of the introduction of this novel is that we are observing from numerous Historians perspective.

To tell you why we believe we have uncovered the original journals of Leto II, the God Emperor.
First, let me recall to you the historical treasure which we all know by the name of The Stolen Journals, those volumes of known antiquity which over the centuries have been so valuable in helping us to understand our ancestors.

It recontextualises the excerpts from Dune Trilogy (mainly this entry). So, all those excerpts we read from the trilogy and even for Book 4 be related to this time. The Historians is trying to uncover what truly happened over the millennia ago. Regarding the plot, I won’t go into depth about what it is, because best to have no real understanding when approaching the sequel. The characters from the past are historical legends and have landmarks associated with them. Kynes Sea, the Idaho River, Cult of Alia and even The Keeper of Jessica’s Light as a priestess. These are just natural occurrences in history, especially considering the actions they have conducted.

Quite interesting are the people idolising a prior tyrant, sadly because of Baron during that time. But leaves you speculating maybe she was at peace but slowly became corrupted we are unsure which time period of Alia their idolising. It's an interesting note because the values of Alia changed drastically from book 2 to book 3, because of 9 years of slow corruption. Being ambiguous about the situation is great as it reflects real life. In various cults, you don’t understand the values of their preaching … you just know the figure their preaching.



Philosophy

Radicals always see matters in terms which are too simple—black and white, good and evil, them and us. By addressing complex matters in that way, they rip open a passage for chaos. The art of government as you call it, is the mastery of chaos.”
…
“Isn’t that what radicals are trying to do? Aren’t they trying to shake things up so they can grab control?”
“That’s what they think they’re doing. Actually, they’re creating new extremists, new radicals and they are continuing the old process.”
“What about a radical who sees the complexities and comes at you that way?”
“That’s no radical. That’s a rival for leadership.”

“Most civilisation is based on cowardice. It's so easy to civilize by teaching cowardice. You water down the standards which would lead to bravery. You restrain the will. You regulate the appetites. You fence in the horizons. You make a law for every movement. You deny the existence of chaos. You teach even the children to breathe slowly. You tame.”

“The difference between a good administrator and a bad one is about five heartbeats. Good administrators make immediate choices. […] They usually can be made to work. A bad administrator, on the other hand, hesitates, diddles around, asks for committees, for research and reports. Eventually, he acts in ways which create serious problems. […] “A bad administrator is more concerned with reports than with decisions. He wants the hard record which he can display as an excuse for his errors. […] Oh, they depend on verbal orders. They never lie about what they’ve done if their verbal orders cause problems, and they surround themselves with people able to act wisely on the basis of verbal orders. Often, the most important piece of information is that something has gone wrong. Bad administrators hide their mistakes until it’s too late to make corrections.”

Not just these but there are numerous times where their insightful philosophical debate, because of framing of the novel. You question a lot what has the Golden Path done for humanity. Was the sacrifice worth it in the end?

The Golden Path demands it. And what is the Golden Path? you ask. It is the survival of humankind, nothing more nor less. We who have prescience, we who know the pitfalls in our human futures, this has always been our responsibility.

We know about the end that  "teach humanity a lesson that they will remember in their bones": that sheltered safety was tantamount to utter death, however long it would be delayed. Furthermore, introducing a gene from Leto breeding program regarding Siona, to free humanity prescient vision. It teaches the ultimate lesson thinking for themselves and not trusting charismatic leaders. A lot of Duncans questions Golden path how it's continuous stagnated Mankind. Their especially prisoners and is confined within a certain space and lacking human exploration and growth for survival.

Writing

The same reoccurring thing from my other Dune reviews applied, that is not anything radically different. It is the same strengths. Though there is one aspect, I will talk about, regarding events occurring off-screen. Because of the framing of the novel, it containing off-screen activity makes perfect sense. It is not like Dune Messiah, where should have been shown not just off-screen. Observing events as, Historian of sorts so yeah, they will be gaps. That said for the few action sequences the novel contains their pretty much good. It caught me off guard, really didn’t expect any whatsoever. That isn't to state they are plentiful but some action sequences throughout, which are well written.


