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bcanfield94 's review for:
Dune Messiah
by Frank Herbert
Dune: Messiah doesn’t quite reach the highs of Book #1 for me, but part of that is because this book is not an epic in nature. Instead, this entry in the Dune series reads more like a profound meditation on charismatic leaders and Messianic figureheads. The first Dune book introduces the idea that we should be wary of those who are billed as Messiahs, but this entry nails down the message that, once a Messiah is born, the Messiah actually has very little control or influence over their own likeness. Even though Messiahs are powerful, through prescience or some other, more realistic means, the will of the people is stronger and will far outlive any one Messiah. Paul already recognized his lack of control in Book #1, but part of his journey here is to recognize his own lack of importance in the grand scheme of things. Customs, cultures, religions, and communities are so much bigger than any one person, no matter how powerful, and the most Paul could ever do was to remove himself from his own likeness and be a human, husband, and father to the best of his ability. Does this mean a Messiah lacks agency in the first place? Of course not. A Messiah will make decisions that are in their own self interest. Why? Because they are only human, after all.