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More than three thousand years have passed since the first events recorded in Frank Herbert's DUNE. Only one link survives with those tumultuous times: the grotesque figure of Leto Atreides, son of the prophet Paul Muad'Dib, and now the virtually immortal God Emperor of Dune. He alone understands the future, and he knows with a terrible certainty that the evolution of his race is at an end unless he can breed new qualities into his species. But to achieve his final victory, Leto Atreides show more must also bring about his own downfall . . .. show less
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“When the myth dies, the government dies.”
So this one had a huge time jump and a new cast of characters... other than Leto II, but he's so different at this point he feels new. I have to say that this one might be my second favorite. I think it was incredibly different than the first three in the writing style and tone. It's less focused on the ecology and politics of Arrakis. It just all feels like a different type of book. I loved that it was more of like a history/mythology type thing in a way. I think that the writing style of this one is much easier to follow than the first three. I also enjoy that it shifts focus on the topics it finds important. I liked the gender dynamic in this one a lot. I really feel like this one was show more harder to put down than some of the others and I honestly am dying to see what comes next in the series because of this one.
In this one Leto pretty much is a tyrant, but is determined to follow his Golden Path, that will prove him one day to be a savior. Everyone sees Leto as a God and he helps to cultivate this image. What I found incredibly interesting was how much Leto actually hated his role. It was interesting to watch how much he loathed the way he was worshipped. Leto's plan has involved him taking over the Bene Gesserit breeding plan and he seems to have created an array of citizens who have the characteristics he deems most important.
The Atreides line continues on and it appears a lot of them have been rebels who he has one over to his side over the years. I also love that Leto's military is made up of women because he sees them as more able to protect society than destroy it. Siona is an amazing new character. I love her rebel spirit and that despite her connections to the God Emperor she never seems to waiver from her goal to destroy him at all costs. She is probably one of the best female characters I've seen in this series. show less
So this one had a huge time jump and a new cast of characters... other than Leto II, but he's so different at this point he feels new. I have to say that this one might be my second favorite. I think it was incredibly different than the first three in the writing style and tone. It's less focused on the ecology and politics of Arrakis. It just all feels like a different type of book. I loved that it was more of like a history/mythology type thing in a way. I think that the writing style of this one is much easier to follow than the first three. I also enjoy that it shifts focus on the topics it finds important. I liked the gender dynamic in this one a lot. I really feel like this one was show more harder to put down than some of the others and I honestly am dying to see what comes next in the series because of this one.
In this one Leto pretty much is a tyrant, but is determined to follow his Golden Path, that will prove him one day to be a savior. Everyone sees Leto as a God and he helps to cultivate this image. What I found incredibly interesting was how much Leto actually hated his role. It was interesting to watch how much he loathed the way he was worshipped. Leto's plan has involved him taking over the Bene Gesserit breeding plan and he seems to have created an array of citizens who have the characteristics he deems most important.
The Atreides line continues on and it appears a lot of them have been rebels who he has one over to his side over the years. I also love that Leto's military is made up of women because he sees them as more able to protect society than destroy it. Siona is an amazing new character. I love her rebel spirit and that despite her connections to the God Emperor she never seems to waiver from her goal to destroy him at all costs. She is probably one of the best female characters I've seen in this series. show less
I read this fourth book of the Dune series when it was first published in my early teens. Returning to it more than forty years later, I find that I hardly remembered anything about it except for its broadest gestures. Given the resolution of the previous volume, it is unsurprising that this one is set millennia afterward with the same main character, and there is a sense in which this is the second half of the story of Leto II from Children of Dune, just as Dune Messiah was the second half of the story of Paul Muad'Dib from Dune. But Herbert ups the ante on his documentary conceit by supplying a frame story of archeological work taking place many thousands of years later still, when the Dune that had become a green Arrakis had returned show more to desert Dune and then been greened once more to Rakis. The chapter epigrams are nearly all from a text called "The Stolen Journals" of Leto II.
