God emperor of dune is so interesting

I loved this book. I loved leto’s ramblings and I loved moneo. And I loved the way the golden path is explained.

But this book had a few major issues for me.

The biggest is the dialogue. Half the time I had no idea wtf anyone was talking about. The other half, the dialogue felt so robotic. And the emotion is so unreadable. Also, I’ve never seen anyone use as many exclamation points as frank herbert. Especially when they’re not needed or when they don’t fit the scene and emotion. A character doesn’t cry but exclaims. A character can be trying to say something quietly but there’s an exclamation mark. It sends so many mixed signals that it’s hard to tell what’s happening. I swear there’s at least one exclamation point in every paragraph.

The second is that everyone except Leto is very flat. Hwi noree and Duncan and moneo and siona could have been so interesting but they are barely explored. And these characters barely show emotion besides anger. The only exception is Hwi. But she is written to be crying in response to almost anything that Leto says. No matter what he says. Leto could say “man, it sucks to be a dictator” and she just starts bawling for no reason.

One last thing: Hwi and Duncan had zero chemistry. Idk why their love was even included. Especially because it makes no sense in the context of the plot and had no impact on the plot. Presumably Duncan met Hwi once “off screen.” And the next time we see them, they just have sex. Like wtf. That came out of nowhere. And it’s not like their love has any impact on the plot because their relationship is ignored by Leto. Siona doesn’t give a shit. And moneo acts like it’s blasphemy but doesn’t do anything to stop them other than just saying stop.

Also I would have liked to see leto’s ‘peace’ explored a bit more. How did his atrocities compare to his father. Paul’s ascension to the throne caused the death of 61 billion. How much did leto’s stagnation of progress do? The stagnation of medicine, of ecological developments, of new helpful technology, etc.