As the title says, the ending of Frank Herbert’s *Dune* thoroughly ruined my enjoyment of the book. Don’t get me wrong, I was deeply enjoying the book for the most part. Sure, there were some moments that I struggled to get through it, but the worldbuilding and political intrigue were *immaculate.* I was deeply enamored with the incredibly unique cultures, factions, technologies, etc. The way that Herbert set up the tense and delicate balance of power between the Emperor, the Landsraad Houses, and the Guild was some of the most interesting political intrigue content I’ve ever read, and I was deeply curious to see how Paul would game the system for his favor.
Picture this: we are approaching the ending to the book. The Padishah Emperor (a being who’s very name weighs down the conversation in which it is uttered) has arrived to Arrakeen in-person with *five legions* of Sardaukar. Reminder, it took only three legions to nearly erase House Atreides from the face of Arrakis. On top of this horrifying military force, the Guild has brought representatives and militaries from *every Landsraad House*, currently hanging in orbit around Arrakis and waiting to be called on by the Emperor. The odds could not be stacked up more against our Paul. Therefore, Paul concocts a strategy to invade Arrakeen under the cover of a sandstorm so that the forces in orbit will not be able to see. This will pit his Fremen against the Emperor’s Sardaukar; a glorious battle that will decide not just the fate of this world, but of the entire Imperium. Truly, this is rearing up to be one of the greatest battles in fiction.
… and then Herbert skips to the end. Baron Harkonnen is killed by Alia, a character who has no motivation to kill the man (as opposed to Paul, Gurney Halleck, or Thufir Hawat who all deserve revenge against him.) The Sardaukar are completely and utterly defeated entirely off-screen. Rabban Harkonnen, governor of Arrakis, is also killed off-screen, which removes the possibility for an epic final battle between him and Halleck. Then, Paul saunters into the Arrakeen palace, summons the Emperor and his entourage, and proceeds to have an egotistical argument with everyone in the room (friend and foe alike). His plotline about being a reasonable and kind leader in order to prevent jihad? Thrown out the window, as he brazenly flexes his superiority and postulates that the offworlders are entirely deserving of suffering and extermination. Halleck’s plotline about dedicating his entire life to get revenge on Harkonnens? Unimportant, because Paul needs to show off some more and duel Feyd-Rautha. All of the Emperor’s established genius and intimidation? Reduced to ash to stroke Paul’s ego. I refuse to believe that the Emperor would submit so easily to Paul and give up the throne just like that, but the story needed to end and so a potentially really interesting political battle was just scrapped.
Paul became a full-on Mary Sue at the end of this book. He knows everything, he can beat everyone in a fight, and his rampant cruelty and egotism are completely forgiven because he’s Muad’Dib. He became the worst possible version of himself, and this is celebrated as a good thing. He has completely lost the compassion for the common man that his father Leto had (he even goes so far as to encourage the weak townspeople to act as human shields for his soldiers). He berates his own mother, his mentor Gurney, and his followers. The only person who he doesn’t brazenly disrespect is Chani, yet he still immediately marries a different woman in front of her.
I can see how people would like this ending, as it is a Total Victory for Paul. Yet, it felt to me like it came way too easy, and that the book deliberately skipped all of the more interesting plotlines just to give Paul an immediate victory over the entirety of the Imperium, Landsraad Houses, and Guild. This ending felt so cheap to me that it’s making me grow contemptuous of the entire book, which I recognize is unfair, but also true. In my opinion, Herbert fumbled at the finish line here.
And so I write to you all, asking to hear your thoughts. If you disagree with me, please explain to me how you enjoyed this ending. I honestly feel like I’m missing something, but I can’t imagine what.
I hope this doesn’t come across as too whiny. I am trying to be fair, but I just cannot wrap my head around how this is perceived as a fitting ending to the most legendary Science Fiction book of all time. As I said, if you disagree with me, please share your thoughts down below.
**I have not read the other books, and at this point I don’t plan to, so feel free to spoil those in your responses.**
by Cambabamba7
1 Comment
I mean, the first book is a setup for the downfall in the second book (and really they are, imo one book split into two parts), the stuff you complained about seems like you’re missing the point. Who gives a shit about the fascist super soldiers losing off screen when it was already made clear the Fremen were better on top of being in their peak environment. Nobody, at least me, wants to sit through a fight scene where the inevitable fact of what we know comes true. The Fremen, while oppressed, we know will become the oppressors as we throughout the book find out that Paul’s visions are coming true without or without his agency because everything has been put into place for this moment to occur without the knowledge or care about what it will inevitably lead to…a fascistic genocide out of the control of the person in charge.
His precients throughout the book is built up to be his knowledge of the world he exists in and the inevitable downfall because of his position that he is unwilling/unable to fight against. In this sense, for me, the novel is in part a horror novel and finding out you are the monster.
And in general I think it more accurately reflects the realities of how the thing Herbert is writing about actually comes together. The person who needs the catharsis doesn’t get it, the tools they used to take out the threat are double edged, and in the end even when they win we know the reality of what is to come because of this win and how it was obtained through generations of manipulation and cohersion is far more dire.