dnf - at page 103 0f 669. This is gonna be one of the more unhinged Dune reviews but for enduring this much of Frank's writing I think I have earned it. I have realized I simply don't have tolerance anymore for this man's bullshit. I really don't want to have to read at inch worm pace because Frank refuses to give the reader information or give important details the space they need. I don't care that Duncan Idaho is back for the 5 millionth fucking time. In fact, I kinda feel like him being back again retroactively makes the last book worse! The entirety of that book went to show how Duncan was an outdated model that was prone to being disobedient and ultimately unhelpful to the goals of whoever made him, so why the fuck is he back again? Great question! Frank never explained it in any way that makes sense beyond: "he needs to fuck that 5 year old girl on Rakis (which is Frank's new iteration on Dune's name)" which I refuse to accept as an explanation.

A list of other things I hate about this book:
- I'm tired of Frank throwing in random new facts and expecting me to call him a genius for it. Why are the chairs living dogs? Why? You have to extrapolate why a development this drastic this deep into the series is happening beyond a character saying "i hate that she had me sitting on the living dog chairs." I don't need that much more just a little bit. Just like 2 sentences saying this was done for xyz. Just give me reason to think you did this for any other reason than "i think its cool."
- I despise that Frank refuses to show me the interesting parts of this world. What happened to the Spacing Guild? They were so cool and had a genuinely interesting dynamic of being able to do what Paul could do but not utilizing it in the same way. Why are they just gone ever since the second book?
- I also don't fucking care about the Bene Gesserit. You exhausted the only things interesting about them in book 2. I don't care that they are infighting. Why is this being treated as something new?? This has been happening literally since THE FIRST BOOK.
- Why was the majority of the first 100 pages of this book focused on some random who gives a fuck Mentat that is training Duncan version 10000000 on how to use weapons. I DONT CARE!

I hear so much about how Frank's son taking over the series is bad, but to be honest I really can't conceive how he can make that dramatically shittier of a plot than what Frank already had cooked up. The problem with those books could just be that Brian is relying on this horseshit as a base material rather than his skill as an author.

I'm not gonna read anything else from the Dune series. At least for a very long time. I'm tired of Frank and I need a break from him.

As a parting gift here is Frank saying liberals are the problem in the galaxy:
"'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’m one of those weirdos that actually likes the entirety of Frank Herbert’s Dune series even after you get past the first three volumes and the direct history of Muad’Dib and his family and start wading into some seriously weird stuff (and saying that the later volumes of the series are weird when you compare them to the earlier ones is saying something). Don’t worry though, I’m not crazy enough to have anything but contempt for that cash grab series of prequels and sequels floated by Herbert’s son and his ghost writer pal…blech! Part of the interest for me in the later volumes is seeing how the prescience of Muad’Dib (and even more so of his son the god-emperor Leto II) affected the human race and noting how humanity responded in an attempt to free themselves from the ‘Golden Path’ that it brought about. The other reason, I must admit, is that I find the character of Duncan Idaho, or more precisely the Duncan Idaho gholas which populate these books, fascinating. Be warned: there are some spoilerific details for previous volumes of the original Dune series below.

In the previous volume God Emperor of Dune we got a close-up view of the tyranny of the man-worm himself, the god-emperor Leto II (all done for humanity’s own good of course) and also saw his fascination with bringing back his family’s old retainer, the inimitable sword master Duncan Idaho again and again in ghola form over a period of centuries. Why Duncan Idaho? What’s so special about him? And why did Leto keep bringing him back (and ultimately killing him) over and over again? Was he expecting some result other than companionship and ultimately betrayal? It appears to have been a question the sisters of the Bene Gesserit started asking themselves as well and once they were free from the direct yoke of the god-emperor (though not of his pre-destined plan for humanity), they decided to keep up the tradition for themselves and see what the result might be.

And so we begin this volume of the series at a Bene Gesserit fortress located on the planet Gammu (formerly Geidi Prime, home of both the Harkonnens and the original Duncan Idaho) watching as a young ghola is being trained for purposes that even his teachers and protectors aren’t fully aware of. Of course this ghola is merely the last in a long line of Duncan Idahos, not yet aware of his previous existence, and just as uncertain of his purpose as those who watch over him. Despite the fact that this book takes place thousands of years after the time of Muad’Dib some familiar features survive: as noted the Bene Gesserit are still controlling bloodlines (though with the express purpose to perfect human breeding while at the same time to explicitly avoid the appearance of another Kwitsatz Haderach) and holding a precarious, though powerful, position in the political hegemony of human culture in the former precincts of the Padishah Empire; the Bene Tleilax still tinker with the genetic code of humanity in a much more direct way (including supplying the Bene Gesserit with their desired Duncan Idaho gholas) and hope to supersede all political rivals through plans and machinations of their own; and the Spacing Guild and industrialists of Ix still survive albeit in much weakened forms. Two of the most drastic changes are that the Bene Tleilax have finally discovered a way to artificially produce the spice melange and thus break the stranglehold previously held by those who controlled the Worms of Arrakis (or Rakis as it is now called); not to mention the fact that a multitude of peoples who had left the Empire after the fall of the god-emperor in an event called the Scattering to populate the vast reaches of space are now returning and want to conquer all of the supposed secrets of the humans they left behind in the regions of the old empire.

