This review won't make sense if you haven't read the book.The problem with this part of the Dune series is the fact that a classic has evolved into a family story without much of a plot. Riding on the comfort of knowing that most of his characters are already well-established and well-loved (I do not add equally well-hated as all of the 'bad guys' tend to be wiped out at the end of every book in this series), Herbert proceeds to throw in another tale to preach to us more inspiring ideals. I wish he'd waited for a better plot to strike him before penning this book down though.My parentheses above add a subtle point: the story does NOT have an over-arching enemy. In this book, as in the last, the main enemy is internal: Dune Messiah had the leading character resent and regret whatever he had created, whereas Children of Dune take it to the 'internal voices' level, something which entertains as well as bores the reader.One thing that Herbert has done all too well is to turn a character around by 180 degrees, and yet do it so slowly and carefully that no one sees the impact. Alia, once a much respected and loved character, is possessed by her inner demons, namely her old ancestor, the Baron Harkonnen. While this may sound interesting, it is a concept unused to its potential. Pardon me for being a gore-seeker, but I expected something truly BRUTAL once the identity of her possessor was revealed. There was no torture, no merciless and bloody murder, and not enough tyranny. Alia always seems to be in enough control, only a bit strangulated by the Baron. If one wants to introduce a concept such as this, he ought to give it enough of an impact by cultivating its potential.But those are just the sidelines. The lead characters, Leto and his sister Ghanima, are just BORING. They aren't fascinating - Frank could have written another chapter from Alia's perspective about recalling her ancestors, Abomination, etc. instead of introducing these two characters who make a quick read into a long and drawn out mess (yes I know Leto is needed for the series to continue, but it still annoys). The chapter wherein Leto countered the Lady Jessica with her own self was, admittedly, rather interesting, as was his transformation, but the rest of him was dull. His character isn't really developed (I garner that it will be in the next book). The part when he roams around the desert on sandworms and encounters various varieties of Fremen as well as a much less interesting Gurney Halleck was just a waste of time. Imagining him travel probably to the other side of the planet on a worm was awe-inspiring, but not something I could carry on doing through 60 pages.Ghanima's role is reduced much of the time and is shown as the weaker of the two. Consequently, she is also more boring than Leto. I'm glad Herbert didn't invest too much in her.A really interesting duo were Farad'n and his Bashar (I forget his name, just Tyek is all I recall). They added a bit of something to the book. I was hoping that there'd be more chapters wherein more of the Lady Jessica's lessons would be illustrated, but alas, there weren't. I had hope in Farad'n, expecting him to play some major role. But ultimately, he fails as Feyd-Rautha of book one does. By 'fail', I don't mean just fail in his mission, but also fail as to deliver something substantial. He ends up submitting peacefully to the now transformed Leto, working as a scribe and historian (plus points for the historian bit, Harq-al Ada's excerpts were fun to read, and I was pleasantly surprised to find out who he/she was).The entire religion concept is, as always, strong. This is perhaps why the book gets three stars out of me instead of two. Paul's return makes his character even more amazing: from an emperor, to a defeated man, to a weak rebel(yes indeed, the Preacher didn't really have much of an impact as he'd have desired), and finally to an insignificant death. In making Paul a tragic hero, Herbert achieved a great deal. Naturally I cannot continue on the religion and philosophy ideals: one must read them to grasp them.Stilgar remains the strongest character. In him, Frank Herbert actually shows a character who was human! No superpowers, just a patriarchal nature, and an intense loyalty to his friend and lord, Paul Atreides. He showed a fair amount of weaknesses - his conflict about Muad'Dib was interesting: he revered and adored Paul, but he disliked his religion and what it had done to the world of Dune. The very start shows him contemplate upon killing the twins for a greater good (some may wish he did), but ultimately he decides to stick to his one strength, i.e. loyalty instead of venturing into the unknown.Duncan Idaho is another strong character, but he ends up doing way too much. He dies quite unnecessarily in my opinion. Stilgar's flight with sixty rebels from Stiech Tabr didn't really affect the main plot, if that's what you'd call it.The story introduces countless new characters who have a hopeless future to ever be developed further. From a Fedaykin called al-Lib or something to another called Buer to an amazon called Zia to some exiled Fremen/Smuggler mixup (I never really cared to clarify) called Muriz to another god-annoying, chapter-eating Fremen called Namri.The end of the book left me considering the awesome power which Leto would behold, and also left me thinking: how much better this plot would have been if Farad'n managed to cause enough trouble to give the story a more dynamic finish. As I said at the very beginning, the book doesn't have an all-culminating purpose or plot. It just adds some more details to characters we already know and introduces new characters like Leto and Ghanima who we didn't really want to know much about. All-in-all, it was a better-than-average read, yet nowhere close to its prequels.
