Dune Messiah

by Frank Herbert

Paperback, 283 pages

English language

Published July 7, 2020 by Ace.

ISBN:: 978-0-593-20173-2
ASIN:: 0593201736
Goodreads:: 53169182-dune-messiah

(3 reviews)

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…

2 editions

Pierre reviewed Dune Messiah by Frank Herbert

Lost in the Spice Trance

3 stars

Content warning Plot Spoilers

I read dune Messiah a few months back and am taking time to reflect as I just finished Children of Dune (the third book in the series). Overall, I was pretty disappointed in Dune Messiah. To me, the plot and characters marked a stark departure from the first book and I was pretty much lost the whole time. Herbert’s prose even though aesthetically pleasing, especially to me since he tends to borrow a lot of french words to describe the etiquette or customs related to the emperor and empire, gets really confusing especially in passages describing the spice melange and spice trance. I was taken aback by seeing a character, Paul Atreides, stuck in his progression. Maybe that’s what Herbert wanted to convey in Dune Messiah, but I felt like the character had phenomenal power and super powers yet the story failed to show how he was using them and to which end he wanted to use them. It also felt to me like the characters lacked individual personality. They seem to all speak in the same way and interact in similar fashion.

I’m rating 3/5 for the world building and the lore but overall was not pleased by the general plot.

René reviewed Dune Messiah by Frank Herbert

Without words

5 stars

I don’t know how but this book was so impactful to me, probably more than the original

esttorhe@wyrms.de reviewed Dune Messiah by Frank Herbert

The series definitely keeps getting traction

5 stars

I know this is a very old saga; regardless I was not expecting it to be this engaging

There are definitely a few 🚩s along the way, but those can easily be attributed to the time when the books were written

The way Paul walks between destiny/fate and desire to break the chains is very well defined.