In my recent re-read of Children of Dune, I had complained that the principal characters were all exotic and transhuman to the point that I had difficulty sympathizing with any of them. Considering the nature of the God Emperor Leto II and his transformation of human society, one might expect that trouble to be even greater in this book, but it wasn't. A very large portion of the book gives omniscient perspective on the God Emperor's thoughts, and Herbert does an impressive job of making him seem like a superhuman mind still intelligible to the reader. It helps that he has actual memory of our terrestrial cultures and civilizations.
The countlessly reiterated ghola Duncan Idaho supplies an anchoring perspective of sorts, by reproducing a character as he existed in the very first book of the series, but dropping him into this remote context. The relationship between Duncan and Leto II reminded me a little of the relationship between Ben and Mike in the final portion of Heinlein's Stranger in a Strange Land. There is even a moment when Duncan like Ben is made into an object lesson in homophobia.*
The pacing of this book is decidedly sedate compared to the preceding volumes. Evidently, this style shift is a function of having been originally drafted in the first person with Leto as the speaker. Even when centering on other characters like the majordomo Moneo Atreides and the rebel Siona Atreides, the prose tends toward a high degree of interiority. A conspicuous exception to this trend is the Ixian ambassador Hwi Noree, who is very much an object in many senses.
Although there is opposition to the God Emperor, the sort of active scheming of conspirators that had tended to figure as antagonism in this series is muted here. For all the passage of time and the changes that have been wrought by Leto's reign, the key factions still include the Spacing Guild, Bene Gesserit, Bene Tleilax, and Ixian technologists. Leto's own human breeding program seems to have exceeded that of the Bene Gesserit in scope and ambition.
The liturgical element of God Emperor of Dune is trained on the ceremony of Siaynoq, a melange-assisted eucharist exclusive to Leto's priestess army of Fish Speakers. There is also a process of ritual initiation and ordeal (albeit not very ceremonial) that the God Emperor uses to instill consciousness of the Golden Path in the line of Atreides descendants.
The 2019 Ace Premium edition I just read carried a largely useless introduction by Brian Herbert, consisting mostly of hagiography regarding his dad.
*Edited to add: In Herbert's case, this may be a penance for having used homosexuality to emphasize the depravity of Baron Harkonnen in Dune. If Heinlein was similarly atoning for homophobia in his earlier work, I'm not aware of the particular instance. show less
In my recent re-read of Children of Dune, I had complained that the principal characters were all exotic and transhuman to the point that I had difficulty sympathizing with any of them. Considering the nature of the God Emperor Leto II and his transformation of human society, one might expect that trouble to be even greater in this book, but it wasn't. A very large portion of the book gives omniscient perspective on the God Emperor's thoughts, and Herbert does an impressive job of making him seem like a superhuman mind still intelligible to the reader. It helps that he has actual memory of our terrestrial cultures and civilizations.
The countlessly reiterated ghola Duncan Idaho supplies an anchoring perspective of sorts, by reproducing a character as he existed in the very first book of the series, but dropping him into this remote context. The relationship between Duncan and Leto II reminded me a little of the relationship between Ben and Mike in the final portion of Heinlein's Stranger in a Strange Land. There is even a moment when Duncan like Ben is made into an object lesson in homophobia.*
The pacing of this book is decidedly sedate compared to the preceding volumes. Evidently, this style shift is a function of having been originally drafted in the first person with Leto as the speaker. Even when centering on other characters like the majordomo Moneo Atreides and the rebel Siona Atreides, the prose tends toward a high degree of interiority. A conspicuous exception to this trend is the Ixian ambassador Hwi Noree, who is very much an object in many senses.
Although there is opposition to the God Emperor, the sort of active scheming of conspirators that had tended to figure as antagonism in this series is muted here. For all the passage of time and the changes that have been wrought by Leto's reign, the key factions still include the Spacing Guild, Bene Gesserit, Bene Tleilax, and Ixian technologists. Leto's own human breeding program seems to have exceeded that of the Bene Gesserit in scope and ambition.
The liturgical element of God Emperor of Dune is trained on the ceremony of Siaynoq, a melange-assisted eucharist exclusive to Leto's priestess army of Fish Speakers. There is also a process of ritual initiation and ordeal (albeit not very ceremonial) that the God Emperor uses to instill consciousness of the Golden Path in the line of Atreides descendants.
