By Frank Herbert

So now we get on to the books that I have never read before, but it is interesting to get further into this series.

“Dune Messiah continues the story of Paul Atreides, better known- and feared- as the man christened Muad’Dib. As Emperor of the known universe, he possesses more power than a single man was ever meant to wield. Worshipped as a religious icon by the Fremen, Paul faces the enmity of the political houses he displaced when he assumed the throne – and a conspiracy conducted within his own sphere of influence.

And even House Atreides begins to crumble around him from the machinations of his enemies, the true threat to Paul comes to his lover, Chani, and the unborn heir to his family’s dynasty…”

This book is a fascinating sequel to the original. It answers the question of what happens after you win everything. And what it costs to get there.

For this story, I have three thoughts.

Firstly, I would like to talk about the Missionaria Protectiva. This is something that came up in the first book but we see all the effects of it. The Missionaria Protectiva was something that the Bene Gesserit created myths about in the native population in order to keep them safe in times of trouble. In Dune, Jessica and Paul use this to keep them safe among the Fremen and get them to fight for them. At the beginning of the book, we hear that the holy wars in his name have killed 61 billion people and sterilized 90 planets. We also see that Paul hates how he is seen as a god. It is an interesting question about whether all this destruction was worth it.

Secondly, I would like to talk about Hayt /Duncan Idaho. This character brings up some interesting questions: What does it mean to bring someone back? What happens when that person looks right but has none of their memories? I find it fascinating that we don’t see much of Duncan Idaho in the first book, but we hear a lot about him and the fact that the Tleilaxu choose him to bring back as an attack on Paul.

Thirdly, I would like to talk about Paul’s visions. Throughout the book we see the way that he keeps trying to avoid the paths of possible futures that he sees in an attempt to avoid more damage and death. Right up to the moment where he needs them to see where he is required to pretend to see so he can hold on to power a little longer. I find it interesting how Frank Herbert takes a character with so much power as Paul’s visions but finds ways to limit it, whether by creating ways that people can hide from it to having Paul himself refuse to go down certain mental paths.

Thank you for joining me and until next week.

Happy reading to all and to all a good night.