Reviews

Dune Messiah by Frank Herbert

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Even though this book was great, definitely nearly 5 stars, I have mixed feelings on it because it wasn’t exactly what I was expecting it to be. For the positives: Frank Herbert stuns again with his worldbuilding— it is soooo interesting to hear the politics and dynamics between all the parties and feel immersed in the drama of it all. It often reads like a movie and I’m very excited to see the eventual adaptation. Also, there are lots of concepts that are newly introduced in this book, but these inclusions were not awkward at all. At first I was scared that there was no dictionary in the back, but a lot of it felt very intuitive as you read along. My main complaint is the pacing of everything. I feel like a lot of what was dwelled on was unimportant (at least so far in the series) while major plot points came through a little rushed. I also wish that more of the loose ends from Dune had been tied— I’m probably not going to read further in the series so this was a little sad for me. However, I’m definitely tempted to read more so I can see what happens next 😭 very much a strength and a weakness with this book

mattysmith25's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious medium-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

4.0

ifanacouldfly's review

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dark reflective medium-paced

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

2.5

elliansu's review

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4.0

I read the first one just before this so the story and the world were fresh on my mind. I think that made the experience better and more enjoyable.

Loved the characters and the world but not quite the book if it makes any sense.

m_mentu's review against another edition

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challenging emotional mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

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

3.75

kal__'s review against another edition

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challenging dark slow-paced

3.75

jessicakate14's review

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reflective tense slow-paced

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

3.5

The book jumped very far into the future which surprised me. It means all the novels do that though, so I must get used to it. Really liked the ending however it was definitely a heavy read overall.