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draven_deathcrush's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Violence, War, and Death
Moderate: Pregnancy, Adult/minor relationship, and Infertility
Minor: Ableism and Incest
icarusandthesun's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
there are some bigs twists in this book that should've thrown you off, made you put the book down for a few seconds to comprehend what just happened; should've, but it didn't.
it was the writing, mostly. i don't know where frank herbert went wrong (& perhaps i am the problem), but the narration was dry and all the 'political intrigue' a yap-fest.
how the conflict was resolved in the end felt rushed and a little silly.
wasn't a fan.
Graphic: Murder, Violence, Body horror, Drug use, Death, and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Pregnancy, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Medical content and Blood
zellnermatthew's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
In summary, the book has colorful imagery and the stories about
Minor: Death and Pregnancy
isabellamarg's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
"Watching the mundane activities of everyday life filled him with profound envy."
Dune Messiah is a commentary on how power changes you as well as the lengths we are willing to go for this power and our loved ones. Paul is a complex character. His prescience and ability to see glimpses of the future is a blessing but also a curse. He cannot just be a regular person, nor can his sister Alia who was also given prescience through her birth. This is an important theme throughout the book especially towards the end when we see Paul make decisions that will impact the future of his Jihad and empire.
The beginning of this book was very slow and confusing for me with multiple new characters brought in in a very short time span. My favorite part of the book was probably the last 80 pages where everything comes to a head and we gain clarity into Paul's thought processes and actions. Without giving too much away Chani plays a large role in the path that Paul chooses to take to evade his conspirators and the ending of the novel is due in part to his fastidiousness in Fremen culture as well as his love for Chani.
"'We're here now!' she protested, fighting a dry sob. 'And...I feel we have so little...time.' 'We have eternity, beloved.' 'You may have eternity. I have only now.''But this is eternity.' He stroked her forehead."
Minor: Death, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Genocide
trvs49's review against another edition
- 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
Paul's character development is impressive and genuinely satisfying, and it stays true to the character. However, where this book lacks is in the writing of the female characters, which is considerably weaker, although Alia does present as a really cool, complex character. The incest stuff and the age gap between her and some of the characters, as well as the stuff about her dad being her lover, are not necessary, in my opinion.
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, Death, Drug use, Drug abuse, Injury/Injury detail, War, Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Grief, Incest, Infertility, Murder, Pregnancy, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Violence
amachonis's review against another edition
3.0
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Death
monserrot's review against another edition
- 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
3.5
Graphic: Addiction, Blood, Death, Child death, Cultural appropriation, Abortion, Body horror, and Confinement
sarah_tani's review against another edition
- 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
Moderate: Murder, Adult/minor relationship, Incest, Violence, Suicide, Grief, War, Genocide, Death, Drug use, Infertility, and Pregnancy
gvstyris's review against another edition
- 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
3.5
Religion, too, is a weapon. What manner of weapon is religion when it becomes the government?
Dune Messiah is strikingly more didactic than its predecessor, jumping twelve years to follow a conspiracy against Paul's now-established rule over the empire. I'm struggling a bit to rate and condense my feelings about this novel, primarily because of how different it is to Dune.
Dune Messiah is theoretically right up my alley: it explores the corrupting influences of power and the inherent problems faced by a government built on religious worship and fabricated idolatry. Herbert is not intending to replicate the first novel's epic sense of adventure, but I would still argue that this sequel suffers a little without it. Its slow-burn is a bit painful, yet it ultimately still offers a much more nuanced (and needed!) character analysis of Paul, which I thoroughly enjoyed. I also really loved the discussion surrounding the Fremen's loss of cultural identity with 'modernisation.'
I'll definitely be considering continuing the series, but am mainly just hyped to see how Villeneuve chooses to adapt this story given his changes to Chani's character.
Moderate: Death, Grief, Infertility, Medical trauma, and Pregnancy
Minor: Incest
aileron's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Graphic: Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, Drug use, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Incest, Murder, Death, Grief, Colonisation, Fire/Fire injury, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, and Suicide
Minor: Ableism, Genocide, Child death, Religious bigotry, and War