This book is interesting, but it’s also pretty weird
Frank Herbert basically throws out everything that made the earlier books feel like traditional sci-fi and replaces it with philosophy lectures, power monologues, and a giant immortal worm-god who will not shut up. Leto II is fascinating,terrifying, intelligent, tragic, but also exhausting. Whole chapters feel like you’re trapped in a room with someone who’s read every book ever written and desperately wants you to know it. That said, I couldn’t stop thinking about it. The ideas stick. The scale is insane. Herbert is clearly playing a long game here, and even when I was confused or mildly annoyed, I was still impressed.
This is the point in the series where Dune stops being about politics and war and fully commits to being about time, stagnation, control, and humanity’s self-destructive tendencies. Sometimes it works brilliantly. Sometimes it feels indulgent. There were moments I missed the tension and character dynamics of the earlier books, but I also get why this book exists. It’s bold. It’s uncomfortable. It’s doing something very few sci-fi novels even attempt.
Overall: I’m glad I read it. I didn’t love it, but I respect it. Definitely the strangest entry so far, but not in a way that feels pointless. I’m pushing through to finish the series. I’ve got too many other books on my list calling my name, and I’m ready to move on to new worlds.
by Caffeine_And_Regret
2 Comments
God Emperor was the book that made me say “ok, that’s enough Dune for me”.
I think your description is extremely apt. It was like a stream of consciousness rambling by an extremely stoned person
GEoD is the Dune book I quote most often, it’s my favorite one hands down. Not just because of the depth and scope of the philosophical monologues, although most of what I quote is that, but also because of how believably yet tragically Herbert is able to portray such an insane character concept as Leto II, and how beautiful his prose is in this book. A lot of it reads like prose peotry.