Characters



Leto

Undeniable to state Paul Atreides is Herbets best-written character. They a lot of humanity to Paul when observing his arc retrospectively that is profound and tragic. However, Leto has a lot of depth to him in this novel, compared to his last entry. In CoD, he was well-written enough but couldn’t compare to the other cast ( Alia, Jess and Paul). But now it's a much further examination because Leto has become a tyrant. They are a human tragedy to his character. Imagine living past everyone that you cared for and abide by the Golden Path which according to him, is for Humanity survival. There are numerous ways to write this character poorly as it's tough to balance what to show and what not to show. Leto has enough personality to be engaging to read, but also distant, so it doesn’t feel out of place. He has his Temper tantrums like his outbursts of jealously that come into the mix. The worm inside of him is also a great visual indicator when he is losing control over his insanity. His love relationship with Hwi can be viewed as rushed. However, from Leto perspective, it makes perfect sense. Though he passed away he was happy at the end of his life with Hwi Noree, for the first time besides his sister where he truly loved someone. I love the small moments like him and Siona together travelling across the Dune.  He is a beautifully written character who is the heart and soul of this novel.

The other characters I won’t discuss spoiler-free because it's best to not even know the cast, besides Leto. So, the rest of the characters will be spoiler tagged.



Moneo Atreides


He was honestly my favourite character besides Leto in this novel. Herbert for what little we do know about his past says a lot. His expression, personality … he went through the rebellion and finally the enlightenment. Leto states he is a good administrator he always tries to do what is best and consistently improvises. Regardless of the rash decisions made by Leto, he tries to do what’s best. A strong parallel is his and Siona journey, how both took similar paths in their youth. He chose a difficult path and sadly he must make tough decisions, which has haunted him from day one. His behaviour with Duncan is quite insightful, as he is basically at his breaking point. When Leto worm is about to kill him it's some of the intense stuff to read, because of how well Frank builds the atmosphere. I loved the whole chapter where he murders Malky ... Furthermore, his perspective on Malky closeness with the Emperor. Finally, it’s interesting to see his fear of the Golden Path, the idea of a world without the God-Emperor … wanting to die than face it. The statement he says, in the end, was "Siaynoq! I believe!". Which the last phrase can imply various things which relate to his character quite strongly but like Leto states.

" Siaynoq means giving honor to one who speaks with sincerity. It signifies the remembrance of things which are spoken with sincerity."
"But, Lord, doesn't sincerity really mean that the speaker believes... has faith in what is said?"
"Yes, but Siaynoq also contains the idea of light as that which reveals reality. You continue to shine light on what you see."
"Reality... that is a very ambiguous word, Lord."
"Indeed! But Siaynoq also stands for fermentation because reality-or the belief that you know a reality, which is the same thing-always sets up a ferment in the universe."
"All of that in a single word, Lord?"
"And more! Siaynoq also contains the summoning to prayer and the name of the Recording Angel, Sihaya, who interrogates the newly dead."
"A great burden for one word, Lord."
"Words can carry any burden we wish. All that's required is agreement and a tradition upon which to build."

Duncan

If you didn’t like Duncan from the Dune Trilogy, then you dislike him here. I enjoyed his character and I was rooting for him. The general framework is that Duncan is the anchor of this novel. For example, him not knowing stuff helping the reader to observe this world through his lens, a new perspective. One of my favourite chapters was him going to other Duncan's home … seeing his children and wife of the Duncan who died pretty much at the beginning of the novel. Fascinating how they are treated in this world. All of them have a certain breaking point because of the ethics, that are installed upon them. Their numerous great moments with him the ending … climbing the wall also him and Siona killing Leto.


Siona Atreides

She had the most potential but sadly wasn’t the best. For what Herbert did give, you had enough reason to care about her plight. But this is one of the few times I wish, we didn’t get development offscreen like Siona past. The fact she is the catalyst for Leto plans also illustrates my problems with her character. You have an idea of Siona, but you want to know more about her. That said he had fantastic throughout the action sequence involving and the wolves? Yeah, that was good. Then her uncover base, slowly peeling the truth about Leto, her Enlightenment and general dynamic with Duncan was strong. In her own right she is a solid character, just knowing how he crafted Paul and the other cast Frank could have done more regarding her.


Flaws

One character above has already been highlighted. Besides that, character, I cannot see, any other flaws in this novel. One could be argued, which is  Hwi Noree  but honestly for what purposed she served Frank did a great job regarding that character.