The 2019 Ace Premium edition I just read carried a largely useless introduction by Brian Herbert, consisting mostly of hagiography regarding his dad.
*Edited to add: In Herbert's case, this may be a penance for having used homosexuality to emphasize the depravity of Baron Harkonnen in Dune. If Heinlein was similarly atoning for homophobia in his earlier work, I'm not aware of the particular instance. show less
There's a lot of things I'm feeling after finishing this WILD-ass book but mostly I am just in awe of Mr. Herbert's mind. From the structure of the world to the geography and science to just the way things are named, this man is an absolute crackpot genius. There is SO much going on at all times, the smallest movement feels like the difference between life and death, but it also feels like absolutely nothing, because all people ever do is talk about what they're going to do and talk about what's going to happen and what other people have said to them and talk and talk and talk. All the action happens off the page. It's a bore, a mess, a waste, an exploration, an exercise in endurance, a true romance, a wonderful fucking book. I don't know.
Okay, that was a bit of a slog. I still loved it, but it was intensely boring. There were long passages in which I wish everyone would just STFU, but skimming it or skipping it wouldn't do. This is not an action hero story. It's a story about ruthless political power in the face of the ultimate destruction. If you think that's going to make a Marvel movie, think again.
I think I'm going to give the series a bit of a break here and start up again in November or December.
I think I'm going to give the series a bit of a break here and start up again in November or December.
God Emperor of Dune is most notable for how radically different it is from every other book in the Dune saga. Simply put, it is extremely strange; to some, it is offputting and too great of a departure from what came before, but, to me and many others, it is one of the best books in the series and could even rival the first for the title of the greatest entry overall. It focuses on philosophy to an even greater extent than Children of Dune and holds essentially none of the dynamism and action of every previous entry, but what God Emperor of Dune offers is a visceral exploration of the personality and thoughts of Leto II, one of the most fascinating characters in science fiction, and a thoughtful reflection on how many horrible acts can show more be committed in service of the greater good before all morals are shattered. God Emperor of Dune takes many risks, as it centers around Leto II even more than Dune centers around Paul while also sacrificing the prominence of many of the series' most memorable factions, but it achieves something truly special as a result and makes readers contemplative and immersed in a way that practically no other Dune book, or piece of literature in general, can. show less
The fourth book in the original Dune series takes a stark turn form the patterns established by Herbert in his first three installments. Set 4,000 years after the events of the last book, this story does not concern itself with the manipulations of multiple factions struggling for control over a scarce resource; rather it looks at a single entity controlling the culture of millions. Where he used to shy away from such things, here Herbert adds many descriptions of action sequence and the human body to demonstrate the horror and frustration of the humans forced to serve the monstrous and inhuman Leto II. While the imagery and narrative structure of the book is new, the themes presented are familiar. Herbert is constantly interested in show more the ways that history and sexuality (often unstated) feed human desire and how culture creates leaders. Good stuff! show less
Well that was a book. And I say this as someone who grew up with the 1984 film, both miniseries, and who read "Dune" three times. That was... a book.
I've read so many of the prequels, and the first three "Dune" novels, and honestly this was one of the most unforgivably grueling entries in the series.
For the record, a jaded immortal rambling is right up my alley, but jeez is this the most boring version of it, in part because of what he's rambling ABOUT.A ton of homophobia, sexism, sexual objectification... This book's got it all! A compelling cast, though, it unfortunately does not have. Until we get to Malky, who is actually a fun character. His relationship with Leto II is actually one of the few book highlights, and honestly one I show more read as canonically queer. Moneo and Anteac were basically the only other two fun characters, and Moneo is increasingly more sympathetic as the story moves on. Duncan Idaho as a raging homophobe, and Leto II (and Moneo) seemingly using homophobia as a way to manipulate him, is... Well. As miserable as it sounds. That being said, there is a moment where Moneo mentions that queer folks have been some of the finest examples of humanity, in what seems to be a rather honest moment. So it's kind of hard to parse at times where this story's stance on any particular thing is. But the story itself isn't actually worth trying to parse it out, anyway. A white cis het man in the 80s writing that "actually queer people can be valuable to society sometimes" at one point in an overly long book that largely consisted of other terrible stuff is not a fun time. And quite frankly if you ever liked Duncan, you will probably hate half this book, because woof, he is pretty terrible in it.
