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A review by izzyvb023
Dune Messiah by Frank Herbert
5.0
SOO different than Dune #1. I loved this book wow wow wow. Brilliantly written and actually engaging. Some people criticize it for not being as action packed as Dune 1, but I loved reading about the intricacies of the political system and the conspiracies. The pacing made the few action scenes have more impact for me, that I had to re read them every time.
One of my favorite things was how gender functioned in the book. So much of the story depended on the characters being able to slip between genders and function as both and neither at the same time. For example, Scytale says of himself, “We are Jadacha hermaphrodites, either sex at will. For the present, I am a man." Later, Bijaz says of Paul and Alia: “In truth, Emperor and sister are one person back to back, one being half male and half female."
Alia is so so cool. I can’t wait to see what Villeneuve does with her character in the movie. The fact that she is continually described as “virgin harlot, mother without motherhood” is SO interesting. She almost reminded me of the virgin mary in that aspecr. Additionally, she reminded me of the ancient coptic text, The Thunder Perfect Mind, in which the protagonist is referred to as “the whore and the Holy Woman.” She is neither and both all at once.
One of my favorite things was how gender functioned in the book. So much of the story depended on the characters being able to slip between genders and function as both and neither at the same time. For example, Scytale says of himself, “We are Jadacha hermaphrodites, either sex at will. For the present, I am a man." Later, Bijaz says of Paul and Alia: “In truth, Emperor and sister are one person back to back, one being half male and half female."
Alia is so so cool. I can’t wait to see what Villeneuve does with her character in the movie. The fact that she is continually described as “virgin harlot, mother without motherhood” is SO interesting. She almost reminded me of the virgin mary in that aspecr. Additionally, she reminded me of the ancient coptic text, The Thunder Perfect Mind, in which the protagonist is referred to as “the whore and the Holy Woman.” She is neither and both all at once.