The overarching tale is one of political intrigue as the Bene Gesserit face off against the mysterious Bene Tleilax and each hopes to outplay the other in a bid to control the former empire; of course in addition to this they both face the threat of the nearly overwhelming forces of the Scattering and their mysterious and deadly leaders, the Honored Matres. At a much more human level it is the personal story of several key players against this wider backdrop: the Duncan Idaho ghola as he comes into his own and must decide how to live in this new world separated from all he knew by thousands of years; his teacher and mentor Miles Teg, an Atreides scion and mentat-warrior of great ability who has served the Bene Gesserit all of his life; Sheanna, a young native of Rakis apparently born with the power to control the sand worms into which the god-emperor transformed himself; and Darwe Odrade a sister of the Bene Gesserit who must navigate difficult waters and test her loyalty to the sisterhood that made her and the many plans within plans that have formed the basis of her society.

I enjoyed this volume, though I think on this re-read I didn’t find it quite as captivating as I remember my first reading to have been. This also is very much the first half of one story as it ends nearly in mid-crisis and leaves much to be resolved in the next volume (which I remember being the weirdest of the bunch and which itself unfortunately left many unanswered questions). If you want to keep following Frank Herbert on the ride through his crazy Dune universe and see the impact of the Atreides on the human race then this is a required volume; on the other hand if you were happy to leave things where they were at the end of Children of Dune, or found the politics and world of God Emperor of Dune confounding then perhaps you should leave this one on the shelf.

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.

Benim için çok zorlu bir okuma oldu. Gerçek anlamda. Kitabı ilk okuduğumda yarım bırakmayı düşündüm fakat sonra kendimi zorlayıp bugün bitirebildim. Dune serisi benim için yeri ayrı olan serilerden biri bu açıdan böyle bir durum yaşamak beni üzmedi değil. Normalde geçen ay başlamıştım fakat bir ilk olarak elimde sürüklendi diyebilirim. Diğer kitaplardaki tadı alamadım bu sefer, sebep belki benimdir bilmiyorum. Okurken odaklanmakta çok zorlandım, sanırım sadece bitirmek istedim. Bu açıdan dolayı diğer kitabı uzun bir süre okumayı düşünmüyorum. Yer yer beni içine çeksede çok keyif alamadım. Umarım diğer kitapta böyle olmaz..

