Reviews with content warning for Homophobia - God Emperor of Dune

This one is the philosophical discussion book of the Dune series, some people love that some people don’t. I for one mostly like it, but Leto does piss me off at least 1/2 the time. I also just don’t get Hwi, like why pick marrying Leto and have sex with Duncan on the side? Make that make sense..?

“If you finds truth, even a temporary one, it can demand that you make painful changes.”

“Words can carry any burden we wish.”

“Membership in a conspiracy, as in an army, frees people from the sense of personal responsibility.”

“The mind imposes this framework which it calls ‘reality.’ That arbitrary framework has a tendency to be quite independent of what your senses report.”

“How is it a god can do evil things?”

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karina5162's review against another edition

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challenging dark reflective tense medium-paced

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

3.5

This started off so strong. For at least the first half of it, I was ready to give the book five stars. I thought that'd it connected to the last book really well given the time skip, I was interested in the new characters, and the world building was excellent as always. But by the middle it had started to become repetitive, and most scenes felt like a vessel to hear Leto's (or Frank's) political opinions. This isn't exactly new, but the previous books benefited from a cast of characters that were all more fleshed out, and whose opinions I think we heard a lot more. Additionally, the homophobic and sexist beliefs Frank Herbert held come out a lot more here, which took me out of the story on a number of occasions. Combined with the rushed ending (a Frank Herbert staple) I found myself slogging through the last 100 pages. However, it had a major redeeming quality, which was when Moneo (my favourite character) delivered one of the greatest insults I've ever read. I wouldn't say that made it worth it, but it was satisfying.

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marcasdeb's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark mysterious reflective slow-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? Yes

4.5

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izzyw's review against another edition

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reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No

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hkuhlman7's review against another edition

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challenging dark reflective sad medium-paced

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

2.0

Probably the weirdest book I’ve read. I was ready to call this my favorite Dune book through the first 2/3rds, but it went completely off the rails. The last 1/3rd is the most painful reading experience I’ve ever had.

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limatau's review against another edition

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dark sad slow-paced

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

1.5

The book follows a bunch of people who spew homophobia, racism, and general sexism so fervently and constantly it is heart breaking. The toxic parts of the governmental features of the factions of Dune felt like flaws in a system that kept the world grounded. Turns out the author likes the fact that men and women are segregated in society, that humans can be thought of as tools, and that oppression is the best way to treat people as long as they stop fighting. These issues weren’t issues a god like figure could spend years fixing but actually were the best parts he would spend emphasizing. Luckily our main character is also homophobic so we get to deal with his weird ass outbursts too. Disappointing is and understatement.

Besides the terrible concepts the books deals with a reader is left very little to look for. A very boring plot consisting of a will they won’t they coup develops. The main pov character is Duncan Idaho who, when not being a homophobe, is mostly being setup to breed with a person he doesn’t really like and lectured to be Leto like a toddler. The other large pov character is Leto and these chapters are mostly just bad, high-minded musings that don’t feel interesting enough to grab you. Mostly he just talks about power and knowledge and how they relate to each other and people. Not that interesting things aren’t said it’s just that it’s all coming from a eugenicist/homophobe/dictator so it’s hard to latch on to anything. The most interesting character is so sidelined by the end of the book I can’t remember her name. Although maybe my hatred of Duncan and Leto is taking up too much space.

Also there is a scene when someone becomes very… ‘excited’ while simply watching someone climb a wall. This woman ‘explodes’ just from watching a man climb a cliff. I have never seen a male writer describe what that’s like from a woman’s perspective and I think I never want to again.

Bad book please don’t read

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medea_jade's review against another edition

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challenging slow-paced

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

3.0

Dune is an amazing books and the subsequent books only get weirder and harder to read and follow. It’s a world I like to fall into but only a bit at a time. A chapter a night sort of thing. This was a slow book with lots of cryptic dialogue and bizarre worship. This is not a casual read. You’ve really got to want to read this book.

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tori_renee_reads's review against another edition

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informative slow-paced

2.0

Holy misogyny and homophobia Batman. I know old sci-fi doesn’t always age well, but none of the books in the Dune series have been like this. Also the plot was really boring and almost pointless. I guess it will help push the end of the series but I’m not in much hurry to finish after this. The first three are good but I’m worried the whole series will go down from here.

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