4.5 rounded up.

I really liked "Dune Messiah" but I absolutely loved this. I'm glad I read it immediately after Messiah. The political intrigue was so well done and the characters so well fleshed out.

I do think a re-read will be necessary as there's so much to take in.

Now onto book 4

Children of Dune
(Dune #3)
by Frank Herbert
I read this about 35-40 years ago so I couldn't wait to read it again. I remembered more than I thought I would. I hate what has happened to Paul but enjoying the twins. Alia has gone hill! I loved her in Dune but not now. Jessica is also horrible! What happened to the great characters? Ugh!
I enjoyed the story regardless!

I'm going to go ahead and discuss both Children of Dune and Dune Messiah's key plot points after the first paragraph. For those of you wondering, as I did, if you should read any of the Dune books after the original: well, that depends. Both of the sequels in this trilogy zig where you'd expect a zag, and are often compared unfavourably to the first book. For me, the first book is the best, the second is set-up, and the third one approximates some of the thrills and myth making of Dune while interweaving with the political and prescient subterfuge of Messiah. Are they necessary? Not at all. In fact, things get increasingly bizarre as the books go on. But, if you're willing to continue the ride through Herbert's kaleidoscopic desert vision with little in the way of expectations, you'll find no small joy in these books.

Okay, SPOILERS to follow below!


There's a lot to talk about with these sequels. Indeed, wikis, subreddits, and decades of sci-fi fandom have bandied about theories, preferences, and harsh criticism for ages. I'd like to focus on some of the stuff that made the first two Dune sequels work for me. Since Messiah and Children of Dune really work in my brain like a single large novel, it made sense to me to revise some of my original thoughts on Messiah in the wake of finishing the third novel.

One of the facets of these books that captured me most was the evolution of Paul Atriedes. I didn't do a re-read of Dune prior to diving into the sequels, but was primed by the recent Dune Part Two for Paul's descent into galactic jihad. I remember starting the first novel expecting a classic hero story only to have everything I knew shaded to grey by the end of the first book. Messiah jumps years into the future empire that Paul's vision has brought to life. Paul's unhappy, bound by his prescient visions and haunted by the prison they've made of his life. Messiah makes clear that being Muad'Dib isn't all it's cracked up to be and ends with Paul choosing certain death rather than persist in his state as emperor.

It's Messiah's setup that makes Paul's surprising half-return so compelling in Children of Dune. As the Preacher, Paul has fallen further from his original station but acts as a prophet and pundit for his sister's government. By the time the Preacher begins to interact with his son--his effective replacement and upgrade--it's clear that Muad'Dib is truly gone and this despondent shell hollowed out by spice and prophetic dream is all that remains. It's a complex and understandably divisive character portrait, but I was firmly on board for it!

Speaking of evolution, I was quite surprised to find Alia being turned into the villain of Children of Dune. There's a sietch orgy in Messiah which suggests a dark path for Alia, but her story becomes tragic and villainous in a way that I found both compelling and profoundly weird. By the time the midway point of this book arrives, Leto and Ghanima have assumed the reigns as series leads while Alia has fallen into abject villainy.

One of the few things I did know about the rest of the series before starting in on the sequels was that Leto II eventually becomes some Cronenberg worm god. Frankly, this profoundly weird turn was one of the main motivations for going into the sequels. I'm here for space worm fiction. In any case, I was pleased to find Leto's character journey to be propulsive and explicit in its differences with Paul's journey. Leto is better able to come to grips with his fractured psyche which peers forward in time as it is informed by the council in his genetic memory. By the time he starts sticking baby sandworms to his body, I was like "hell yeah, let's get strange."

I was also in awe of the ways in which the sequels expand the universe and its most interesting cultures: Fremen and Bene Gesserit. Though there's a lot of purple prose and nonsense speak from characters in both camps, the novels make these groups feel distinct and real to life. There's no doubting that Herbert mastered cultural world building in these novels making me wonder what other interesting things are left to be discovered in books four through six.

In the end, as much as this is an end for now, I'm very glad to have read the Dune sequels. I had been worried that my reading would tarnish my reading of the first book, but instead it has enriched the experience as a whole. Sure, these books didn't have the massive personal impact that I got from Dune on my first reading, but I really enjoyed my time with them. These books brought me a sense of deep nerd pleasure and that's not nothing!

Ayık kafanın ürünü olamaz bu seri ya. Cidden. Bitirmem çok uzun zamanımı almasına rağmen cidden sevdim. Karşı koyamadığım bir cazibesi var. Devamını daha da çok merak ettim o sondan sonra.

"Yo no debo ser lo que fue mi padre. Yo no tengo que obedecer las reglas de mi padre, ni siquiera creer en todo lo que él creía. Mi fuerza como ser humano es el que yo puedo hacer mis propias elecciones sobre lo que debo y lo que no debo creer, sobre lo que puedo y lo que no puedo ser."

