Hey there! I absolutely fell in love with both the recent Dune films and they are some of my absolute all time favourite sci-fi films ever made. I hear plenty of praise for the first novel as one of the best novels of all time, but I was wondering if the rest of the Frank Herbert books (*Messiah*, *Children of Dune*, *God Emperor of Dune*, *Heretics of Dune* and *Chapterhouse Dune*) are just as good and legendary and are they worth reading as well?
by UniversalEnergy55
4 Comments
That is always going to be a matter of personal opinion. I fall on yes, they are worth reading. As good as the first? Yes. Take notes. I’ve been surprised in the past when things come up that link back to the first book or two and reframe what I misunderstood.
I struggled with them
I’ll parrot the advice I have seen elsewhere:
Read the first one. If you like it a lot, then read Messiah as well. If you loved them both and want to read on, read the rest of the original series. In other words, books 1 & 2 are natural stopping points.
I read the first two and enjoyed them both, but didn’t care to read on. I’m a slow reader and there’s too much other great stuff out there!
I know you didn’t ask, but FWIW I don’t think I’ve seen anyone recommend the books by his son.
I’m currently on book 4. I would recommend reading the first two, Dune and Dune Messiah, which tell a good self-contained story that fulfills Herbert’s stated goal. He set out to tell a story about how charismatic leaders uniting religion and politics is a road to misery for all involved.
Starting with book 3, Children of Dune, the message shifts away from that and instead shows an omniscient leader is vitally important to the preservation of society, no matter how tyrannical. I *very* much dislike this shift, but I’m still reading just in case something changes later on and Herbert pulls the rug out from under my expectations. The books start to get weirder after book 3, too. If you’ve read other stuff by Frank Herbert you will know what to expect, but if you’ve only read the earlier Dune books, it may be a bit unexpected.
If you want to read more things like the earlier Dune books, [I have a list of many similar sci fi and fantasy books here.](https://old.reddit.com/r/suggestmeabook/comments/1brxlse/books_like_dune/kxdq9gk/)