Dune Messiah

This book was another wonderful reminder to Frank Herbert’s incredible literary dancing. Frank doesn’t pick and choose between “remarkable story” and “impressive prose”, but welds both into a coherent world that is incredibly enjoyable every step of the way.

If the first book in the series was about raising up the Fremen to their own independence, then this book details the intricacies involved in maintaining that transition, or more specifically, government. For this reason, many will not recognize the same Muad’Dib as the first book portrayed, but I thought this was a very pertinent side to Paul that we are shown. Being an Emperor comes with certain costs to personality and conduct. At the same time, Paul is approaching the very event that he has made such desperation to avoid. It was an impressive story arc, another solid development in the world of Dune.