Con esta tercera novela de la saga Crónicas de Dune, Herbert retoma la complejidad en la historia. Sigo pensando que el universo de Dune es uno de los más hermosos jamás creados y que, hasta el momento, se mantiene la calidad del autor.

Nueve años después de los eventos ocurridos en El mesías de Dune. La gente del Desierto Profundo teme a la transformación ecológica por miedo a perder la preciada especia y las antiguas costumbres Fremen. Los gemelos Atreides, Leto y Ghanima, heredaron la memoria genética y son mucho más que unos simples niños. Alia ha pasado de Princesa a Regente Imperial. Los Corrino traman desde Salusa Secundus. ¿Sobrevivirá el Halcón de los Atreides?

"Birth of a God" by Gorrem

Man, I keep reading these things cause I hear number four is pretty f'd up in an entertaining way, but after this one I'm beginning to wonder if it's possible for Herbert to write an entertaining book. Well, won't that be egg on my face...

Also: You know how when you read any given fiction, no matter the quality, you manage to find one character who you like/can emphasize with/who you're sort of rooting for to not get totally screwed over by whatever's happening. Man, not the Dune books. I came to realize in reading this one that if I turned a page and it said "And then a giant Sandworm ate everyone, everywhere, everywhen because time is a singular point that human perception must move beyond in order to assume the greater nonassumption of perpetual Bene Gesserit Golden Path fear is the mindkiller blah blah blah the end" I really wouldn't have cared at all and instead felt minor relief, if also some disappointment that the f'd up events of the fourth book no longer existed and I'd wasted my time.

Terzo romanzo del ciclo di Dune e
nuovo salto nel futuro. Sono infatti trascorsi molti anni e i figli di Muad'ib sono cresciuti portando i geni unici degli Atreides e i superiori poteri derivati dalla loro natura di pre-nati.

Leto II e Ghanima sono i protagonisti di questo romanzo insieme alla figura drammatica e tragica della loro zia, Alia.
Mentre la loro vita è obiettivo di poteri avversi, Leto II si troverà ad affrontare la più grande sfida che Uomo abbia mai intrapreso nel corso della sua intera esistenza. La scelta per eccellenza. La scelta che cambierà tutto.
Inizia quindi il suo percorso per divenire il tassello fondamentale per il futuro della razza umana e la storia lo ricorderà, nel bene e nel male, per sempre.

Herbert lentamente inizia a scoprire le carte in gioco, la saga di Dune non segue un solo personaggio ma diversi nel corso di diversi periodi storici, ognuno di importanza fondamentale contro il difetto congenito della razza umana.
Si inizia a delineare il Sentiero Dorato, percorso che Paul, pur nella sua profonda saggezza e assoluto potere di Kwisatz Haderach, ha rifiutato.

Anche con questo romanzo Herbert approfondisce ed espande la sua monumentale visione.
Dune acquisisce un'aura di aspettativa e portata sociologica e filosofica che la pone senza alcun indugio a pieno titolo al primo posto delle saghe fantascientifiche.

----------------------
Third novel in the Dune series
new leap into the future. In fact, many years have passed and the children of Muad'ib have grown up carrying the unique genes of the Atreides and the superior powers derived from their nature as pre-born.

Leto II and Ghanima are the protagonists of this novel together with the dramatic and tragic figure of their aunt, Alia.
While their lives are the target of adverse powers, Leto II will face the greatest challenge that Man has ever undertaken in his entire existence. The choice par excellence. The choice that will change everything.
He then begins his journey to become the fundamental piece for the future of the human race and history will remember him, for better or for worse, forever.

Herbert slowly begins to discover the cards in play, the Dune saga does not follow a single character but several during different historical periods, each of fundamental importance against the congenital defect of the human race.
The Golden Path begins to emerge, a path that Paul, despite his profound wisdom and absolute power as Kwisatz Haderach, rejected.

Also with this novel Herbert deepens and expands his monumental vision.
Dune acquires an aura of expectation and sociological and philosophical scope that places it without any hesitation in the first place among science fiction sagas.

There seems to be a pattern with Dune books, where the second half is a lot more interesting than the first, which was the case here too.

The first half wasn't bad, but I didn't have any problems putting the book down, while when I hit the halfway point I didn't want to stop reading (and didn't until I finished it).

I have a favourite scene too, it's when The Preacher tells Alia that he really is Paul, that was a really good one and it's something I've been waiting to see since the beginning.

I don't have any real issues with this, except the slight slowness which we all know and love to hate, and Alia's ending.

Originally I thought how Baron Harkonnen didn't get a very satisfying death for how disgusting he was in book one, and now I'm almost wishing he didn't die because his death eventually led to Alia's own, and she's one of my favourites. As long as he doesn't show up in any form again I'm good.

And that's 3 books down, 28 (probably more by the time I'm done with all of them) left to go.

