Heretics Of Dune: The Fifth Dune Novel: The inspiration for the blockbuster film

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Book five in Frank Herbert's magnificent Dune Chronicles--one of the most significant sagas in the history of literary science fiction. When I say a long time, I mean one thousand five hundred years after the rule of Leto II Atreides (that also lasted for a rather long time). While ‘Children’ was a bit of a hot mess, it did set up what is arguably the best half of the six books. He works pretty well in this role and is probably one of the more entertaining characters in the series for his penchant for saying the exact thing that will most piss people off in any given conversation. It was as though her accumulated female memories lashed out at the unconscious assumptions and unexamined prejudices behind the concept.

Reading the dense techno babble vocabulary was like trying to eat a cold whale omelette covered in walrus grease. If you are thinking that poor Duncan has no idea what is, er, coming for him in terms of his sexual awakening at the hands of the Bene Gesserit, you are partly right. This newfound, tentative interest in the muck and brass of humanity ties with another key theme, one present throughout the series but brought into stark relief here - what is it to be human? Again, maybe I’ll discover that answer by the time I reach the final page, but for now I will continue being unable to put this installment in the series down. And so, this time around, all I could think of was how mediocre it was, how it wasn't as well written as Fragments, how the characters weren't as interesting as the creations of Dan Wells, how the story was so distractingly vague and didn't seem to be going anywhere.

This time, the Bene Gesserit are the books main focus, with their wheeling and dealings, their breeding program all playing a major role. The final revelation of the Sisterhood's `grand design' isn't particularly convincing, but even this is put to good use by Herbert: the dependency of people on the perceived authority and vision of leaders is a key theme here, one that is gradually expanded to include the question of free will in a universe that may or may not be on a predetermined path set by God (or Leto II, in this case. The previous novel covered a long period of time (3, 500 years long reign of Leto II) , but it was a time dominated by a single man/god/tyrant so it was pretty monotonous (even if very interesting from some points of view). Also, well apart from God Emperor of Dune, they are not dry to read, or bogged down with descriptions of future tech, which is a good thing. Bene Gesserit Imprinter Lucilla (yet another descendant of Siona's) is also sent by Taraza to bind Idaho's loyalty to the Sisterhood with her sexual talents.

While Herbert’s Dune books have a reputation for getting weirder as they go along, the big revelations about the Honored Matres’ plans and the powers of the ghola are frankly laughable. True genetic freedom, not just the unlocking of unimaginable powers, but the freedom to spread those to ALL of humanity's offspring? Herbert used to be able to tell a coherant story, but as his career meandered on, he became less and less able to do so.

Despite the Herbert-esque vagueness of the ultimate BG plan, I find it easier to piece together each groups interest and end goals.

I kept thinking over and over about her role in the BG beyond the whole intrigue and massive conflict going on with the HM. Do you see what I mean when I say this book is disjointed and none of the scenes lead into any of the others?With Leto's death, the complex economic system built on spice collapsed, resulting in a period of famine followed by trillions of people leaving known space in a great Scattering. I already feel that Frank Herbert’s writing style has changed, but imo I like this differing style (not better or worse, just still like it for what it is).

For much of this novel, we’re told about vague plans by the Honored Matres, and vague abilities the Duncan Idaho ghola possesses. Sounds just like the kind of thing that would have pounced on humanity from the darkness of the Scattering. But the Bene Gesserit, given their secretive and reclusive nature, know a good bit of religious propaganda when they see it, and set out to investigate the claims, which sets in motion a remarkable domino of events. Since Leto’s death, trillions of people fled across the galaxy in a development known as the Scattering.Anyway, despite liking this book in my younger years, I found it terribly written, convoluted, and far too vague for comfort. I re read pages to see if I could understand and see what I had missed whole paragraphs of high officialdom talking in round about ways about nothing. But at a certain point, Sheeana’s story seems to drop by the wayside, after which her character is rarely seen. Odrade becomes temporary leader of the Bene Gesserit before escaping with Sheeana into the desert on a worm.