book data
5638 ratings, 3.72 average rating, 208 reviews
(more data...)
edit
published
September 1st 1972
(first published 1975)
by Hodder & Stoughton Ltd
binding
Paperback, 224 pages
isbn
0450022854
(isbn13: 9780450022852)
description
(2nd in Dune Chronicles)
The bestselling science fiction series of all time continues! This second installment explores new developments on the de...more
Sign in to Goodreads to see your friends' reviews of this book.
There are no discussion topics on this book yet. Be the first to start one »
friend reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.
This book is currently not featured on any Listopia lists.
Add this book to your favorite list »
other reviews (showing 1-20 of 6585)
All ratings |
5 stars (1158)
|
4 stars (2147)
|
3 stars (1727)
|
2 stars (449)
|
1 star (97)
|
avg 3.72
Read in August, 2007
So I thought Dune was the best thing since the bound codex, right? And I read it about five times over the course of my young-adulthood. And then I read Messiah and was pretty much completely dissatisfied. Not enough to give it a poor rating, since it is interesting (I mean, we all still care about Paul, even if he is a whiner) and it did keep my attention.
You haven't seen foreshadowing until you've read Dune Messiah. It takes that to a whole new, grotesque level. And pret...more
You haven't seen foreshadowing until you've read Dune Messiah. It takes that to a whole new, grotesque level. And pret...more
Like this review?
yes
(1 person liked it)
1 comment
I'd have been amazed if this one was as phenomenal as the first, and it wasn't. It was, however, Frank Herbert, who surprises me with his philosophy and world vision all the time. Compared to Dune, though, this book just lacked a lot of protein. Perhaps it's because the incredibly rich new world of Dune/Arrakis was already in place, and I wasn't the wide-eyed, amazed traveler through it any longer, but it wasn't the page-turner of the last for me. Still, I'll read them all, and wish Frank Her...more
Like this review?
yes
(1 person liked it)
add a comment
A good book but not and great as the first. It shows a great side of the after effects of a great struggle.
Like this review?
yes
(1 person liked it)
add a comment
I recently finished Dune Messiah. I enjoyed the book, but it had left an odd feeling with me. It felt like a long, closing episode of a novel that was missing its first two acts. In a sense it was presented as an endgame for the characters I have grown to enjoy from the first novel Dune. There were two issues I was having with it when I began the novel: first, where was Lady Jessica? Second, where was Gurney? Well, Jessica's presence, though mentioned briefly in the beginning, was momentarily to...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Fast so gut wie der erste Teil: Dieser Roman ist die Fortsetzung von Dune ("Der Wüstenplanet") und beschäftigt sich mit dem Leben des Herrschers Paul Atreides nachdem er durch einen heiligen Krieg die Kontrolle über das gesamte Imperium erreicht hat.
Der Wüstenplanet wird wasserreicher und fanatische Pilger kommen aus allen Teilen des Imperiums um ihre Führer zu sehen. Die Fremen (Die eingeborenen Wüstenbewohnen) werden aufgrund dieser Veränderungen nervös und Pauls Gegner ...more
Der Wüstenplanet wird wasserreicher und fanatische Pilger kommen aus allen Teilen des Imperiums um ihre Führer zu sehen. Die Fremen (Die eingeborenen Wüstenbewohnen) werden aufgrund dieser Veränderungen nervös und Pauls Gegner ...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in March, 2008
recommends it for:
Harry Potter Fans, LOTR fans
When I read Lord of the Rings trilogy in high school, I thought no other trilogy could equate to it or surpass it. Then I caved into the Harry Potter series and amended my belief. And now the Dune series comes along and sweeps me off my feet. I should stop making preconceived notions about prospective books, especially since my breadth in literature is not as wide as my hips.
Herbert's critiques of contemporary religion and government are still prevalent, and I think that...more
Herbert's critiques of contemporary religion and government are still prevalent, and I think that...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
I finally read Dune Messiah, the second book in the Dune series, after years of only having read the first book.
