Reviews with content warning for Death - El mesías de Dune

There was a man so wise,
He jumped into
A sandy place
And burnt both his eyes!
And when he knew his eyes were gone,
He offered no complaint.
He summoned up a vision
And made himself a saint.

Absolutely dumbfounded and about to go crazy because the world of Dune is some of the best stuff I have ever read. I seriously don't know how Frank Herbert continued to write something so interesting and action-packed and emotional as a follow up to the highly revered (and for good reason) Dune. Dune Messiah was just such a good sequel - it was gorgeous in every sense of the word. Yes, I got a little lost in the middle of the book because there were a lot of new characters and terms thrown around but I recovered quickly.

Duncan Idaho was my saving grace. He is probably now my favourite character in this series (or in these two books at least because I'm not sure if he's a main character in the rest of the series. The humanity Herbert gave to him in his mentat state was just A LOT FOR ME TO HANDLE.

I don't know, all the characters are very precious to me, I actually don't know what it is. Paul, Alia, Duncan, Stilgar, Gurney, every time they mention Duke Leto (RIP king), everything they do makes me start to tear up which is so silly and I myself don't know why I do. And yeah, I cried at the end because I also miss Paul. But yeah this is becoming one of my favourite series - even if the rest of the books don't live up to this and Dune, I don't mind because I love the world and I love the way Frank Herbert writes. Dune stans stay winning, I can't wait for them to make a movie about this book.

Content Warnings

serena_hien's review against another edition

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challenging reflective sad slow-paced

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

4.0

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kateworm's review against another edition

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adventurous informative mysterious medium-paced

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

3.0

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claudiamacpherson's review against another edition

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adventurous dark reflective sad tense 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

3.5

Twelve years after the events of Dune, Paul still rules as the Emperor, with his sister as a religious leader at his side. He avoids jihad where he can, but even for someone as all-seeing as the Muad’Dib, some things cannot be avoided. A small group, whose members include the Bene Gesserit Reverend Mother Helen Gaius Mohiam and Paul’s wife, the Princess Irulan, a Tleilaxu face dancer and a Guild navigator, plots Paul’s demise.

Messiah contains less worldbuilding and far less action than Dune, but (perhaps for those reasons) conveys Herbert’s warning against heroes that much better. We see Paul struggling with the future, trying to find a way to minimize the violence that he foresees, but he can never avoid it completely. Alia, too suffers from her status of near-divinity.

I initially disliked the Duncan Idaho storyline (and I still don’t like the Duncan/Alia pairings…the age gap is creepy), but I loved the idea that his love for Paul and the Atreides brought him back essentially from the dead. The power of love and devotion to change even the most intense training is great, and reminded me of Doctor Yue in the first book. I have also always been interested in the idea of sight and blindness, and the use in literature of blindness to signify true insight or foreknowledge. And, though I don’t generally like sad endings, I was moved by Paul’s commitment to the Fremen traditions, even though it meant his own death.

Happy ending meter (no specific spoilers, just the vibe of the ending):

Definitely not happy, but more…bittersweet.

Content Warnings

lydia_burge's review against another edition

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adventurous tense slow-paced

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

4.25

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izzymmcfarland's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark slow-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

4.0

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dayelb_'s review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional 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

5.0

Frank Herbert is easily one of the best authors I've ever read. I don't see why any of these books aren't considered classics. This book takes you on a wild ride and represents the end of an era in the world of Arrakis. I can't wait to read the 3rd book as this one brought about just as many questions as it answered -- quite characteristic of Frank Herbert's writing.

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margotcolville's review against another edition

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reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.5

I wish there had been a book in between Dune and Dune Messiah for character development of Paul. Paul felt very much like I missed out and now he’s ~Paul~. Continues to be very plot driven so it fits that we don’t get that, but I do wish we could. The last like 50 pages get FaSt and GoOd but it did feel a little disjointed from the rest of the slower, more detailed exposition. I wish maybe that had just been a little bit longer.

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