Conclusion


GeoD is a fitting epilogue to Dune Trilogy and honestly feels like a conclusion. If you told me there are no Dune sequels, I would be perfectly content with this ending because it wraps everything. I don’t have an idea of how you will move forward from God-Emperor. It's honestly one of the best novels I’ve read not for everyone especially can be jarring for fans of the original Dune. I might be the odd one with this take but I think God-Emperor is the best in the Saga. Both are masterpieces but they some truly special about this entry that takes it up a notch compared to the original novel.


10/10

*** 3.43 ***

Il quarto libro della saga è sicuramente più difficile dei primi tre e soprattutto molto molto diverso. È un libro incentrato tutto su i dialoghi. Come Herbert aveva già fatto nei precedenti romanzi anche qui non è lasciato assolutamente nulla al caso. Bisogna prestare molta attenzione ai dialoghi tra i personaggi ricordando le faccende avvenute in precedenza.
La bravura di Herbert è ancora una volta confermata. Come avevo detto nelle recensioni precedenti Herbert è un maestro nel creare dialoghi in contesti e situazioni non semplici. In questo volume ne ho avuto la conferma.
La bravura è ovviamente anche quella di creare una continua sfida con il lettore mettendolo alla prova. Siamo noi che dobbiamo fare delle ipotesi su quello che sta accadendo perché volutamente le faccende non vengono spiegate subito.
Ovviamente a fine libro non tutto viene chiarito e resta quella finestra aperta che non sappiamo dove conduca...
Fino ad ora credo sia il volume più impegnativo della saga. Sicuramente non è una lettura semplice ma ne è valsa veramente la pena.

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.

*** 2021 reread -

Paul M’uab Dib: Son, I’m going to break all the rules and then provide a new order to the galaxy. I’m going to change everything and establish a revolution that will affect tens of billions of people and then when that’s done, I’m going to be a prophet of what went wrong and institute a theological framework for the continuation of our rule.

Leto II: Hold my beer.

This is the greatest reversal of opinion about a book I’ve ever had.

There’s an old saying about how you can never step twice into the same river, because both you and the river have changed. Wonder if that’s what happened here. I reviewed this in 2011, giving it a two star, and taking a break from the Dune series and even from Frank Herbert for over three years. In the past ten years, I’ve grown more comfortable with my love of all things Dune, and maybe matured some in my appreciation of fantasy literature.

I’ve reread Dune several times, reread Dune Messiah a couple years ago and then Children of Dune this year, enjoying Herbert’s writing more and more. As I turned the last page on Children, as Leto is demonstrating his superhuman powers, I looked ahead knowing that I had rung up a 2-star rating on the next book.

Critics of God Emperor, and I was one, compare this to the original, even lamenting the absurdity of Leto’s transformation into a near worm. Herbert was too good for such a continuation; in Leto he crafted a character unique in SF literature.

Leto as Superman.

As great a character as Superman is in the DC universe, and in our superhero mythos over the past 80 years, becoming an iconic image of all things symbolizing truth, justice and the American way, critics have correctly lampooned that he’s too perfect, god-like in his power and invulnerability. Garth Ennis, in his brilliant anti-hero satire The Boys, made up Homelander, a hero much like Clark Kent except he is twisted to evil. Ennis poses the delicious question, if superman is bad, what are you going to do?

As Children of Dune ends, Leto has become a symbiosis of man and sand trout, becoming something else. He demonstrates his new powers to the Fremen, revealing that he is inhumanly strong and seemingly invincible.

Hold my beer.

More than three thousand years later and he has transformed the known universe as completely as his appearance. He is a massive creature, more worm than man, and possibly immortal. THREE THOUSAND AND FIVE HUNDRED YEARS. It would be like if an Egyptian pharaoh began to rule in 1500 BCE and is still in power! All the world a vassal under his sandaled feet.

Herbert describes the Pax Leto, an enforced tranquility where Leto is worshipped as a god, supreme in his power and influence.

And here is where Herbert demonstrates his genius: this is a character study, a glimpse into ultimate power. The galaxy is ruled by the iron hand of a single entity, a thing who is both man and woman and neither, having a complete recall of millennia of collective memories and a prescience of future events.

There is a scene where Leto discusses with one of his most trusted servants about how the man, already elderly, is a mote in the god Leto’s eye, his long life a mere speck in the measurement of a being who had lived more than thirty times as long and without a definite life span ahead.

“Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you.”

