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3.77 AVERAGE
3.77 AVERAGE
adventurous
emotional
tense
emotional
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Dune Messiah is not a good Dune sequel.
Dune Messiah picks up 12 years after the original Dune, after the foreshadowed Jihad, which killed billions of people, has already happened. This is probably the single greatest flaw in this book. Dune #1 was stuffed with dreadful foreboding about Paul's "terrible purpose" and his visions of a galaxy engulfed in flames. Herbert decides to fast forward past all that in his next novel and skip right to a palace intrigue story, with the billions of deaths being merely a footnote. I'm sorry, but what the hell? It feels like we skipped over the real, meaningful story, only to focus on an epilogue. Even if Paul and Chani are main characters it's hard to care for them and their squabbles when we're told billions of others have died in the past 12 years.
It's all handled incredibly poorly by the author as well. Apparently Herbert never heard the phrase "show, don't tell," because we learn of Paul's affect on the universe almost exclusively through passing dialogue. We aren't shown a war-ravaged society, nor do we see any of the effects such a devastating conflict would've had on Paul or any of the other main characters. Instead, these events are mentioned in passing, where Paul says "Oh yeah, I kinda feel bad about that," before the characters move on and talk about something else. Most of the novel is taken up by conversations about whom Paul will have a child with, and it makes most of the main characters seems like spoiled, petulant children, not liberating heroes nor even galaxy-ruling despots.
Despite hating how this novel fit into the larger Dune story, if I were to judge it in a vacuum, I'd say it's a decent novel. Some of the plot twists were clever, the dialogue is well-written, and I begrudgingly loved the ending, even if I hated how we got there.
Dune Messiah picks up 12 years after the original Dune, after the foreshadowed Jihad, which killed billions of people, has already happened. This is probably the single greatest flaw in this book. Dune #1 was stuffed with dreadful foreboding about Paul's "terrible purpose" and his visions of a galaxy engulfed in flames. Herbert decides to fast forward past all that in his next novel and skip right to a palace intrigue story, with the billions of deaths being merely a footnote. I'm sorry, but what the hell? It feels like we skipped over the real, meaningful story, only to focus on an epilogue. Even if Paul and Chani are main characters it's hard to care for them and their squabbles when we're told billions of others have died in the past 12 years.
It's all handled incredibly poorly by the author as well. Apparently Herbert never heard the phrase "show, don't tell," because we learn of Paul's affect on the universe almost exclusively through passing dialogue. We aren't shown a war-ravaged society, nor do we see any of the effects such a devastating conflict would've had on Paul or any of the other main characters. Instead, these events are mentioned in passing, where Paul says "Oh yeah, I kinda feel bad about that," before the characters move on and talk about something else. Most of the novel is taken up by conversations about whom Paul will have a child with, and it makes most of the main characters seems like spoiled, petulant children, not liberating heroes nor even galaxy-ruling despots.
Despite hating how this novel fit into the larger Dune story, if I were to judge it in a vacuum, I'd say it's a decent novel. Some of the plot twists were clever, the dialogue is well-written, and I begrudgingly loved the ending, even if I hated how we got there.
challenging
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-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
dark
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
2.5
I'd say slightly better than Dune. While this was still okay it was quicker to read than the first one and a little less confusing. So for starters taking 12 years after the first book there is a lot of information missing. Such as why is Paul now suddenly evil towards everyone? Why is Lady Jessica not on Arrakis? How is Arrakis now not a desert planet? Why was Duncan brought back? Lots of questions. The story was kind of slow to get through but I'm curious to see this get adapted into a movie. I don't think I'll check out the next book but who knows.
I'd say slightly better than Dune. While this was still okay it was quicker to read than the first one and a little less confusing. So for starters taking 12 years after the first book there is a lot of information missing. Such as why is Paul now suddenly evil towards everyone? Why is Lady Jessica not on Arrakis? How is Arrakis now not a desert planet? Why was Duncan brought back? Lots of questions. The story was kind of slow to get through but I'm curious to see this get adapted into a movie. I don't think I'll check out the next book but who knows.
challenging
informative
mysterious
slow-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:
Complicated