Dune Messiah - Frank Herbert

Dune Messiah

By Frank Herbert

  • Release Date: 1974-04-01
  • Genre: Science Fiction
4 Score: 4 (From 2,460 Ratings)
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Description

Book Two in the Magnificent Dune Chronicles—the Bestselling Science Fiction Adventure of All Time

Dune Messiah continues the story of Paul Atreides, better known—and feared—as the man christened Muad’Dib. As Emperor of the known universe, he possesses more power than a single man was ever meant to wield. Worshipped as a religious icon by the fanatical Fremen, Paul faces the enmity of the political houses he displaced when he assumed the throne—and a conspiracy conducted within his own sphere of influence.

And even as House Atreides begins to crumble around him from the machinations of his enemies, the true threat to Paul comes to his lover, Chani, and the unborn heir to his family’s dynasty...

Reviews

  • First sequel to Dune

    5
    By Pasquali23
    The second in this series provides more detail on the underlying philosophy adopted by the author. He does this through the frequent use of internal dialogue sometimes at the expense of the plot. But it’s still a compelling story and a must read.

  • As it is written

    5
    By hruiz1003
    Denser and slower paced than Dune, but so rewarding in its conclusion. And the stone burner!!!

  • Excellent follow up

    4
    By TigersJC86
    Excellent follow up to my all time favorite sci fi book. This story is obviously quite a bit shorter but an appropriate ending to Paul’s journey started in Dune. Paul is someone I found myself pitying. Plagued with power he tried to avoid and visions he couldn’t escape and a terror that he helped unleash that made him a monster but also someone trying to survive and he essentially looses everything.

  • Challenging at times, silly at others

    4
    By Midori Moss
    Definitely a clearer picture of who Paul really is in this one. You get more of the true message of what Herbert wanted you to see the main character as in this one and the ending is bittersweet. You’ll feel bad for this character who gets what he deserves in the end. Some of the character development happens very quickly. Characters willl suddenly act out of character and sometimes it isn’t explained. Some parts of the story you can see coming a mile away and others are so vague you’ll still wonder what it was about when you’re done. Still, a great book and a great sequel. Oh, and the page count was much easier to bare.

  • Superb in many ways but…

    3
    By Diogo S. B. Vogel
    3.5 Here, is a book that will leave you with more questions then answers by the end of it. In here the story explores Paul’s mind more deeply only to leave the audience frustrated. The way his prescience powers work is still incoherent, Paul’s is a lingering character during the whole story, whose intentions are never truly revealed. The story never really takes a point of view on which to look at the character with, is he evil? Then why is his actions constantly being reasoned? Is he good, then why do strokes of evil are displayed? We’ll these be answered in the next chapter? I’ll wait to see. However the book also contains very interesting ideas surrounding power, religion, tyranny, a compelling conflict of power, the burden on those holding it and a very tragic arc for Paul, who became consumed by his powers, who became a slave of time despite his ability to weave through it.

  • 3 1/2

    2
    By CJ0722$!
    Ehh, it’s okay… mostly anti-climatic and ethereal philosophy over characters and action.

  • A departure from the first book

    3
    By Apple 895
    Very abstract, nothing much of consequence happened for the first half of the story. Abstract, high-brow stories can be good, as long as they are grounded with character actions. Also there is a large gap between the end of Dune and the start of this story. Not just in terms of time, but Dune ends with Paul slightly realizing the purpose of the holy war, but Dune Messiah begins with Paul already committing the holy war. It’s pretty much a completely different character. It feels as though there should’ve been an intermediate story in between Dune and Messiah that bridged the gap.

  • yes

    5
    By the truth 24
    I really liked messiah, the characters, world and the religious aspect. Time to get the 3rd book !

  • 3 Stars for the series, 4 as a standalone

    4
    By TriggaTrey95
    Like the title says this book by itself is a really solid read. Characters and events feel real and descriptive. For the series, this has been my least favorite book. Coming off the first book, so connected and understanding of all characters, it’s hard to watch them continually make frustrating decisions.

  • Great book…

    4
    By Joshsuwbdnsj
    A fitting end for an emperor

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