”I must not fear.Fear is the mind-killer.Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration.I will face my fear.I will permit it to pass over me and through me.And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path.Where the fear has gone there will be nothing......Only I will remain."If you have read at least Dune you must be familiar with the above “Litany Against Fear”. I don’t know about you but it gets old very fast for me. When it shows up in Children of Dune I read it like “I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer.” – SHUT UP! Fortunately it only appears once but Mr. Herbert still sneaks in the odd snippet here and there whenever I am feeling too complacent.To my mind the Dune series really finishes with this third volume. It ties up all the loose ends nicely and ends on an optimistic and suitably poignant note. Come to think of it the very first Dune novel feels very complete within itself, and you could read it as one of the greatest standalone sci-fi novels of all time (or one of the most overrated if it doesn’t do it for you).So the Atreides are at it again with their mystical shenanigan. These Atreides are so damn verbose 24/7, I swear none of them is capable of speaking like a normal person. I can not imagine how they say “pass the salt” at dinner without mentioning the cosmic ramifications should the salt passing project not be successfully concluded. That said Children of Dune is actually quite an entertaining read, much more so than Dune Messiah which often had a soporific effect on me when I was reading it. Children of Dune focuses on the two Atreides kids, Leto and Ghanima (or non-kids because their heads are stuffed full of their ancestors’ memories and it makes them super weird). Their father, the legendary Paul Atreides A.K.A. Muad’Dib walked off into the sunset of the Arrakis desert nine years ago, very pissed off about what the world has come to thanks to his leadership. He is now presumed dead as the Dune desert is deadly and not conducive to a pleasant stroll after dinner.The planet Arrakis has come a long way since we first encountered it in Dune the terraforming project is going well and water is more abundant with plants appearing in some areas, other areas of the global desert is becoming moist. Rains and clouds are often seen and early in the novel eight Fremen drown in a flashflood. When you have a culture based on the scarcity of water this development really turns the world upside down. The cultural and social ramifications of Arrakis becoming more watery are the most fascinating aspect of the book for me.The book starts off slowly (as most books do) with the introduction of the Atreides twins and ambles along pleasantly enough. At almost exactly the half way point Mr. Herbert suddenly shifts gears and the novel becomes much more plot intensive and relatively fast paced. Exciting things are certainly afoot in the second half the the novel; featuring a murder plot involving tigers, a possession that makes you fat, the birth of a sort of Duneman superhero and many spoilerish things that I won’t mention (probably said too much already – sorry!).All in all a fun read, there is plenty of subtexts and philosophy to think about if you want to (I had my brain switched off, it’s my standard mode). The theme of religion and fanaticism is ever present. I don’t know if I will go on to read God Emperor of Dune and the subsequent volumes. I am afraid of coming across the Litany Against Fear again.
Do You like book Children Of Dune (1987)?
I should never have started this book just before a day that was supposed to be filled with other kinds of business. I am always sucked into Frank Herbert's universe and no matter how many times I read these books, I still have a dreadful time pulling myself away from them to do mundane tasks, such as clean house, decorate the Christmas tree and buy groceries. In fact, all those tasks had to wait a day, until this book was finished (again). I do think the first book (Dune) was the best one, but I confess to reading the whole series on multiple occasions.Herbert's books are the reason that I knew what "Jihad" meant long before 9/11. He obviously read Machiavelli's The Prince many times. I love the intelligence of his world-building and that is what entrances me each time. The level of detail and the way all the details work so well together.
—Wanda
I was totally obsessed with Dune. I think it is an incredibly classic piece of literature, which is in fact getting better with time like a fine wine, and also just happens to be science-fiction. It’s really this amazing political thriller that it turns out is on another planet, and that is part of its charm. It accepts its setting as is, and it doesn't focus on it, instead expecting the reader to "keep up". Herbert's world creation is so thorough that you are quite aware you are holding an entire universe in your hands and the book is heavy with that pressure. It’s marvelous.And the second one was just so meh . It was completely inaccessible. I felt disconnected from the characters that I had held my breath for in book one, and there was no more urgency to survive. Quite the opposite in fact, the characters were exhausted with the struggle, but then the reader became exhausted as well. I honestly thought about not reading the third one, but when Chunksters (book club here on Goodreads, look them up, they're great) decided to read the series I thought it was finally time to finish it out. I still think by FAR that Dune was superior to its successors in every single way, and I still think it would have been fine (perhaps better) as a standalone novel. The third one though is indeed much better than the second. Again you feel a sense of urgency, and although the climax only comes in the last two-thirds of the book, once you get there is very difficult to put down.What perhaps is the most amazing to me is Herbert's ability to make multiple metaphysical and philosophical points not only on governmental systems but on finding personal happiness. In just a few pages he is able to discuss a stunning amount of what a person feels in everyday life in their connection and series of relationships to all facets of the world around them. Are we not in many ways Paul? Changing our nature's to suit different paths? Are we not the twins, burdened by the lives that have come before us that form the web of cultural and family that we participate in? Are we not Jessica, trying to divide our attentions, loyalties, and emotions from those that we truly feel and from those we have been bred into us by our environment subconsciously and consciously? Herbert is a masterful story teller, and the third book was worth the read.
—Becky
Might work better as a version of Monopoly. Here are some suggestions for the Chance and Community Chest cards:SOMEONE YOU THOUGHT WAS DEAD IS ACTUALLY ALIVE. ADVANCE 5 SPACES.THE MYSTERIOUS STRANGER IS SOMEONE YOU KNEW IN THE FIRST VOLUME. GO BACK 10 SPACES.EVERYONE ELSE IS INVOLVED IN A CONSPIRACY AGAINST YOU. MISS A THROW.PAY A ONE TRILLION CREDIT FINE OR HAVE A MYSTICAL INSIGHT.TURN INTO A GIANT SANDWORM AND EAT ALL THE OTHER PLAYERS.etc etc...
—Manny
