The bestselling science fiction series of all time continues! This second installment explores new developments on the desert planet Arrakis, with its intricate social order and its strange threatening environment. DUNE MESSIAH picks up the story of the man known as Maud'dib, heir to a power unimaginable, bringing to fruition an ambition of unparalleled scale: the centuries-old scheme to create a superbeing who reigns not in the heavens but among men. But the question is: Do all paths of glory lead to the grave?
"Brilliant . . . It is all that DUNE was, and maybe a little more." (Galaxy Magazine)
Really, this is such a fine book It is the one time Frank Herbert let himself (or his editors let him) become truly literary in the series of books about Dune. It must be in the nicest sense of that term.
I remember being young, near to thirty, and reading the first time, comparing impressions with friends in the quiet, hands-on moments at our r&d work.
Perhaps we didn't feel the sweep of the original Dune, though in another way it is actually there -- behind, and in the spaces opened by many observations in the text. And it didn't seem to compare with the adventures of Leto and Ghanima and the D-wolves, though today for all that the Children of Dune book is important, it is lesser.
In Dune Messiah, the depth of individual story is drawn almost as with Asian brushes: swift, naturally spreading strokes, that you take a moment with to let the understanding come to you, how evocative. There is not summary, yet also there are summaries of whole thoughts, as in the sad ending not of Paul, but of Bijaz, whose power as a person and character just give glimpses of Frank Herbert's breadth of achievement.
I have never been able to understand the later books after Herbert died, though there can be a certain fascination in some of them, and now think that they are simply very different works, as if a very different historian had been read to us. Then there is credit where due.
Of Frank Herbert's deep and long creation, it's apparent also how he took different avenues himself, perhaps guided by editors, by 'results' for this Dune Messiah particularly. He had a life to support, and could no doubt find fun and satisfaction in putting forward what people most seemed to want to hear, all the way to Miles Teg, who was a great creation also.
Would that he could have pursued the tracks of Dune Messiah further in some places and ways, and perhaps he did -- the rest of the series I also have before me to read over. What he did here shows the soul there was behind it all, and it is a thanking matter indeed to meet him so.
Highly recommended, and as you see, for reading 'again'.
A great follow-up for fans of Dune! Dune Messiah is the second book from Frank Herbert in the Dune Series. Paul Atreides is now the Emperor/Duke of Arrakis with his Fremen wife Chani and his Imperial concubine, Irulan. In Dune Messiah, the reader starts to see the internal struggle that Paul battles throughout the book. A battle between trying to prevent the jihad from his fremen followers that he sees so much in his future vision and trying to be a husband to Chani and protecting Alia (his sister) at the same time. As with any Emperor with such a following, there are those out to make Paul's life miserable at every turn. I felt this was a much more personal book than Dune itself. It gives you a glimpse at how life is for an Emperor in such a position and the reader gets to see that Paul is infact a human being that struggles with being the possible messiah that his people and all those around him need.
Overall, an outstanding book in the Dune series and every bit as enjoyable as Dune.
The Dark Side of the Dune ***SPOILER ALERT*** Forgive the bad pun. But this book is a bit dark compared to the original. Dune was a sweeping epic. Dune Messiah is a singular story focusing on the darkness implied in Dune. Although Dune ended in a very triumphant fasion...there were unresolved tensions about the coming Jihad and what would happed when Paul Atreides became Emperor/Messiah. Those tensions are explored here. Yes...the writing style is different...and no this is nothing like the original...however I still enjoyed reading this book and had a hard time putting it down.
I love the way the book kicks off giving you the details of the conspiracy. Similar to how Dune laid out the Harkonnen plot within the first few chapters. I also really enjoyed the introduction to the Bene Tleilax. Scytale and Hayt were great characters. I wish Scytale had been fleshed out a bit more. While all the talk about prescience and Religion/Government went on a little too much, I still find it to be intriguing. I think Frank Herbert could have been a philosopher. Other than the ending I thought the coolest aspect was how when Paul loses his eyesight he can still see everything around him because it was part of his vision. The ending of course was the best part of all. Especially when little Leto makes contact with Paul and Paul has a true 'Kwisatz Haderach' moment when he sees all of the male perspectives in his line. Frank Herbert was an incredible writer and did not intend for this book to stack up to the first. I see it more as an exploration of 'The Other Side of the Coin' when it comes to seeing the future and well...being a Messiah.
Brief, but to the point This book is very brief, but I guess this is how its supposed to be since it seems Frank Herbert wanted it to be a link between Dune before Paul, and the Dune after Paul. The end of the book is the perfect way to take us to the next stage, the children of Muadib.
Short but great A little shorter than the massive Dune first installation, but Frank doesn't disappoint in the manner of the storytelling. Not as sweeping as it could have been, but a great gateway to The Children of Dune book.
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