Too much sexual nonsense. I prefer the way sex was treated almost purely achademically in the previous books. I thought Dune is supposed to be sci-fi, not porn.

I’ve read the original Dune series several times and just realized how much I enjoyed this book and have moved it up to 2nd on my list with Dune being at the top.

I really enjoy how strong the Bene Gesserits are depicted. The women in this book are a force to be reckoned with.

In Heretics of Dune, a young girl is discovered on Rakis (formerly known as Dune or Arrakis) who can control the sandworms. Of course the Bene Gesserit want her. Meantime on the planet Gammu (formerly the Harkonnen planet Geidi Prime) a young Duncan Idaho ghola is training under the tutelage of Miles Teg (an Atreides descendant).

As usual, there are so many plots within plots that’s it’s difficult to describe. Let’s just say that I read this 500+ page book within 24 hours because I didn’t want to put it down.

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.

After three tries, I finally managed to finish this book lol. Definitely not as good to the first four by any means, but it was still enjoyable. I think the ending was truly the hardest part to finish. Gonna wait awhile before I go on to Chapterhouse. I did really like Darwi and Taraza in this book, they were the most interesting characters.

*** 4.43 ***

Rating: 7.75/10


Heretics of Dune is the closest feeling I had to when I was reading the original Dune masterpiece. The political intrigue, the scheming and machinations of different organizations, the sense of adventure and much more elements that made that original book so great were prominent in this 5th book of the series. This book provided a much needed shift from the heady and heavily philosophical read that was God Emperor of Dune. The action, intrigue, and pacing are all dramatically improved from the last 3 sequels and although the ending felt a little rushed, all of the main questions were answered and the ramifications of the ending was epic and profoundly impactful.



Image: The Bene Tleilaxu & Their Axolotl Tanks.


[Pros]:

-Great new cast of characters

-Unlike the previous 3 books. This book brings back a lot of the concepts/elements that made Dune so great

-Excellent world-building and greatly expands on the existing lore and mythology

-The shroud of mystery around the Bene Gesserit Sisterhood is finally unveiled

-Good pacing


[Cons]:

-Can be confusing at times to keep up with all of the Bene Gesserit plans and all of the machinations of the different factions in this story

-Ending felt rushed and key scenes were glossed over without much explanation


*My Rating System*

5 Stars (9-10): Amazing
4 Stars (7-9): Really Good to Great
3 Stars (5-7): Average to Good
2 Stars (3-5): Bad to Mediocre
1 Star (1-3): Terrible

"Dankan je osnovna jedinica građe i funkcije svih živih bića"

4.5 to 5.0 stars. Another superb installment in one of the best science fiction series of all time. The universe that Herbert created for the Dune series is as good as it gets and his writing and story telling are amazing. HIGHEST POSSIBLE RECOMMENDATION!!!!

3.75 stars

This is definitely a case of "The more things change, the more they stay the same." (The "time-jumps" posited in these books is definitely a double-edged sword for readers.)

1500 years have passed since the death of the God-Emperor, sandworms have returned to Arrakis, and they each carry sparks of the God-Emperor, and the universe has scattered into warring factions. But isn't that really right exactly where we started? Not sure if that's a good or bad thing.

With the lessening of the Atreides factor, we now get much more of a focus on the factions (primarily the Bene Gesserit, who have become more of a "SuperVillian" faction than anything else, though the Fremen are also still about.)

I've been intrigued by this entire saga to date; there are things that I really, really enjopy, and things that I would live to have seen less of, but Herbers writing style and vision really permeate each book , enough to see me thru the series.

On to ChapterHouse Dune, them I'll see if I'm up for "Hunters" and "Sandworms", which supposedly finish out the "Dune Prime" saga.

Re-Read 8/3/21:

Returning to the world of Dune, or rather, what's become of what was once a vibrant, vital center of the universe, is always a treat. Even after Leto had seeded himself across the world.

But truly, the standouts are never whom you thought they should have been.

In this re-read, the fourth, if I'm not mistaken, I had almost all of my attention on a certain young BG who was meant to imprint our young Duncan Idaho in his latest of five thousand years of incarnations.

It's strange how our focus changes over time. I kept thinking over and over about her role in the BG beyond the whole intrigue and massive conflict going on with the HM.

Just what IS the Golden Path by this point? True genetic freedom, not just the unlocking of unimaginable powers, but the freedom to spread those to ALL of humanity's offspring? Or is this another genetic trap, a new kind of pressure to make us eventually jump once again?

Just what DID you see, Leto?

Fascinating. Always fascinating. Some of the best SF. Detailed, rich, and dense.


Original Review:

I have to admit that I put this one on the backburner for years and years and years, even though I attempted to re-read the series several times over the decades, I always got stuck right at the end of God Emperor of Dune and something in me just didn't want to pick up the two novels afterward.

This is strange to me! I thought the fifth and sixth books were rather awesome, frankly!

And that's why I'm skipping books 2, 3, and 4 altogether and jumping right back into the books that I have only read once. And then I'll be picking up the series carried on by Anderson and Frank's son following the events of Chapterhouse.

So how did I think this book held up after all these years?

Pretty good! There were a few slow parts, but the one thing that Heretics does very well is the worldbuilding. The Great God Leto II has been dead for 1.5k years after taking a dip in the aqueduct, turning into sandtrout that have now become full sandworms. That means that poor Paul's son has a trapped consciousness inside these gigantic monstrosities after having lived for 5k years. (Since birth+as a sandworm+trapped consciousness.) Freaky cool. And of course, religion has a bit part to play in these books as they always have.

What's most interesting is Miles Teg and the new Duncan Idaho. The similarities between Teg and the original Leto are pretty suggestive and the spice trance doubly so. His little transformation blew me away both times I read it. But Duncan Idaho? The obsessively resurrected clone of the original that has come back nearly countless times over 5k years? It staggers the imagination. Leto II really put him through the wringer, but even after the old god had died, the Bene Gesserit and the Bene Tlailax have turned him into the stage of their own conflict.

And it's these two that really own the stage in this side of the universe.... until the great spreading of humanity came back. :) Enter conflict. :) So good.

This is one of those series that take a lot of dedication and understanding to really enjoy. You really have to get deep into them. But these are very, very enjoyable. This one is very complex and deep in a very similar way to the original classic.

Tons of politics and machinations, and if you love that, you'll love this. :)

I guess I'm not like a lot of these other reviewers. I thought this book, the fifth in the series, was fantastic and probably my second favorite after the first one. It's got that perfect Dune blend of sci-fi, politics, religion, intrigue, action, and great characters. I literally couldn't put this book down after the first 150 pages or so. The story begins some 1500 years after the death of Leto II from God Emperor of Dune and brings us up to speed on what happened in the aftermath of his death and the following power vacuum. In the intervening years, The Famine Times and The Scattering have expanded the universe's human population, both in terms of number and presence. But now people, known as The Lost Ones, are starting to come back, and not all of them are simply returning peacefully with what they've learned and seen, to their homeworlds...The intricate plot becomes much clearer when all of the threads are woven together at the end, although my one gripe is that there is a bit of a jarring jump into the last two chapters in terms of what happens...really, I just want to know HOW the events I deduced actually occurred. But that's a minor quibble. This is a great book and I can't wait to begin the next one (and the last one Herbert wrote before his death). A major threat to universal stability has emerged, and at the end of this book, it's no guarantee that the forces of good will win. Much like The Empire Strikes Back, this middle of the second trilogy of Dune book ends with the good guys on the ropes and the future uncertain. Masterful stuff.