The Rise and Fall of Dune
Finally,
I made the document for this review
over two months ago, but I realized I couldn’t fully write this review and do
the series justice until I had finished it. Let me give you what the review
would have been like if I hadn’t finished the series. I would have said, as I
still think that the first two books are the crowning glory of the series. Not
just because Paul Artreides is a fascinating main character, but also because
of the authenticity of the surrounding characters. There’s an honest hope and
trust in the Artreides family in the first two books, which as the series
progresses understandably weakens and could be called naïve, but is strikingly
refreshing. Stilgar, Gurney Halleck, Duncan Idaho, Jessica, and Alia have their
own ambitions and do not follow Paul blindly, but honestly come to put their
faith in this strangely powerful boy and then later man.
The Fall
Unlike Dune and Dune Messiah, Children of Dune and God Emperor of Dune follow the exploits
of Paul Atreides’ son Leto II. While I could have liked Leto, and I did even
finding his transformation with the sandtrout in Children of Dune entrancing, the author Frank Herbert starts and
then fully becomes enamored with his own fake religion. Undeniably, one of the
books’ main themes is how religion can be a useful tool and a manipulative
unseen hand and I have no problem with that line of questioning. What becomes
annoying is Frank Herbert’s insistence of quoting his own made up religion and
his characters quoting their own made up religion. There’s a false sense of
importance imbued within the quotes that is there even when the characters are
speaking sincerely and not trying to manipulate anyone.
Did Leto Suffer?
In the first two books the quotes
made sense because it was if we were watching the past unfold from the perspective
of some distant future. This was the case in books three and four as well. But
Muad’dib was marching towards a triumphant future and we were waiting to see
what he would become. How would he rule the universe? What was this legendary
figure going to be like? With Leto we had the same questions, but in the first
book he didn’t struggle, except in the spice agony. Yes it was agonizing, but
most of his problems were just floating in and out of consciousness high out of
his mind on spice. He didn’t gather people around him with his wits and
prescience knowledge like Paul.
A Waste of Talent
Also with Leto, Frank Herbert has an
annoying trend of wasting potentially great side characters. Ghanima and Siona
are, in my opinion, wasted as characters in lieu of resurrecting Duncan Idaho
for the umpteenth time. Yes Duncan is an amazing and adaptable character, who
is the only one in all 6 books, which is quite impressive. However, as I
mentioned before, part of what made the first books so amazing was the
development of the side character’s and their relationship with Paul. Ghanima
and Siona had the ability to be like Alia and Stilgar, but instead Ghanima
floats in the background as the weaker sibling and Siona a half-hearted rebel
turned follower. I felt like I knew Stilgar and Alia and was as invested in
them as I was in Paul, but Ghanima and Siona were squandered.
The Return
This is where the review would have
ended had I written it earlier, but now I have finished the last two books of
the series. I am glad I stuck with it, because Heretics of Dune and Chapterhouse
Dune are a return to the original greatness of the first two books. While I
don’t believe them to be as great as the first two, that might be my intense
affinity toward Paul instead of a belief with substantive reasoning behind it.
Here we know all of the characters, we know Dar and Tar (Tarza and Odrade) we
know the millionth Duncan Idaho iteration, we know Miles Teg, and we know
Murbella. We know their struggles we root for them through the struggles and
yet….
But Not Quite
There might be some reasoning behind my
belief after all. Notice I didn’t say we know Sheeana. We started to know her
in Heretics of Dune, but what does
she do in the sixth book? Some hand signals with Duncan. Here is a girl who can
communicate with the worms, an Artriedes prescient reverend mother who can
communicate with the worms no less. What does she do? Lead reverend mothers riding
Shia Hulud into battle with the Honored Matres? Communicate with the sleeping
consciousness of Leto to probe the universe and reach some higher awareness? No
she sneaks a sandworm onto the ship to escape with Duncan. That’s it. I can
forgive the randomness of the ending as I can understand that Frank Herbert
wanted to write more, but his earthly time was limited. But I cannot understand
the wastefulness of Sheeana. It’s as bad as wasting Ghanima and Siona.
What About You?
Have you read any of the Dune series
books? Do you agree with me? Were the first two books the best? Why did the
third and fourth flounder? Did the fifth and sixth almost return the Dune
series to glory? Maybe I’m completely off on all of this. Let me know in the
comments.
Notes:
Sources:
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