God Emperor of Dune (Dune Chronicles, Book 4)
by Frank Herbert
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Book Summary Information
Author: Frank HerbertEdition: Mass Market Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 1987-06-15
ISBN: 0441294677
Number of pages: 423
Publisher: Ace Books
Book Reviews of God Emperor of Dune (Dune Chronicles, Book 4)
Book Review: This is the setup for all the rest.
Summary: 5 Stars
God Emperor of Dune is my second favorite of the whole series after the first Dune. In retrospect, I could have skipped Dune Messiah, and skimmed Children.
I'll skip the plot recap as this is covered in a many of the other reviews and give my explanations of why I feel this book is not to be missed.
First, it returns to the grand a sweeping scale of narrative that Herbert used in the original Dune. We are placed at the exact cusp of history where a 3500 year plan is reaching its dramatic finish. Familiar forces, are plotting. Ixian's, Spacing Guild, Bene Gesserit, Tleilaxu.
Second, Herbert gives us some of the most finely drawn characters to date. I particularly liked Moneo and Hwi Noree. Hwi is the daughter of an Ixian spy who was one of Leto's favorite's. (You have to love an all powerfull, all seeing Emperor who can become fast friends with someone who makes no secret of their desire to cause his downfall.) and she was created as the ultimate trap for Leto, someone with whom he could not help but fall in love with. And Moneo is Leo's majordomo, the human face of the emperor, the loyal servant. He's an Atredies, how can be be anything but!?
I think here is the true appeal of Herbert. He takes us on a grand sweep of interstellar intrigue, dives deeply into the philosophy and dangers of being all seeing-all knowing, yet, at the very end, what truly makes the difference is the deepest and most ingrained human traits of love, loyalty and desire for freedom. We are presented Leto, the 3500 year old God Emperor who has turned himself into a sandworm. He is reviled through the known universe because he is a total despot. But layer by layer we are allowed to see exactly what Leto is doing. Simply saying - Leto see's a 'Golden Path', and he is leading humanity to brighter future - is nothing to letting us see the pain he feels as having lost all connection with humanity because of his transformation. Seeing the ultimate boredom of having perfect prescience, and being unable to be surprised by anything for millennium as we are given tiny glimpses of the catastrophe Leto has foreseen and the sacrifice required to avert it Eventually we realize the lesson Leto is trying to teach is that if HE was created, then something like him will be created again, and again and the end result of this will be the extinction of all humanity because if you can find and predict what every human will do, and where they will be and when, then you can destroy all of them, and if you can destroy all of them, eventually, it will happen.
Then there is Duncan Idaho. From the first Dune, we recall Duncan Idaho as an intensely loyal bodyguard to Paul Atredies. Duncan dies in the original Dune, but the Tleilaxu have preserved his cells and keep sending ghola's to Leto to serve him. Of course the Tleilaxu (the Dirty Tleilaxu!) have their own agenda but Herbert, who takes the long view of things, leaves that for another day (and novel). The idea of an unbroken line of Duncan Idaho's serving Leto for three thousand years is explored to excellent effect and Herbert only teases us with a some hints as to what Leto is up to. There is something he prizes in those ancient genes.
Through the whole novel we have had repeated references to Leto's Golden Path. The short explanation given is that this is the path that will guarantee the survival of humanity, but the down deeper its Leto's solution to the trap of the perfect Oracle. But at the end, we discover that it was never a path at all. It is a person, and that person being Siona, the daughter of Moneo Atredies. The ultimate creation of the breeding program he took away from the Bene Gesserit (Yes, they are still around and kicking, Leto clearly has plans for them.) She will save humanity because she is invisible to Leto and to prescience and she will spread those precious genes throughout the universe.
As for Siona. Although she is Moneo's daughter and an Atredies, she is presented as a rebel who works with factions that seek to destroy Leto. One of my favorite chapters is when Siona is sent out to the desert with Leto and made to take the spice essence and, being a true Atredies, it awakens her own dormant prescience. It is a delicious chapter showing how Leto uses this punishment to force Siona to see what he sees. Afterward, she hates him even more, because he has made her see the enormity of what is at stake.
Finally, my recommendation for reading order of the whole series and which books you can skip.
Dune
You can just read plot summaries of Dune Messiah and Children of Dune.
God Emperor of Dune
Heretics of Dune (Miles Teg, favorite Dune character ever!)
Chapterhouse Dune
Then read Machine Crusade and Butlerian Jihad
Then the final two Hunters of Dune and Sandworms of Dune.
I will avoid further spoilers, but only say what then you get to the very end you will look back to God Emperor of Dune and say....Herbert, you son of a gun.
Summary of God Emperor of Dune (Dune Chronicles, Book 4)
Centuries have passed on Dune, and the planet is green with life. Leto, the son of Dune's savior, is still alive but far from human, and the fate of all humanity hangs on his awesome sacrifice...
"Rich fare...heady stuff." --Los Angeles Times
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