Heretics of Dune, from what I understand, supposed to be the start of a new Dune trilogy, followed by ChapterHouse of Dune and a Dune 7, but unfortunately Frank Herbert passed away before finishing it. This review contains some light spoilers. I will give a summary of the plot and then my thoughts with good and bad.
After I have read God Emperor of Dune, one of my favorites in the series, I was eager to read this one. From the start I have to tell you, this is a different kind of Dune book, yet it feels familiar and expands on the mythos, lore and characters. The plot is set 1500 years after the events of the Tyrant, which makes it 5000 years in the future after Muadib’s ruled the Empire. We now can experience Leto’s II grand Golden Path, the evolution of human kind, people venturing in the depths of the galaxy keeping the human race alive and well, an event called The Scattering. There are no significant wars happening people are living in peace, and with the help of Ixian technology, the new Navigation Machines, they no longer need spice to travel in space, people being off the hook from mélange. This puts the Spacing Guild in a fierce competition they have never faced before. But the space travel is not the only thing having competition, the spice monopoly as well is thrown away because the Bene Tleilax found a way to create spice in their axotl tanks. Ixian people and the Fish Speakers join forces, as it was obvious that will happen, but nowadays even men can train to be a Fish Speaker warrior. Bene Gesserit, ruled by the Supreme Reverend Mother Taraza, are still using their breeding program but this time with much more care in order not to create another Muadib or even worse, another Tyrant. This time we get to explore their planet with no name only referred as Chapter House, sneakily hinted in the previous book, which was their home in the last centuries. There are no longer Major Houses ruling the empire, only Bene Gesserit are fighting against Bene Tleilax for the supreme leadership. But apparently they are not the only ones wanting to rule the Old Empire, as people from The Scattering, a rebellion faction also want to join the fight, with new developed technology and weapons, with fierce leaders called The Honored Matres, which are basically corrupted Reverend Mothers.
So far sounds like a good normal plotline, but it would not be Dune if it wasn’t a bit creepy, weird and outstanding at the same time. The weird and interesting parts start now. These Honored Matres are using sex as a tool to control their man, in a different way that Bene Gesserit are using sex. I think the difference was the love, as these Honored Matres didn’t have any joy left in them, they were consumed by sex orgasms and power, like a powerful drug only living on the high of a bigger dose, oppose to some Bene Gesserit, some of them being ‘Heretics’ for using love in their matting process.
Also on the planet Arakis, now called Rakis, which return to its desert form, a girl called Sheena can ride the worms, like the old Fremen used to do. The worms, are known as the Divided God, because pearls of Leto’s II soul and mind live in every single one of them. Sheena, supposedly Siona descendant, also descendant of Muadib, is the Golden Child and priests from Rakis are worshipping her. I guess they didn’t learn their lesson with other Messiahs. Bene Gesserit have their plans with the girl.
And obviously it would not be a Dune book without Duncan Idaho, another ghola, this time in a body of a child trained and watched on the planet Gammu, also known as Geidi Prime, the Harkonnen’s home planet. Again the Bene Gesserit are interested in this ghola because of the Leto’s II obsession of bringing him back to life again and again. This ghola is trained to be a Mentat, a warrior and a bit Bene Gesserit by my new favorite character of this series Miles Teg, a former Atreides descendant, with the looks of Duke Leto the first.
This is the plot of Heretics of Dune. I have to start with the good parts. I like the fact we get to explore other planets aside from Rakis, this time the plot being divided in 3 parts: the events that happen on Rakis, surrounding Sheena, the events from Gammu with Duncan Idaho and Miles Teg and the Chapter House planet where the cult of Bene Gesserit make their schemes. I was pleased to visit the strange planet of the Harkonnens, which despise their disappearance, their planet, after so many millennia still feels evil, unwelcoming and overall creepy keeping their old Harkonnen architecture. This planet is infested with traitors, treachery and Honored Matres minions. My favorite characters were Miles Teg and Lucila, a Reverend Mother and a Imprinter, both of these characters resembling Duke Leto I and lady Jessica in their facial features and behavior. Duncan, yet appearing in every Dune book is different and the each time, but him as a child is a new one.
I loved the expansion of the Bene Gesserit lore and Bene Tleilax lore and there were plenty of moments where my jaw dropped. I understand that many of people will not get so far to read Heretics of Dune, and I agree we can easily end the series with the first book, or Dune Messiah, or with the first Trilogy or even with the God Emperor of Dune. For me it could have easily ended that way, but like I said this is a new Dune, where Frank Herbert tried something new yet keeping it familiar with the rest of the books. The world building is soo good and this time it seems with get to stay with these characters following their journey onto the next book. This is something I wanted ever since Children of Dune, some characters to follow and not to jump 3000 years into the future. Don’t get me wrong I loved Leto II, Moneo and Siona but I wanted more of them. And now I have the new Duncan, Sheena, Lucilla and perhaps my favorite character Miles Teg. Miles Teg gives the best performance, the best action scenes and it feels like old Atreides characters. There are definitely some interesting Bene Gesserit characters this time and they are no longer only “those evil witches with their plotting schemes”.
Now with the bad stuff and oh boy there are plenty. Despite the praise I have given to it there are some issues. First of all being Sheena which is not a fully developed character, but this time being a trilogy I guess I have to wait for her development. She feels like a plot device rather than a character. She is the new golden child because she can ride worms but that’s kinda it. Which gets me to the next issue, I don’t have a proper main character. Yes there are good characters in this book but none of them fully fleshed out, instead we get to spend time with characters that are not important at all or don’t matter to the story. Perhaps these issues will be solved in the next Dune book. The intro is very long and have to introduce many characters which feels like a lot of exposition with little things being interesting. Chapters are long and in many of them nothing of value happens which can be very boring and tedious to read and I think that’s why it took me so long to finish it. Another bad point is that, in all Dune fashion the reader is kept in the dark until second act where everything is revealed and story starts to make sense and characters weird decisions and schemes are not so weird anymore and start clicking. But that’s not the case here. The great scheme is revealed in the last 20 pages or so and it feels like an afterthought than something planned from the beginning. Is that what the Golden Path was all about? It was clear that the Bene Gesserit cult were trying to escape the Tyrant curse but did they? At the end I was still confused of why things happened the way they happened. I won’t spoil it here but still…. Also the great finale is rushed. It felt like 30 pages or so were missing and we skipped directly at the end. Why? Maybe it will be expanded in the next book and a lot of the unanswered question will be addressed.
All that being said the book kept me entertained and the expanded lore was great. I love the ideas Dune books are dealing with it, and every new book is different and fresh so the reader can find various plots to grasp. The reader can come back and focus on a totally different thing and have a new experience, so Frank Herbert style of writing is very cool. I will finish the original series so I guess next stop is Chapter House of Dune.

non so perchè gli estimatore dell'intero ciclo di Dune apprezzino questo 5° volume meno degli altri,(anzi, non so perchè ci sia qualche dissenso su qualcuno di questi libri) a me sembra una perfetta chiusura (aperta) e infatti mi sto chiedendo se davvero voglio leggere il sesto.