Herbert, the Science Fiction Hall of Fame member, and winner of the Nebula and Hugo awards, then reveals in Leto a lost humanity. He laments his lost manhood and weeps for love and intimacy that he can never realize.

Leto and Duncan Idaho.

When I first read this over ten years ago, I found some comic relief in the endless parade of Duncan Idaho ghola clones who came to serve Leto from the axolotl tanks of the Ixians. When one Duncan dies, usually at the hands of Leto, his replacement arrives soon thereafter, recalling his death in the pages of the original Dune and not understanding the world in which he lives nor the master he now serves. This time around I see that Herbert uses Duncan not just as a tie in to the earlier story, but as a grounding vehicle for Leto, Duncan is his connection to his humanity, and from the perspective of as voyeur his surrogate.

Duncan’s relationship with Hwi Noree is all the more poignant when considering this odd love triangle.

Leto and The Worm.

Many characters in the book note that Leto is a composite of man and worm, even distinguishing behavior associated with Leto and other, more bestial and unpredictable and dangerous, as that of the worm as apex predator. In this way Herbert evokes the duality of man allusion from Robert Louis Stevenson’s Jekyll and Hide. Stephen King noted, in Danse Macabre, that Stevenson’s 1886 work was a fundamental template upon which much of the horror genre was based. Storylines and themes as divergent as werewolves and The Incredible Hulk all share horrific foundations of man and monster, of man losing control of the thin veneer of civilization to quickly and irrevocably become beast. In Leto, Herbert has envisioned the culmination of this concept – man to god, man to devil – and we can also consider an association with Arthur Machen’s 1890 publication the Great God Pan as Leto is referred to as wild and threatening, a hulking killer.

And of course a sand worm has special significance in Frank Herbert’s Dune world building. Leto has become that time’s Shai-Hulud.

So, my opinion of this great book has been radically changed. Not the weakest link in a great series, but a brilliant work in its own right.

3.5 – 4 stars

March 2024 re-read thoughts:

Sorry haters, but you’re wrong, this is a good book. That said I would have to agree that it has its issues: Herbert’s penchant to tell instead of show (esp. through inner monologues, or in this case Leto worm-splaining his ways to others) is on display, but somehow I find that it works in the Dune books, perhaps partly because I find the content so intriguing, and partly because sometimes a writer can break the ‘rules’ when it serves the story overall.

And yes, I agree that this is a weird book…and they’re only going to get weirder as the series progresses, but I think that’s a feature, not a bug. My guess is that most readers coming off of the initial ‘trilogy’ with its close-up view of the initial seizing of power in the Imperium by the Atreides ultimately want more of the same. More Muad’Dib, more rhythmless desert-walking, more blue-within-blue eyes, but Herbert wanted to move on…and I applaud him for it. It likely goes without saying that the universe in which a cadre of drug-addled psychic witches with a secret breeding scheme for humanity that results in the untimely advent of the messianic Kwisatz Haderach who launches a galaxy-spanning jihad through the use of prescience can only go somewhere truly weird from where it began. The evolution of a worm-human hybrid that holds humanity’s future in a steel grip for ends that only he came foresee seems like a great swerve to me. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: Herbert was pretty brave in moving forward with his story of the Dune universe instead of simply cashing in and giving the public more of the same (oh, hi there Brian Herbert!) Like it or not, he went where the story took him even if it wasn’t where all of his readers necessarily wanted him to go.

Aside from his ecological themes and concerns I think you could safely say that one of Herbert’s main interests in the Dune series is the investigation of what it means to be human. From the first testing of Paul by the Reverend Mother Mohiam to something of a culmination of the topic in this volume, the distinction between what is truly human and what is merely an animal with a veneer of culture is an important one. In God Emperor we see Leto attempting to truly ‘humanize’ the race, breaking us away from an unknowing slavery to our animal instincts, which he is able to see so clearly thanks to his millennia of contemplating the inner lives of his ancestral memories. But towards (or away from) what exactly is Leto’s grand plan leading humanity? What’s the point? In part it seems to be away from apathy, mere safety, and the repetition of their mistakes which are constantly repeated throughout history. In part it seems to aim to protect them from some larger, perhaps external, threat that could snuff out humanity if they continue to follow the path of their natural evolution. The Bene Gesserit apparently had inklings of this knowledge, as seen in their philosophy and breeding program, but it apparently required the creation of a seemingly immortal worm-human hybrid, a true alien, to understand what was required to break humanity out from under the chains of their instinctual responses and allow them to move forward and onward to something truly new.

