| Author: | Frank Herbert |
| Copyright: | 1969 |
| Date Reviewed: | |
| Rating: | 8.0 |
Synopsis: It has been 12 years since Paul Maud'dib Atreides took over the empire. He set himself up as ruler and religious leader of all the people in the known galaxy. In that time, his bloody Jihad has taken the lives of a hundred billion people and had destroyed 90 worlds. With his prescient vision, Paul could see the Jihad coming but could not stop it because of the terrible alternatives that might follow.
Needless to say, Paul has many enemies and four of them conspire to defeat him. An assassination would not work - they want to control Paul. There are four chief conspirators. Princess Irulan is the daughter of the former emperor Shaddam IV and Paul's wife but she has no bond on him. Their marriage could never be consummated because of Paul's love for Chani. The Reverend Mother of the Bene Gesserit, Gaius Helen Mohiam was the one who first tested Paul and found that he could be the Kwisatz Haderach. The two new comers are Scytale, a Tleilaxu Face Dancer, and Edric, a third stage Guild Navigator.
The conspiracy begins when Edric arrives on Arrakis to begin treaty talks and gives the emperor the gift of a ghola named Hayt. A ghola is a dead man who has been brought back to life but has no memory of his former self. The ghola Hayt now wears the body of Duncan Idaho, a long time fried to Paul who gave his life so that Paul and his mother could escape the Harkonnen attack against the Atreides. Everyone is suspicious of this gift. The ghola freely admits he was sent to destroy Paul in some subtle way but he doesn't know how he will do it.
Princesses Irulan has her own plots against the ruler. For the past 12 years, Paul and Chani have been trying to bear a child but with no success. Irulan has been secretly feeding Chani a contraceptive all this time. Irulan wants a child of her own to rule the empire. The Bene Gesserit wants this also because it would preserve the bloodlines they have been tending so carefully for the past 90 generations. Chani goes to the desert to find a cure and is put on a strict ancient diet. Since Irulan can no longer give her the contraceptive, Chani quickly conceives. However, because of the contraceptive already in her body, the two fetus in Chani's womb grow very quickly forcing her to eat five times as much as she normally would. Chani wants Irulan killed for this but Paul does not allow it because of something he's seen in one of his visions.
The plot thickens again. A young girl named Lichna is brought before Maud'dib with a message from her father Otheym that Maud'dib must see him. Otheym was once a member of Sietch Tabr. Paul is sadden because he sees the truth. Lichna before him is really the Face Dancer Scytale. The real Lichna was previously found in the desert with no face. Paul takes the bait and goes to Otheym with many of his troops secretly guarding him. Here he is given another human gift - a Tleilaxu dwarf with a memory recording of all of Paul's enemies. Paul is also told that the house at the end of the street is a meeting place for many of his foes. As they are leaving, a stone burner is used against Otheym's house. The use of atomics is strictly forbidden. Everyone who was looking in the direction of that house is now blind. Paul too has no eyes but he can see well enough with his prescient vision.
Bijaz the dwarf has another purpose. With a keyword he awakens the Duncan Idaho in the ghola to produce a real man. Meanwhile, Chani dies giving birth to twins. Paul has seen this and is brought to his love. Now comes the attempted destruction of Paul. Scytale convinces Paul's sister Alia to bring him into the death chamber with Duncan Idaho. Scytale explains that the Tleilaxu have finally succeeded in resurrecting the dead and will do so for Chani for a price - control of the empire. As an added insensitive, if Paul agrees, Scytale will not kill the two infants with the knife he holds above their crib. Suddenly Paul sees Scytale from the perspective of the crib - he is seeing the traitor through the eyes of his new born son who was born, like his sister and his aunt Alia, with full awareness. This give Paul the strength to kill Scytale.
With the conspiracy over, Paul sees that the empire no longer needs his physical presence and goes into the desert to die. Alia orders the execution of the Reverend Mother and Edric. With her new love Duncan, Alia will serve as regency of the government until the twins are old enough.
Review: I've read "Dune" three time. The first time was in 1970 when I was 13 years old and I didn't understand it. I read the book again in 1977 and enjoyed it very much. Later I read the two sequels "Dune Messiah" and "Children of Dune". Since then two more sequels and a move have come out. Just before the movie's release I re-read "Dune" to bone up on the story. I liked the book and the movie very much (although the movie was panned by everyone). With the movie now playing the cable circuit, I've decided to read all the sequels.
The first time I read "Dune Messiah" I was not impressed. As compared to most of the science fictions I read today, "Dune Messiah" is very good and I rated it that way but compare it to the masterpiece "Dune" you will find it lacking. "Dune" told of intrigue, war, political power, alliances and plans within plans. "Dune Messiah" is simply about a conspiracy. There is a single large plot and a few smaller ones which don't seem to blend in well with the larger plot. I also would have liked to have seen more of Alia - she could be a very interesting character. It may sound like I'm berating the book but I did enjoy it. From the length of this synopsis one can tell that there really was a lot of plot to tell (unlike the last book by Delany). I'm looking forward to the next sequel - but should I read that next or give myself a break with a different kind of Science Fiction?