Excellent. Dune and Dune Messiah, together, form a reasonably complete story. Some of it is invalidated and/or retconed by subsequent books (I'm reading Children of Dune right now), which is unfortunate, but in reading Dune Messiah, it's obvious that many elements of the setting, which seem like standard Space Opera color, such as the feudal system, were carefully chosen so nothing...more
Excellent. Dune and Dune Messiah, together, form a reasonably complete story. Some of it is invalidated and/or retconed by subsequent books (I'm reading Children of Dune right now), which is unfortunate, but in reading Dune Messiah, it's obvious that many elements of the setting, which seem like standard Space Opera color, such as the feudal system, were carefully chosen so nothing...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
So let's start in a predictable way. Dune is awesome. Just really really cool. So much so that I don't bother to post a review saying that, because why bother repeating what everyone else is saying (a few inevitable naysayers excluded, of course). Now maybe it's helpful to consider why Dune was awesome. It wasn't exactly character development. I mean Dune had great characters, but they were kind of titanic, epic-sort of characters, driven by a Big Drives to do Big Things to Bad People and ...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in October, 2007
I devoured this book in just 3 days, it is simply that compelling. What more can I say about the most-read sci-fi epic ever written? The Dune series has everything I want in an epic: politics, humanity, religion and space. While the first book deals with revolution, noble families and the fulfillment of prophecy, this second part deals with the personal struggle of the new leader of humanity and the emotional ramifications of being the figurehead of a jihad being waged in his name.
What ...more
What ...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in June, 2007
A couple of my favorite quotes from this book:
"The convoluted wording of legalisms grew up around the necessity to hide from ourselves the violence we intend toward each other. Between depriving a man one hour from his life and depriving him of his life there exists only a difference of degree. You have done violence to him, consumed his energy. Elaborate euphamisms may conceal your intent to kill, but behind any use of power over another the ultimate assumption remains: 'I feed on your...more
"The convoluted wording of legalisms grew up around the necessity to hide from ourselves the violence we intend toward each other. Between depriving a man one hour from his life and depriving him of his life there exists only a difference of degree. You have done violence to him, consumed his energy. Elaborate euphamisms may conceal your intent to kill, but behind any use of power over another the ultimate assumption remains: 'I feed on your...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in January, 2000
recommended to Kerry by:
Momrecommends it for: sci-fi fans who are willing to read the series entire
The whole thing with Paul being able to see after his eyes are burned out: still cool. But on this, my third or fourth reading, I'm realizing there's not much to this book. It simply bridges the first and third. No Jessica, no war, no revolution, no emergence of a new messiah . . . eh.
Also Alia has the potential to be such a fascinating character, but she's underused and underwritten. And I already know that in the next book she's going to be crazy and retconned half to death (which I c...more
Also Alia has the potential to be such a fascinating character, but she's underused and underwritten. And I already know that in the next book she's going to be crazy and retconned half to death (which I c...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in April, 2008
This is the middle book in the Dune trilogy. It's also the shortest. It takes place twelve years after "Dune." Paul Atreides is now a political and religious leader who has had a very bloody rule. He can see the future, and has premonitions of death; his own, and Chani's. His rule is at a point where he has a lot of detractors, and his life is at a point where it's time to have kids. A lot of the narrative is inside of Paul's head as he mulls over multiple internal and external conflic...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in August, 2008
Why I read this: I enjoyed rereading Dune for the SFDG.