3.5 stars

CHILDREN OF DUNE (Dune #3) by Frank Herbert left me a tad disappointed. The story remained fast-paced, with many familiar characters and some new ones replacing each other in a dizzying sequence. Again, it was plans within plans of varying degrees of originality, all pepped with the philosophy of politics and driven by the desire as old as the human society, the craving for power. I definitely want to read books 4 and 5, yet... yet, at the same time, I'd like the series to end on its finest second book that culminated in Paul's voluntary exile into the desert. Paul the Preacher isn't Paul Atreides or Muad'dib anymore; it's a hollow shell feared by the town's people and laughed at by smugglers who sheltered him. He became blind on two levels. Firstly, he became physically blind (though at the beginning of the book, he somehow demonstrates the sight given by his visions). Secondly, he became less than an ordinary freeman: a proud freeman would have died in the desert and wouldn't have let smugglers save him. The teaching of Muad'dib would have been stronger if he had stayed dead. If he aimed to destroy his own cult, then he failed. He stood against the bureaucracy and priesthood, at the end of the book, we still see Leto II surrounded by the same priests.

Princess Irulan changed so drastically that it's painful to read. She fell from the height of the pupil of Bene Gesserit, a princess who outsmarted all her siblings at the padishah's court, to become an irrational, impulsive, even hysterical woman. Maybe, an earthly, unconditional love toward the twins was the reason for the transformation.

If anybody remembers the ending, please, explain to me the last scene. Leto II told Farad'n that he would rule for four thousand years and would marry Ghanima. Yet, he also talked about his inability to produce children due to his new unhuman nature. Will he marry his sister while at the same time, the children will be from the union of Ghanima and Farad'n?

“Too much knowledge never makes for simple decisions.”
This review is another proof that things should be done at their proper time. Like writing a review for this book right after I finished it not 2 months later. I could have expressed more the reasons I decided to give it 5* more eloquently, although the novel is deeply flawed and many times nonsensical. Alas, it’s too late now but I will do my best.

Let’s start with the plot. The twins are now 9 and way too developed for their years. To be expected since they both have all the memories of their ancestors. They live on Arakis with their aunt, Alia. She finally turns bat shit crazy and becomes possessed. Lady Jessica is back to the Bene Gesserit ways an returns to Arakis with plans for her grandchildren. The remaining relatives of the Emperor plan their revenge and return to power. A blind Prophet appears and speaks against Muad’Dib religion. He might be or might not be Paul Atreides.

As in the previous volume, there are schemes over conspiracies, each character has their own agenda, which usually clashed with the other goals. There isn’t a lot of action in this novel but there is an abundance of philosophic talk. It will be a treat for the readers who read Herbert for the quotable ideas. Not much for those who want so see many battles in their Sci Fi.
I had a few problems with the novel. Firstly, it only took 20% for the 1st talk of incest to appear. Oh, and Alia married Duncan right away at 15 going on 16. I thought we were going to continue with the cringyness but it was at manageable levels from then on. Secondly, many parts of the plot made no sense. I could not understand why some characters chose one path instead of the other. I could have explained exactly what those problems were but I cannot remember now. Thirdly, the problem of women in classic SF . Lady Jessica was probably the only exception in this book. The other women were either cardboard characters or they were cut throat bitches/crazy.

Some quotes:

Despite the lack of a coherent plot and other issues, I could not stop reading. I was constantly thinking about the novel even when I was doing something else. I cannot give less than 5* to a novel that absorbed me so completely.

“A large populace held in check by a small but powerful force is quite a common situation in our universe. And we know the major conditions wherein this large populace may turn upon its keepers— “One: When they find a leader. This is the most volatile threat to the powerful; they must retain control of leaders.
“Two: When the populace recognizes its chains. Keep the populace blind and unquestioning. “Three: When the populace perceives a hope of escape from bondage. They must never even believe that escape is possible!”
“To suspect your own mortality is to know the beginning of terror; to learn irrefutably that you are mortal is to know the end of terror.”
“Abandon certainty! That’s life’s deepest command. That’s what life’s all about. We’re a probe into the unknown, into the uncertain. Why can’t you hear Muad’Dib? If certainty is knowing absolutely an absolute future, then that’s only death disguised! Such a future becomes now He showed you this!”
“To exist is to stand out, away from the background,” The Preacher said. “You aren’t thinking or really existing unless you’re willing to risk even your own sanity in the judgment of your existence.”
“Religion is the emulation of the adult by the child. Religion is the encystment of past beliefs: mythology, which is guesswork, the hidden assumptions of trust in the universe, those pronouncements which men have made in search of personal power, all of it mingled with shreds of enlightenment. And always the ultimate unspoken commandment is ‘Thou shalt not question!’ But we question. We break that commandment as a matter of course. The work to which we have set ourselves is the liberating of the imagination, the harnessing of imagination to humankind’s deepest sense of creativity.”

I rounded up a little because I didn't like this as much as the first book and it was hard to comprehend sometimes, but it's still a great work. This time I couldn't help thinking how much Star Wars was inspired by Dune, and when I searched on this topic, my suspicions were confirmed. I'm clearly reading a true seminal work.

Uuuu podobało mi się