Dopo aver dato una scorsa alle recensioni vedo che i nomi più frequenti sono Odrade, Teg, Sheeana, Duncan Idaho e persino Lucilla. (Lucilla più di Taraza?)
Mi chiedo quindi anche un'altra cosa: questo libro trabocca e trasuda di Leto II o sono io che ossessivamente cerco l'imperatore-dio in ogni punto e in ogni virgola?

Compared to the questionable God Emperor of Dune, this regains some of the original Dune novels taste for plots, counter-plots, espionage, conspiracies and so on. God Emperor of Dune was too heavy with little action to break it up, and besides, it was so hard to visualise Leto II as the hybrid creature he became. Heretics of Dune however is a big return to form, with lots of action and different character focus, combined with the mysticism, religion and philosophical discourse that characterises this whole series of novels. This is why I gave this top marks, as it is a page turner and, like the other four books, makes you think about things.

The setting this time is one thousand years after Leto II's death which would be nearly five thousand years after the original trilogy- I mean, Frank Herbert was certainly not conservative with dating his fiction was he? This time, the Bene Gesserit are the books main focus, with their wheeling and dealings, their breeding program all playing a major role. Also, there is actually some *sex* in this book, which was pretty erotic to say the least. About time too. Leto II's Golden Path is reaching its culmination as well, and yes, Duncan Idaho is still reincarnated as a Ghola yet again.

Dune, I am slowly realising, is a classic set of novels - well written and philosophical, dealing with religion, mysticism, martial arts, feminism and a whole spectrum of contemporary issues, despite the fact that these books were written from the mid 1960's to the mid 1980's - and still deal with modern subjects that are as important today as they were back then. Also, well apart from God Emperor of Dune, they are not dry to read, or bogged down with descriptions of future tech, which is a good thing. Recommended.

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

I am sorry to say that but it is a bummer. I don’t connect with Dune world at all at this point of the series. Elites vs Elites plotting, using jargon all the time, no senses, mysteries non interesting at all....Pufff

Dune Sapkınları 5. Kitap
Dune Sapkınları kitabını çok beğendiğimi söyleyemeyeceğim. İlk dört kitaba nazaran biraz zayıf buldum. Seride sadece üçüncü kitabı sevmemiştim beş de biraz onun kıvamında ilerledi. Konu karakter geçişleri çok hızlıydı ve belirli noktalarda kesilince olaylar, okumaya ket vurdu. Bu eserde kadınlar çok ön plana çıkarılmıştı ama dördüncü kitaptaki bütünlükten sonra beşi okuyunca biraz sıkıldım. Yine de her şeye rağmen yazarın yarattığı evren ve karakterler çok üst düzey. Şimdi son kitap kaldı fakat onu birkaç ay sonra okumayı planlıyorum.

Buddy Read with Markus

n  Hey old worm, was this your design?n

Soooooo much better than the last book.

Le scelte attuate dall'Imperatore-Dio durante il suo tirannico dominio hanno permesso alla razza umana di uscire dal giogo della sua stessa maledizione e di espandersi nell'universo senza limiti.

Avete amato il primo libro, sofferto per le scelte di Paul nel secondo e accompagnato suo figlio Leto nell'accettare la grande e tragica responsabilità del Sentiero Dorato nel terzo. Vi siete persi nelle speculazioni filosofiche dell'Imperatore-Dio nel quarto. In questo quinto romanzo avete la possibilità di trovare la chiave di lettura dell'intera opera e svelare finalmente il significato del Sentiero Dorato e delle scelte compiute ma dovete fare molta attenzione perché Herbert non ci rende la vita semplice.

Inferiore ai precedenti romanzi ma non meno intrigante, con dialoghi e situazioni complesse, per lo più statiche, che sembrano allontanare dall'epicità di Dune. Non del tutto.
L'ennesimo ghola di Duncan e la giovane Sheeana sono protagonisti particolari, frutto delle scelte passate e chiave per il futuro.
Uno sguardo più approfondito sull'affascinante mondo del Bene Tleilax con i suoi segreti e una nuova minaccia per l'umanità, le Matres Onorate di ritorno dalla Dispersione.
Romanzo utile alla comprensione del tema generale dell'opera.