I could go on how this book writes female POVs or about women generally. It's... quite frankly just gross at the best of times, focusing on their value as sexual objects, their focus on having sex and procreation... The worst of the male gaze.The premise that women can't be rapists. Which is seemingly disproved at the beginning of the sequel? It's bad. It's uncomfortable.
The plot is pretty depressing, and reads, typically, like a Republican trying to write a left-leaning centrist. Which, to be fair, is sort of what Leto II is supposed to be: a despot who thinks he knows better than everyone else (of course he's also supposed to be a character who DOES know better on most things, which makes his both sides rhetoric that leans rightwing rather pathetic). On so many different topics, Herbert's progressive side seems to get so close to actual progressivism,e.g., the stance on what prisons are ACTUALLY for, how police work , but I think it got mired down in either Leto II's arrogance or his own. And so much of it reads like someone trying to write a smart character who is smarter than they are... and unfortunately failing, because mostly, with smart characters, you want to hide your hand, because impossibly smart characters will always be smarter than the people writing them. And when a reader can spot that, it makes the character look stupid and then, well... believing they're somehow brilliant just doesn't work. In short, most of the book is Leto II implying he's intelligent, and spouting a lot of babble about how he thinks power structures work, and how he thinks sex differences work, and not much time is spent on anything actually happening outside the background. Leto II will talk for a chapter, and someone will say "yes I did x like you asked" and then go somewhere else.
The style of the book itself is also incredibly difficult to parse. It's not just the constant switches from different ancient documents back to Leto II's perspective or the timeskips, but also the way perspective shifts occur WITHIN chapters. There will be POV switches from paragraph to paragraph without proper introduction, and you'll only realize there's a change at the end of the paragraph you're reading, when it notes who was talking. It's incredibly confusing and off-putting. I don't know if it's meant to somehow represent Leto II's Other Memory or something, and the chaos of it, but even if it is, it's not comfortable to read, and quite frankly just ANNOYING.
And then we get to Hwi Noree. Well, we get to Leto II andDuncan looking at Hwi. For some unexplained reason, Leto II is deeply in love with Hwi on first sight, and becomes increasingly creepy in his descriptions of her almost immediately. Most of their relationship is him talking at her about how sweet she is, when she's barely done more than stand in place and cry a little, or gasp. Duncan is similarly set up towards Hwi, but at least part of his relationship with her can be explained through them being in lust with each other. Unfortunately, Herbert seems to be writing this as them also being in love with each other, which... is quite frankly one of the most uncomfortable storylines to read since I last read a "Wheel of Time" book .
There are rare moments where you can tell Herbert was onto something about how immortality works (particularly when you're the only one), with how empire works... Leto II's test of Siona was actually oddly sweet in some ways. And I think Leto II's ultimate meeting with Malky (and Moneo) is quite poignant, and a really great ex-lover's spat, and it's honestly almost hard to remember how homophobic this book is during that section (though it's also quite easy, as it's heavily implied Malky raped Hwi, confirming that even when someone like Moneo applauds queer folk, queer folk confirm Duncan's bigotry). I also think the scene where Moneo easily avoids Duncan's attack is excellent. . But overall it's stuck in this morass of sexism, homophobia (whether as satire, characterization, or not, it's frankly boring), and Leto II talking at people and pretending to be smart and interesting while basically nothing happens. Brian Herbert opens the sequel noting that the books improved with each sequel... and I respectfully disagree, at least in the case of "God Emperor of Dune". show less
I've read so many of the prequels, and the first three "Dune" novels, and honestly this was one of the most unforgivably grueling entries in the series.
For the record, a jaded immortal rambling is right up my alley, but jeez is this the most boring version of it, in part because of what he's rambling ABOUT.
I could go on how this book writes female POVs or about women generally. It's... quite frankly just gross at the best of times, focusing on their value as sexual objects, their focus on having sex and procreation... The worst of the male gaze.
