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tblakehudson's review against another edition
3.0
I like this book, but it takes every one of Frank Herbert’s common short-comings and puts them on full display more than any of the other Dune novels I’ve read so far. These are principally: not knowing what to do with his female characters and rushing the last act of every Dune novel after the first 3/4 of the book are slow build-up.
Alia, who was formidable if not somewhat sidelined for being the younger sister of the prescient emperor, Paul Muab-dib, in Messiah, becomes a plot tool/martyr at the mercy of a recycled antagonist for the vast majority of this book. She’s handicapped by her possession to let Leto ultimately shine as the superior successor the Paul, and due to the nature of her role in this book, never even succeeds in convincing the reader she’s a real threat, much less a fleshed-out characters.
Jessica meanwhile spends the better part of the second half of the book training Farad’n for… something(?) Only for them to show up for Leto’s triumphant victory over Alia and Jessica to admit her defeat. She was introduced as a major player to foil her daughter’s descent to madness and try to control her grandchildren, only to get conveniently sidelined.
This is the Dune novel with perhaps the most active female cast, yet still manages for all of them to have very little agency and the story to pretty much only be driven by their male counterparts.
My saving grace for this book (aside from the usual themes and moral perspectives that are still consistently presented in intriguing ways like the other novels) is that we see a dark twist on the character dynamics and interactions that really made me love Messiah. I think this book does a lot of the same good things Messiah does in characterization through interactions between the key players, Messiah just does it better with a cleaner storyline.
Alia, who was formidable if not somewhat sidelined for being the younger sister of the prescient emperor, Paul Muab-dib, in Messiah, becomes a plot tool/martyr at the mercy of a recycled antagonist for the vast majority of this book. She’s handicapped by her possession to let Leto ultimately shine as the superior successor the Paul, and due to the nature of her role in this book, never even succeeds in convincing the reader she’s a real threat, much less a fleshed-out characters.
Jessica meanwhile spends the better part of the second half of the book training Farad’n for… something(?) Only for them to show up for Leto’s triumphant victory over Alia and Jessica to admit her defeat. She was introduced as a major player to foil her daughter’s descent to madness and try to control her grandchildren, only to get conveniently sidelined.
This is the Dune novel with perhaps the most active female cast, yet still manages for all of them to have very little agency and the story to pretty much only be driven by their male counterparts.
My saving grace for this book (aside from the usual themes and moral perspectives that are still consistently presented in intriguing ways like the other novels) is that we see a dark twist on the character dynamics and interactions that really made me love Messiah. I think this book does a lot of the same good things Messiah does in characterization through interactions between the key players, Messiah just does it better with a cleaner storyline.
bradburylogic's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
el_takes_an_l's review against another edition
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
shaiguy333's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-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
kbc1239's review against another edition
3.0
Solid three stars. Liked it better than Dune Messiah. This book had lots of political intrigue and twist. I did enjoy it but felt a little bit like past characters had too much presence in this book.
nancyboy's review against another edition
1.0
I have so many thoughts about this book. I'm definitely going to be writing a full review about it at some point. I really wanted to love children of dune but I just couldn't. Conceptual I think this book is great, but it's execution is okay at times but most of the time just poor. Though I will continue on with the series just to see what happens
nancyboy56's review against another edition
1.0
I have so many thoughts about this book. I'm definitely going to be writing a full review about it at some point. I really wanted to love children of dune but I just couldn't. Conceptual I think this book is great, but it's execution is okay at times but most of the time just poor. Though I will continue on with the series just to see what happens
matmcdonut's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
slow-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? It's complicated
5.0
“You aren't thinking or really existing unless you're willing to risk even your own sanity in the judgement of your existence.”
In what feels like an unpopular opinion: this has been my favorite of the Dune books I've read so far. Incredibly dense, philosophical, and esoteric I can understand why it doesn't land for so many. But I'm enamored and the last 20% of the book takes a huge turn I wasn't expecting. Going full speed ahead into the 'last' book in The Golden Path and im beyond excited to see where that ends up.
In what feels like an unpopular opinion: this has been my favorite of the Dune books I've read so far. Incredibly dense, philosophical, and esoteric I can understand why it doesn't land for so many. But I'm enamored and the last 20% of the book takes a huge turn I wasn't expecting. Going full speed ahead into the 'last' book in The Golden Path and im beyond excited to see where that ends up.
chris2110's review
challenging
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0