Reviews tagging 'Sexual assault'

Heretycy Diuny by Frank Herbert

7 reviews

suneaters's review against another edition

adventurous tense slow-paced

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

3.25

I really did have fun, but Frank needed an editor that wasn't afraid to cut the fat and trim this book down. We read parallel stories of Sheeana and Duncan that converge in the end. I really liked Duncan this time around until he gets his memories back. You really felt for him, essentially locked up with only semblances of parental figures and never really know what's going on. I liked the characters and the character work here, especially Odrade and her relationship with Miles Teg and Taraza. And the latter two's relationship with each other. It all made for great drama. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Murder, and Sexual content

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Misogyny, Violence, Sexual assault, and War

Duncan Idaho, bodily 16, but with the memories of his adult self, has sex with Honored Matre Murbella, who is presumably above the age of majority. Consent is dubious. Lucilla, also an adult woman, plans to have sex with 16 year old Duncan Idaho, at a time when he does not have memories of his adult life, but this never occurs. Sheena, likely below the age of majority, receives "sexual education" from the Bene Gesserit. The Honored Matres are often referred to as "whores".

pan23's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• 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

4.25

Honestly felt more digestible than God Emperor but definitely stranger in the philosophy - I really don’t know what to expect in the next and final one. I mostly love Herbert’s writing style, it’s easy to get absorbed. Teg was my favorite character and I wish there was a greater exploration of his developments. The ending is abrupt (per usual) and relatively very little action takes place “on screen.” 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Violence

peggy_racham's review against another edition

4.0

By far my favorite in the series, so far. Loved Miles Tag and his view, enjoyed Duncan for the first time since the first book. Overall a good read, filled with existential questions answered in a true Frank Herbert fashion.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Addiction, Drug use, Colonisation, Sexual assault, War, Death, Gun violence, Sexual content, and Misogyny

Minor: Adult/minor relationship and Incest

sir_willyam's review against another edition

adventurous challenging mysterious reflective slow-paced

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

3.5

A return to some of the fundamental story telling in previous Dune books found in Messiah, and Children, Heretics is a lot more character-based than the philosophy-heavy slog that God Emperor sometimes felt like. Despite Arrakis being recognizable again, aspects of Frank Herbert’s story telling doesn’t. The inclusion of sex-driven plot was the single most disruptive part of the entire series, and is a big factor in why I DNF the last book in the series, Chapterhouse: Dune. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Violence, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Torture

Moderate: War, Murder, and Death

Minor: Addiction, Kidnapping, Child abuse, and Drug use

dannilmp's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious reflective 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

1.25

Now we have another time skip, to see the long lasting consequences of Leto II's final choice in God Emperpr of Dune. It was nice to finally move away from the Atreides family and focus on some other characters. 

This book finally felt like the knive that split the series, with the loss of Leto II, all of our major players are finally dead and gone and this sets the stage for a new cast to rise up. However, not all of these new players were particularly brilliant and once again they were not written very well. 

Herbert's ability to write women with the way he wrote the Honourned Matres was shocking to say the least, I'm not sure this man has written a decent female character in this entire series. If one does start to look they have slightly positive qualities it feels like this is instantly rectified in the next book and we're back to women as the bad guys again. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Sexual assault, and Sexual harassment

peachtea's review against another edition

adventurous dark reflective medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Sexual assault, Rape, and Injury/Injury detail

carrionkid's review against another edition

3.5

This was significantly better than God Emperor of Dune and the plot was compelling, full of twists and turns. The characters were interesting and I appreciate finally having some women in the spotlight as major characters. However it full dropped from a 4 star book to a 3.5 star book with the sexual assault scenes at the end and it was WAY more weird about sex than it had any right to be.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Torture, and Violence