I recently made a post on how beautiful the ending of Dune Messiah was, it took me aback how well made that novel was and in many ways for me surpassed the first. Children of Dune was also very good, much grander in scale. It was a slog to get through sometimes but very worth it, thoroughly enjoyed it.
God Emperor of Dune though. Wow this is my favourite in the series and one of the greatest sci-fi books I’ve ever read. It’s rich with deep philosophy and powerful themes, it feels like everything Frank Herbert was trying to tell and write came together in the culmination in this book. The themes are Dune and ultimately the message is most prevalent in this one.
It's my favorite because of the impact that it has on the rest of the series. Patterns that began in the first three books come to fruition in God Emperor, and it sets up a vastly different universe for the last two.
We gain an understanding of the Golden Path and the plots within plots that Leto set up to ensure it. The impact of Leto's sacrifice slowly unravels in this book.
We get a much deeper look at Duncan, which in my opinion is one of the most complex characters I’ve ever read, a man doomed to die and live again with memories of all those deaths. A man searching for his souls. An immortal without a choice or the facilities to deal with that immortality, unlike Leto. A man who was once great but who has spent most of his lives irrelevant until he is pushed to catalyze a change in the universe once again. Despite Duncan being a clone, he feels the most human out of all the characters.
I wouldn’t say it’s a fun book, but neither are any of them. This book doesn’t hold back in exploring weirder and more intricate topics, it doesn’t tell you a story you want to hear, but a instead it tells a story you need to hear. It’s a very powerful book, I could rant on forever about it. It certainly isn’t for everyone, but I truly loved it. I’m excited to continue on and see what happens in Heretics and Chapterhouse.
by EldenBeast_55