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annikathereader's review against another edition
dark
tense
medium-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
4.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Pregnancy, Suicide, Medical trauma, Fire/Fire injury, Child death, Infertility, Incest, Grief, and Death
isabellamarg's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
hopeful
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- 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
Dune Messiah is the second novel in the Dune series by Frank Herbert. It continues the story of Paul Atreides, who we know as Muad'Dib as well as Emperor of the universe. Paul is worshipped by the Fremen and continues to face hostility from the Great Houses whom he displaced from the throne. Amidst this unrest we learn of multiple conspiracies brewing among factions to kill Paul.
"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."
"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."
Content Warnings
Minor: Death, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Genocide
trvs49's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-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
This is a more philosophical, character-driven entry in the Dune series. The elements of adventure, new worlds, and sci-fi take a back seat to the intense character interactions, politics, and schemes. Paul's struggle for control over the universe and the events of the world is the main focus and is highly engaging throughout. Suspicions, schemes, plots within plots, and the reality of a universe ruled by Paul with his Sister at his side as pseudo-gods all culminate in a fantastic narrative with a satisfying end.
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.Also, Irulan just being super in love with Paul, although it is alluded to early in the book. I feel it doesn't get enough build-up and attention to make it understandable and believable, especially since she is supposed to be Bene Gesserit but throws away all her loyalties after he dies.
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.
Content Warnings
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
aileron's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
- 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
Content Warnings
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
melancholymegs's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Racism, Slavery, Death of parent, Death, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, and Adult/minor relationship
Minor: Incest
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
edensbookshelf's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: War, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Sexual content
Minor: Incest
astridrv's review against another edition
challenging
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Boy did I have a hard time getting through this one, although it was worth it. Still having a hard time with Herbert's cryptic and jumpy writing style, with occasional stunning sentences or paragraphs piercing through. It is an absolutely necessary second installment to Dune however, and I think my doubts about plot holes are likely to be solved within the larger canon of the Dune universe. But will I have the patience?
Content Warnings
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship
Minor: Death, Drug abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Incest, and Injury/Injury detail
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