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bettysbookishworld's review against another edition
mysterious
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I really enjoy the writing style where the villains' intention is presented and then we follow the story from that point until the final resolution. I think this narrative style is what keeps me so engaged and invested in the story itself.
I like the ending and how the whole story from Dune until the ending of Dune Messiah turned out on the whole philosophical and religious level.
However, the only negative thing to say about the second book is how female characters were written and unfortunately, it affected my reading enjoyment. In Dune, Herbert wrote female characters as strong, independent with their own minds. Even though they had the more traditional roles in the story, they were still written well. However, I didn't like how the women were handled in Dune Messiah. Mainly Alia. I felt uncomfortable how sexualized her character was when you think about her age. Also, all of the female characters lacked their personalities from the first book and here they were just submissive and shallow, really.
I'll probably read the next book but will read it with caution and much lower expectations.
I like the ending and how the whole story from Dune until the ending of Dune Messiah turned out on the whole philosophical and religious level.
However, the only negative thing to say about the second book is how female characters were written and unfortunately, it affected my reading enjoyment. In Dune, Herbert wrote female characters as strong, independent with their own minds. Even though they had the more traditional roles in the story, they were still written well. However, I didn't like how the women were handled in Dune Messiah. Mainly Alia. I felt uncomfortable how sexualized her character was when you think about her age. Also, all of the female characters lacked their personalities from the first book and here they were just submissive and shallow, really.
I'll probably read the next book but will read it with caution and much lower expectations.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Colonisation, Suicide, Injury/Injury detail, Drug use, Gun violence, Death, and Genocide
Moderate: Grief
Minor: Pregnancy, Sexism, Incest, and Infertility
bergha1998's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- 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
3.75
The main theme of this book is how power corrupts. It takes the whole Dune series in a completely different trajectory. We watch Paul in Dune and believe him to be the “savior,” but in this one we see that even he falls when given absolute power.
“They’re trained to believe? Not to know. Belief can be manipulated. Only knowledge is dangerous.”
“There is nothing firm, nothing balanced, nothing durable in all the universe—that nothing remains in its state, that each day, sometimes each hour, brings change.”
“If you need something to worship, then worship life—all life, every last crawling bit of it! We’re all in this beauty together!”
“They’re trained to believe? Not to know. Belief can be manipulated. Only knowledge is dangerous.”
“There is nothing firm, nothing balanced, nothing durable in all the universe—that nothing remains in its state, that each day, sometimes each hour, brings change.”
“If you need something to worship, then worship life—all life, every last crawling bit of it! We’re all in this beauty together!”
Content Warnings
Graphic: Slavery, Drug use, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Infertility, Murder, Genocide, Cursing, Fire/Fire injury, Violence, Colonisation, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Death, War, and Addiction
claudiamacpherson's review against another edition
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.
Happy ending meter (no specific spoilers, just the vibe of the ending): Definitely not happy, but more…bittersweet.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Addiction, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Suicidal thoughts, Body horror, Death, Genocide, Grief, Hate crime, Murder, Violence, and Xenophobia
Minor: Child abuse, Gun violence, Incest, Child death, Colonisation, Hate crime, and Sexual content
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