If you missed it, check out our previous review on Dune. What follows concerns the sequel, Dune: Messiah.
Sequels can go different directions. You can run it back, like the Hunger Games franchise. You can pick up where you left off, as seen in the Wheel of Time or Lord of the Rings. You can make everything more difficult, like The Deaths of Tao.
Messiah takes another path. It dives deep into the question: What if the protagonist got everything they wanted at the end of the first book, for better or worse. How can he escape the chains he has forged for himself?
The Basics:
Title: Dune: Messiah
Author: Frank Herbert
Genre: Science Fiction, Action, Intrigue
Published: Putnam Publishing, 1969
Spoiler-Free Summary:
It has been 12 years since Paul avenged his house’s destruction and became Galactic Emperor. Bolstering his secular power with an army of fanatical Fremen sparked a war which spread like wildfire across the Galaxy. The destruction in Paul’s name both breaks him and imprisons him. He cannot close Pandora’s box.
Now, all the centers of power he once conquered set their differences aside to conspire against him. How will Paul protect his life, his empire, his legacy… and his children?
Why This Book Is For You:
Did you like Dune? You’ll probably like Messiah. It’s Dune, but more so: More lore, more intrigue, more worldbuilding.
Messiah wrestles with big questions of fate and consequences, of the conflict between lofty ideals and messy practicalities.
Where Can You Find More?
If you want to explore the Dune universe but don’t know where to go after Dune, I highly recommend this reading order analysis. Frank Herbert passed away in 1986; Read about his legacy as interpreted at the time, or a retrospective 50 years after the original pub date.
Happy Reading, fellow bibliophile.
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