Reviews with content warning for War - El mesías de Dune

This was interesting! Not as dense as the first, although the first third is filled with political and conspiring scenes that were slow for me. Herbert keeps presenting such interesting ideas and world building only to focus on what's really important: the rise and fall of a flawed leader.
What I wouldn't do to hear more about sandworms, oracles, atomic weapons, and space trade... at least these interesting topics are given a spark rather than avoided altogether. I think this series most reminds me of Star Wars prequels where the story really shines if you are interested in a political intrigue and conspiracy, but if you're looking for wild fantasy you'll be taking scraps.
The last third of the book was really engaging and I managed to finish that in an evening. I was genuinely surprised by how Hayt's story concluded and excited with the final confrontation scene.

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lqne's review against another edition

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mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

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emilywemily6's review against another edition

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challenging mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Herbert’s writing is tough to get into; I feel like there was so much he was trying to say, but he was so vague about it that I missed his message. I liked that this book was a lot of political intrigue. I also feel like the length was perfect. I really wish you learned more about the events immediately after Dune though. The time gap made it hard to feel invested in where the characters are now, a decade later. Though even though it had been a bit since I read Dune, I still remembered enough to get back into this world without too much trouble. I think this book has more merits in being reread over and over again.

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dpekus's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Visiškai kitokia nei pirmoji knyga, bet tuo pačiu ir nesiskirianti - tiesiog epinius nuotykius ir mūšius keičia gilūs ir sukti politiniai žaidimai bei vidinės personažų kovos su pačiais savimi (ir tas pasireiškia vos ne kiekvienam iš pagrindinių personažų). Pradžioj skaitėsi sunkiai ir lėtai, daug naujų vardų ir terminų, bet gana greitai viskas susistato į vietas.

Gal ta pirmoji knygos pusė ir kiek gali išvarginti savo politiniais dialogais, bet antroji pusė savo tempu per daug nesiskiria nuo pirmosios knygos, o visos filosofinės įžvalgos padeda kiek kitaip pažvelgti į personažus. Vienintelis didesnis minusas - moteriški personažai, kurių paskirtis beveik visada buvo arba pratęsti imperatoriaus giminę, arba pamesti protą dėl vyro (ir nuogai brolio akivaizdoj treniruotis kardu - ką??). Bet net ir su šituo knyga labai stipri ir puikiai pratęsia Kopos istoriją - o skaičius pirmąją knygą šią paskaityti tiesiog būtina.

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infinite_harness9030's review against another edition

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challenging dark reflective sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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josiah17's review against another edition

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dark reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

This book is decent. For starters, I think the themes and warnings about the power and role of governance, as well as deifying leaders, are well done. They remain relevant today and clearly Frank Herbert was passionate about expressing this caution and philosophy. This is easily the best part about the book.

"There exists a limit to the force even the most powerful may apply without destroying themselves. Judging this limit is the true artistry of government. Misuse of power is the fatal sin. The law cannot be a tool of vengeance, never a hostage, nor a fortifications against the martyrs it has created. You cannot threaten any individual and escape the consequences."

I also found Herbert's prose to feel more polished than I remember from reading Dune a year ago. It matches the philosophical and introspective tone quite well.

However, even if the themes and prose are good, they're not quite enough to make up for the elements of the book I found to be lackluster.

The plot introduces some good promise of a conspiracy (minor spoiler). However I don't feel that it delivers on this promise in a manner that is ultimately satisfying.

I also found that I didn't really feel anything for the characters besides resentment towards Paul. I think the massive time jump doesn't help with this either. And I saw someone say something along the lines of Herbert writing his characters as if they're more so pieces on a chess board to convey certain messages, and I think that's accurate to how I feel. They feel more like plot devices rather then real people I'm supposed to connect with. Not that that's necessarily poor character writing, but I'm not sure it works for me. And I didn't have any problem with the subversion of the Messiah archetype with Paul; I actually thought the execution was solid. It's just that I had no strong feelings or attachment to the characters.

And finally, part of the appeal to reading the Dune books was Herbert's praised worldbuilding. I found Dune to match and even exceed the hype around Herbert's worldbuilding. What he's able to do in building Arrakis and the entire Fremen cultural is nothing short of extraordinary. However, because all of that worldbuilding is done in the first book and we remain on Arrakis for this book, Dune Messiah feels like it's missing something captivating to me. I hope that makes sense. I just miss the level of worldbuilding of the first book.

Ultimately, I think this is a step down from Dune.

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lizzyjean's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

This was an absolutely underrated book. It is very politics-heavy, therefore can be hard to follow, but if you allow yourself to focus on the story as well as read between the lines, this book is fantastic. Dune and Dune Messiah are a fantastic pair, and I look forward to reading the rest of the series.

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alterdd's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional mysterious reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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