The plot is pretty depressing, and reads, typically, like a Republican trying to write a left-leaning centrist. Which, to be fair, is sort of what Leto II is supposed to be: a despot who thinks he knows better than everyone else (of course he's also supposed to be a character who DOES know better on most things, which makes his both sides rhetoric that leans rightwing rather pathetic). On so many different topics, Herbert's progressive side seems to get so close to actual progressivism,
The style of the book itself is also incredibly difficult to parse. It's not just the constant switches from different ancient documents back to Leto II's perspective or the timeskips, but also the way perspective shifts occur WITHIN chapters. There will be POV switches from paragraph to paragraph without proper introduction, and you'll only realize there's a change at the end of the paragraph you're reading, when it notes who was talking. It's incredibly confusing and off-putting. I don't know if it's meant to somehow represent Leto II's Other Memory or something, and the chaos of it, but even if it is, it's not comfortable to read, and quite frankly just ANNOYING.
And then we get to Hwi Noree. Well, we get to Leto II and
There are rare moments where you can tell Herbert was onto something about how immortality works (particularly when you're the only one), with how empire works...
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Author Information
Frank Herbert was born Franklin Patrick Herbert, Jr. in Tacoma, Washington on October 8, 1920. He worked originally as a journalist, but then turned to science fiction. His Dune series has had a major impact on that genre. Some critics assert that Herbert is responsible for bringing in a new branch of ecological science fiction. He had a personal show more interest in world ecology, and consulted with the governments of Vietnam and Pakistan about ecological issues. The length of some of Herbert's novels also helped make it acceptable for science fiction authors to write longer books. It is clear that, if the reader is engaged by the story---and Herbert certainly has the ability to engage his readers---length is not important. As is usually the case with popular fiction, it comes down to whether or not the reader is entertained, and Herbert is, above all, an entertaining and often compelling writer. His greatest talent is his ability to create new worlds that are plausible to readers, in spite of their alien nature, such as the planet Arrakis in the Dune series. Frank Herbert died of complications from pancreatic cancer on February, 11, 1986, in Madison, Wisconsin. He was 65. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
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Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- God Emperor of Dune
- Original title
- God Emperor Of Dune; God Emperor of Dune
- Original publication date
- 1981-05
- People/Characters
- Leto Atreides II; Duncan Idaho; Siona Atreides; Hwi Noree; Moneo Atreides; Nayla (show all 12); Tertius Eileen Anteac; Luyseyal; Paul Atreides (mentioned); Ghanima Atreides (mentioned); Farad'n Corrino; Malky
- Important places
- Arrakis (Dune); Rakis; Dune; Idaho River, Rakis; Babylon; Arrakeen, Arrakis
- Important events
- Butlerian Jihad (mentioned)
- Epigraph
- This morning I was born in a yurt at the edge of a horse-plain in a land of a planet which no longer exists.
Tomorrow I will be born someone else in another place. I have not yet chosen. This morning, though - ahhh. t... (show all)his life!
When my eyes had learned to focus, I looked out at sunshine on trampled grass and I saw vigorous people going about the sweet activities of their lives.
Where ... oh where has all of that vigor gone?
~ The Stolen Journals - Dedication
- To Peggy Rowntree with love and admiration and deep appreciation
- First words
- It not only is my pleasure to announce to you this morning our discovery of this marvelous storehouse containing, among other things, a monumental collection of manuscripts inscribed on ridulian crystal paper, but I also take... (show all) pride in giving you our arguments for the authenticity of our discoveries, to tell you why we believe we have uncovered the original journals of Leto II, the God Emperor.
The three people running northward through moon shadows in the Forbidden Forest were strung out along almost half a kilometer. - Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)As the poet, Lon Bramlis, has said: "We are the fountain of surprises!"
- Original language
- English
- Canonical DDC/MDS
- 813.087625
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- Science Fiction, Fiction and Literature
- DDC/MDS
- 813.087625 — Literature & rhetoric American literature in English American fiction in English By type Genre fiction Adventure fiction Speculative fiction Science fiction Space opera
- LCC
- PS3558 .E63 .G6 — Language and Literature American literature American literature Individual authors 1961-
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