A review by karina5162
God Emperor of Dune by Frank Herbert

challenging dark reflective tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

This started off so strong. For at least the first half of it, I was ready to give the book five stars. I thought that'd it connected to the last book really well given the time skip, I was interested in the new characters, and the world building was excellent as always. But by the middle it had started to become repetitive, and most scenes felt like a vessel to hear Leto's (or Frank's) political opinions. This isn't exactly new, but the previous books benefited from a cast of characters that were all more fleshed out, and whose opinions I think we heard a lot more. Additionally, the homophobic and sexist beliefs Frank Herbert held come out a lot more here, which took me out of the story on a number of occasions. Combined with the rushed ending (a Frank Herbert staple) I found myself slogging through the last 100 pages. However, it had a major redeeming quality, which was when Moneo (my favourite character) delivered one of the greatest insults I've ever read. I wouldn't say that made it worth it, but it was satisfying.
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