This is at least the second time I've read this; possibly more. I'd remembered this as my favorite of the Dune books, and probably my favorite of all the Frank Herbert books I've read. I remembered it as being tightly edited; as packing the virtues of the other Dune books into one-half (one-third?) of the pag...more
This is at least the second time I've read this; possibly more. I'd remembered this as my favorite of the Dune books, and probably my favorite of all the Frank Herbert books I've read. I remembered it as being tightly edited; as packing the virtues of the other Dune books into one-half (one-third?) of the pag...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in June, 2008
Wow, this was a major let down after Dune. Where Dune was filled with action, compelling protagonists, and otherworldly villains, and introduced a vibrant, unique world and universe, Dune Messiah is largely a story of the internal struggles that come from unwillingly wielding supreme power. The concept is noble, and perhaps still timely, but it was a ponderous bore. Many times I was tempted to put it down and did leave it to read another Patrick O'Brian novel. I'm glad I pushed through to th...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
MESSIAH gets a bad rap for being not nearly as intricate or profound as the original DUNE. But honestly, this is more of an epilogue to the original book within the context of the larger series. The purpose of this book is to really set the stage for what's next. The promised action from the end of the last one - Mua'Dib's conquering of the galaxy under the Atreides flag - is skipped over entirely. And that's cool because this series really is about Dune itself, the planet, its people, its effec...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
This was a rather different book from Dune -- which comes naturally, I suppose, given where the first one ended. This books comes off as more of a Greek tragedy, steering clear of knife duels, desert warfare and sand worms and sticking to court intrigue and the deep worrying of a God-like King. Certainly seemed like the direction to go and I was entertained the whole way through, but it didn't thrill me like its predecessor. Plus, I can see the whole Ghola thing becoming a bit too handy for all ...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in January, 2001
Not too heavy handed with the symbolism are we Frank? Yes, Paul the Mu A'dib Kwitzatz kiss my ass or whatever the hell he is has all of the likeabilty of a diseased catcus plant, as he rants and raves and prophecizes to absolutely no end, then he suffers and finally exiles himself for the good of his people, and blah blah blah blah blah.
At this point, Herbert has drawn a world that is so alien, and so distant from our own civilization, that I ceased to care. There is not one character in t...more
At this point, Herbert has drawn a world that is so alien, and so distant from our own civilization, that I ceased to care. There is not one character in t...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in July, 2008
Less epic and more difficult to follow than Dune, this sequel is worth the effort. We have many stories about heroes and the good they can do. We have many stories about villains or corrupted heroes and the evils that they can perpetrate. And we have, since the 1800s, many stories of everyday men and women, neither heroes nor villains, struggling to have any meaningful effect at all. Dune Messiah, however, is that rare novel that dares to point out the dangers inherent in the concept of the H...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in August, 2008
It took me quite a bit longer to get into this book than the first - nearly 100 pages of only 250 pages total. Interesting to watch the seeming downfall of the things built up in Dune, and the fragility of their messiah.
In the final pages I found myself wondering, if a person has the ability to see the many possible possible paths of the future, do the ends justify the means? This is what the book seems to suggest, or at least is the conclusion Paul reaches, sacrificing the present for t...more
In the final pages I found myself wondering, if a person has the ability to see the many possible possible paths of the future, do the ends justify the means? This is what the book seems to suggest, or at least is the conclusion Paul reaches, sacrificing the present for t...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
recommends it for:
everyone
After reading Dune, I found this got the action rolling. Volume 1 laid groundwork just like Mr. King does. I felt I was there.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
science-fiction
(on 186 people's shelves)
to-read (on 120 people's shelves)
currently-reading (on 69 people's shelves)
sci-fi (on 60 people's shelves)
fiction (on 32 people's shelves)
fantasy (on 10 people's shelves)
scifi (on 10 people's shelves)
own (on 8 people's shelves)
dune (on 8 people's shelves)
sci-fi-fantasy (on 8 people's shelves)
More shelves...
to-read (on 120 people's shelves)
currently-reading (on 69 people's shelves)
sci-fi (on 60 people's shelves)
fiction (on 32 people's shelves)
fantasy (on 10 people's shelves)
scifi (on 10 people's shelves)
own (on 8 people's shelves)
dune (on 8 people's shelves)
sci-fi-fantasy (on 8 people's shelves)
More shelves...
groups with this book