One other element of Herbert’s Dune series that’s intriguing is the seeming black and white nature of its heroes and villains which then seem to shift under our very eyes. Of course, we have the honour-bound Atreides struggling against the vile, decadent Harkonnens…only to find that they are actually one and the same (genetically speaking). Our hero Paul, the young victim that witnesses the slaughter of his family and friends, becomes the instrument for the largest genocidal war in the history of humanity. Making the hero the villain and then making the villain sympathetic seems to linger behind much of the Dune series: the Atreides are the most obvious example, but there is also the Bene Gesserit who are painted as witches and masters of Machiavellian manipulation only to ultimately shine forth as guardians of humanity and heroes in later volumes. Is Leto evil? Or is he merely a paternalistic figure who can see beyond our limited vision? Was Paul evil, or was he driven by circumstances beyond his control? Is Herbert side-stepping the issue or pointing out the inherent ambiguities? I find it intriguing regardless.

Original review:

Leto II has re-made the Imperium in a bid to re-make the human race. For three and a half thousand years humanity has lived under his despotic rule, molded by seemingly undying hands that are no longer human. But remnants of the old world still linger on and the Bene Tleilax and Bene Gesserit, not to mention the technologists of Ix who skirt the edges of the Butlerian prohibitions, still hope to wrest the reins of power from the godlike worm-man Leto Atreides. In addition to this not all of the Atreides scions, produced by the god-emperor’s breeding program, are content to be pawns to their illustrious and (seemingly) ever-living forebear. The spark of rebellion smolders and Herbert’s wheels within wheels within wheels continue to turn. Leto would have it no other way as all appears to work towards his design. Leto is a self-proclaimed predator whose prey is humanity and his purpose is to teach them the lessons that only the cruel truths of survival can teach in the hopes that it will bring humanity out of its long adolescence that had been motivated by primal fears, myths, and instincts into a more nuanced and adult form of understanding and perceiving their universe. It is, in his words “…the predator’s necessary cruelty.”

Whatever others may think of it I find this volume of the Dune series fascinating. I wonder if some of the traditional aversion to these later three volumes of the saga doesn’t come from many readers’ desire to have ‘more of the same’? In contravention to this, Herbert’s opposed aim of developing his ideas and themes beyond the initial conditions and circumstances of the first three books can obviously frustrate expectations. We aren’t in Kansas (or old style Arrakis) anymore. I have to admit that there’s probably a small part of me that agrees with the dissenting voices and wishes for more of the same as well, but the other part of me is glad that Herbert resisted temptation and followed his story where it led him…however far out that may have been.

Arrakis (no longer “Dune” in any parlance) is now green, with the small ‘Sareer’, maintained by Leto as his refuge, as the sole remnant of the once planet-spanning desert. The Fremen have finally achieved their paradise, but at what cost? They are now known sneeringly as the ‘’Museum Fremen” and exist only to perform in hollow re-enactments of their cultural traditions, traditions they no longer understand, for tourists. Leto has arranged everything in his empire according to his design, a design that is meant to bring about the ‘golden path’ for humanity, but just what does this mean? For a great part this has apparently meant an enforced tranquility and the dampening of all travel and conflict throughout the Imperium…though of course, humans being humans, conflict still exists as sparks of rebellion flourish but Leto harshly puts these down with his new ‘Fish Speaker’ army of amazon warriors who are solely devoted to their god-emperor. According to Leto humanity’s fatal flaw has been their reliance on the past and the patterns ingrained into them by eons of evolution. Only one such as Leto, with access to the nearly infinite memories that lay at the foundation of these instincts, can see this and force humanity out of its rut. This is Leto’s golden path. A way for humanity to move beyond its heritage.

Leto’s golden path also hinges on a breeding plan taken, much to their chagrin, from the hands of the Bene Gesserit. Leto’s aim, however, differs from theirs as he seeks a different ‘perfection’ in the Atreides genes of his descendants that veers sharply from the original goal of the kwisatz haderach. In addition to this breeding program Leto has also been serially producing gholas of Duncan Idaho. He claims to miss his old friend, but his reasons for this serial resurrection appear to go well beyond the personal. These Duncan gholas, remnants of a bygone era and forced to adapt to circumstances that are strange indeed, have a unique place in Leto’s brave new world. The newest Duncan, like all of those before him, struggles with the observation “this is not Atreides” as he witnesses the actions, one might say the atrocities, of the god-emperor. It brings to mind the fact that the Harkonnens and the Atreides are simply two sides of the same coin…literally. Though, of course, whatever the appearances may be Leto II has only the good of the human race at heart…at least that is what he avers. Aside from this overarching concern, the Duncans also have a purely personal reason for their ambivalence towards Leto. As the one we come to know quite well in this volume says himself: “There’s a time, Leto, a time when you’re alive. A time when you’re supposed to be alive. It can have a magic, that time, while you’re living it. You know you’re never going to see a time like that again…and [now] it’s supposed to start all over again. But it doesn’t. It never does, Leto. That’s a crime!” Duncan is truly a man out of time forced to confront realities he would never have imagined possible, especially under Atreides rule, and the psychic dissonance proves to be a hard strain on him/them.

Besides Leto and Duncan there are four other characters that play a pivotal role in the story: Siona Atreides and her father Moneo, one a stalwart opponent of Leto intent on bringing down his empire no matter the cost, and the other his majordomo and right-hand man: both the products of Leto’s breeding program they play key roles in his design whether they are aware of it or not; Hwi Noree, the mysterious new ambassador from Ix, whose apparently sweet nature and immediate attractiveness to the emperor may hide the seeds of his destruction; and finally Nayla the Fish Speaker, who gives fanatical devotion a face and finds herself conflicted by the very orders of her god.

The crux of the plot centers around the question of whether, after enduring millennia of his rule, the enemies of Leto II have finally managed to find the chink in his armour. Is the god-emperor at last to be brought down by an appeal to his almost vanished human nature? Will a god abandon his plan of millennia to fulfill the desires of his heart? If he does, what will be the result?

This is a very thought-provoking book with a lot to say about politics, philosophy, and religion. I might not buy everything that Herbert is selling here, but he definitely gives the reader a lot to chew on and I was pleased with this extension of the Dune universe into new and intriguing directions.

Uhm … holy shebang!

I'm very much looking forward to Villeneuve's interpretation of Dune that will be shown in theaters this year so I decided to not only read the original book but also the rest of the series.

This books shows Leto II having become a God Emperor to the known universe. Leto still has a human face but the rest of the body is covered in sand trouts. He’s 7m long, 2m wide, the legs have developed back into some form of fin, his arms are still recognizably human though. He knows he’ll turn into a full worm soon.
We also re-encounter Duncan Idaho. Yep, Leto keeps awakening gholas of the original Atreidis bodyguard and uses them for different roles.
Leto and Duncan are the only familiar characters we meet in this volume. Because we start this 4th book off about 3500 years in the future from the previous three books!

Leto II has carefully enforced the Golden Path, the great plan to ensure the survival of the human race, all this time. In order to create peace and ensure the survival of us all, he has ruled with an iron fist, holding back most spice, prohibiting mental training and making other "questionable" choices.
Spice is rare (not least because almost all sandworms are gone), Arrakis is a forest planet complete with wolves patrolling a citadel and inhabitants that don’t even all believe the stories of the planet once having been a desert.
At the beginning of the tale, a few youths break into Leto’s "tomb" on Arrakis, dreaming of glory like the mythological Fremen (yep, there are no actual Fremen anymore either), cursing Leto and being determined to destroy him so as to end his rule! Instead, what they end up doing is stealing personal journals.
The prologue shows the discovery of records in an even farther future, a time when Paul Atreidis / Muad'Dib and Leto II / the God Emperor are ancestors that have passed almost into myth. Not too much is left of their own original recordings (and what can be found is "of primitive material" and thus only accessible, if at all, with difficulty) so any discovery is extraordinary and valuable beyond belief. What they found are the journals Siona had stolen and their reaction teaches us that humanity will come to appreciate what Leto has done.

The one opposing Leto the most is Siona, a descendent of Ghanima and Farad’n (she’s the daughter of Leto’s advisor during his last years).
One must understand that despite people living longer than 100 years thanks to Melange/Spice, I doubt that the people living in any given moment could truly comprehend the full plan. The interesting part was that when Siona, for example, saw the Golden Path during her spice-induced trance, she still didn’t agree.
However, peace comes at a price and Leto has learned to make the hard choices (I mean, he lived so long and is so powerful, yet he is never tempted but accepts and even works towards his own death - to say nothing of the loneliness he must have suffered from). And that is what has earned him more and more enemies (from within the Empire and outside, because they all want more power for themselves). So yes, several factions are planning the God Emperor’s death.

There is so much more to look at, so much more getting explored all the while we’re following Leto, Siona, Duncan and a few others … but I can’t spoiler too much. Let’s just say that, as usual, there are plans within plans, and god-like powers do not mean there is no risk to Leto. But maybe that’s the whole point?
(I loved that the water of life was what "killed" Leto and that he, technically, didn’t really die but will live on in the many worms his death is creating - it’s like organ donation but with pieces of his mind in those sand trouts - which also means that the life on Arrakis will be aware and conscious, not "just animal".)

In my opinion, this 4th book was the weirdest, most alien, and "worst" so far. I don’t know if it is due to there being hardly any people I knew and couldn’t connect with Siona very much, or if it was for some other reason.
Simultaneously, though, it was truly awesome! Not just the typical writing style (which, yes, I love) or the fact that it felt like a story about Ancient Egypt (despite Arrakis no longer being a desert) but also where the author is taking this series, what has happened in this book alone, also what has happened between books 3 and 4, and what might still happen until the end of the series - the scope is actually blowing my mind! I loved how every step served a purpose, how the author never took the easy way out and made us embark on a journey full of twists and turns that has such an intelligent plot, I can only marvel at his creation.

So yeah, I’m quite confused now. *lol* Mind you, "worst" book still puts this firmly ahead of most others I’ve read. I’m simply comparing it with the others of this series that I’ve read so far.
Not to mention that the books make you think a lot about our reality. The danger of religion or - in this volume, specifically - about the theory regarding stagnation being the death of any species (and what that means for us right now) to name but two examples (I agree with the author regarding both). Considering when the books were written, how the author concealed his theories (had to), … it is irrefutable proof of his intelligence.

I can't wait to continue.

I absolutely love this book. God Emperor of Dune is different from others novels in the series, and while I can understand why it might be off putting to some, for me this is the most beautiful and personal narrative in the whole series. I applaud Herbert for trying out something different and going for a book that was so heavily focused on an individual...and what an individual he is! A god who dislikes religion, because: “Religious institutions perpetuate a mortal master-servant relationship,” Leto said. “They create an arena which attracts prideful human power-seekers with all of their nearsighted prejudices!” Leto II is one of my all time favourite characters!

I read this book years ago, but so many thoughts from God Emperor of Dune are still with me. I can't tell you how many times my mind has remembered something Leto II has said. If you want to avoid spoilers, now is a good time to stop reading this review. It is impossible to say something coherent about it without referring to the third novel in the series, so if you haven't read that one, there might be spoilers for it here as well. This novel is fourth in Dune's series, and although it is in some ways different from others, I would still recommend you to read the others as well, because this book is best understood in the context of Dune universe. I suppose that in some ways God Emperor of Dune might be an interesting read on its own, especially since it is a more personal narrative, but as I said, it is best read as a part of a series.

This novel is set in a very different universe, one that is thousands of years away from where the third novel left off. Leto II has access to complete historical records, which allow him to study human evolution- an important theme for this book. At the start of this book, Leto II has ruled the known universe for 3, 5000 years, and the son is nothing like the father (even if he has ever been). Leto II has destroyed Paul's Fremen army and their identity, replacing it with his own Fish Eaters, an all female army. Many known powers from the old universe are either destroyed, suppressed or kept on a very tight leash in this world ruled by one power. That's not the only thing that makes God Emperor of Dune different from the books predating it- a large portion of books is written in the form of quotations, monologues and speeches of Leto II. Apparently, Herbert wrote the first draft of the novel as a first person narrative of Leto II. It definitely shows.

I loved learning more about God Emperor of Dune as the novel progressed. At first I didn't know how to feel about him. I mean Leto II is a three thousand year old giant worm, a god of sorts, who also happens to be a ruthless and absolute dictator of the known world, a powerful tyrant who is - wait for it- actually saving the human race by suppressing and opposite them until they can't take it any longer and become ready to scatter into space, thus saving themselves from the threat of extinction. Alright, that was a long sentence. If Leto II wasn't written so brilliantly, this would have been a dull novel. Fortunately, the God Emperor is endlessly fascinating and touchingly human in his strangeness. Another odd but interesting detail was Leto II transformation. He is part animal, part human. As a human, he is more than any human has ever been (having lived for thousands of years as well as having access to full history of human race) but there is also an animal like characteristic to him. When Leto II gets angry, he kills. This kept me on edge as the novel progressed. It created a weird contrast between his highly intelligent and absolutely wild persona.

Leto II take on politics is just as fascinating. Take what he says about conservatives and liberals: “Scratch a conservative and you find someone who prefers the past over any future. Scratch a liberal and find a closet aristocrat. It’s true! Liberal governments always develop into aristocracies. The bureaucracies betray the true intent of people who form such governments. Right from the first, the little people who formed the governments which promised to equalize the social burdens found themselves suddenly in the hands of bureaucratic aristocracies. Of course, all bureaucracies follow this pattern, but what a hypocrisy to find this even under a communized banner. Ahhh, well, if patterns teach me anything it’s that patterns are repeated. My oppressions, by and large, are no worse than any of the others and, at least, I teach a new lesson. —”

I can't forget this jewel of a thought either: "“Remember that there exists a certain malevolence about the formation of any social order. It is the struggle for existence by an artificial entity. Despotism and slavery hover at the edges. Many injuries occur and, thus, the need for laws. The law develops its own power structure, creating more wounds and new injustices. Such trauma can be healed by cooperation, not by confrontation. The summons to cooperate identifies the healer.”

What Leto II thinks of police and military is fascinating as well:

“Police always observe that criminals prosper. It takes a pretty dull policeman to miss the fact that the position of authority is the most prosperous criminal position available.”

“Unceasing warfare gives rise to its own social conditions which have been similar in all epochs. People enter a permanent state of alertness to ward off attacks. You see the absolute rule of the autocrat. All new things become dangerous frontier districts—new planets, new economic areas to exploit, new ideas or new devices, visitors—everything suspect. Feudalism takes firm hold, sometimes disguised as a politbureau or similar structure, but always present. Hereditary succession follows the lines of power. The blood of the powerful dominates.”

Why did the Leto II had to create the golden path? Because he understood the need. The world he was supposed to rule was deeply unstable. His father Paul unleashed religious fantastic onto the world, the Bene Gessiret were growing increasingly powerful as were other fractions and power allegiances controlling the human race. Let us not forget that Dune society of old is basically a feudal system and as such bound to be unjust. There is so much sense in what God Emperor did- but does that justify him? Leto II is a tyrant but there is logic in his seeming madness. It was fantastic seeing the story unfold. There are a lot of moral dilemmas in this one, lot of things to wrap your head around.

I'm not sure how I felt about Duncan ghola to be honest. I feel like there is more to Duncan that I was able to see. At times he seemed to be there only as recipient of Leto's messages, but at times Duncan seems like something more. I think I still need to figure him out, and the emperor's use of Duncan as well. Why is he so important to him? I mean besides the obvious reason revealed by the end of the book.


“Duncan, I am a teacher. Remember that. By repetition, I impress the lesson.”

“What lesson?”

“The ultimately suicidal nature of military foolishness.”

“Most civilisation is based on cowardice. It's so easy to civilize by teaching cowardice. You water down the standards which would lead to bravery. You restrain the will. You regulate the appetites. You fence in the horizons. You make a law for every movement. You deny the existence of chaos. You teach even the children to breathe slowly. You tame.”

3500 years after children of dune, God Emperor, Leto the deuce has given up his humanity (and his dick) to become a worm with a guys head that looks like one.
All this is intended to keep humanity on “the golden path” so that we can survive our own stagnation and vague external threats. To accomplish this he becomes a tyrant, holds humanity back, abolishes male soldiers because male armies are adolescent and gay, he fixes that by replacing them with an army of lesbian amazons (not complaining)
This book is a crazy fever dream that consists of conversations in various rooms and long excerpts from Leto 2’s journal.
It sounds like it would be boring but it’s actually really compelling. Herbert has a lot to say about governments and bureaucracy leading to corruption and stagnation.
Don’t think I’m going to read further into the series but I’m glad I read this, it’s nicely done.

if you feel like you've had a bad day, i just read a 500 page book written in the perspective of a fucking worm......no-one is suffering more than me right now

I liked this one the best so far. It’s gross and weird. I still don’t think Herbert has ever spoken to woman.