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28th out of 79 books
—
58 voters
God Emperor of Dune (Dune Chronicles #4)
Centuries have passed on Dune, and the planet is green with life. Leto, the son of Dune's savior, is still alive but far from human, and the fate of all humanity hangs on his awesome sacrifice... "Rich fare...heady stuff." --Los Angeles Times
Paperback, 432 pages
Published
June 15th 1987
by Ace
(first published 1981)
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It's not until the end of this book that you begin to understand Herbert's grand plan for his series. DUNE is really about shaking man out of an evolutionary cul-de-sac, showing a frustrated civil(?) society that despite its technological and social superiority is stagnating. The inventions of the Bene Gesseritt, the Guild, the Mentats, all of these are bulwarks against the decline of man that are failing. And the only one to understand this is Leto II, God Emperor of the Known Universe. In his...more
God Emperor of Dune is the red-headed stepchild of the series. Frank Herbert delves into the mind of a near omniscient god-creature. Many people feel disturbed or bored by this book, calling it the most "dull" of the series. From a philosophical point of view, this is probably the most advanced book in the series. Definitions of humanity and morality are contrasted in very personal ways in this book. Those familiar with Lovecraftian Cthulu mythos could well use this as a textbook to start thinki...more
God Emperor of Dune
Book 4 of the Dune Chronicles
By Frank Herbert
A Dune Retrospective by Eric Allen
What do you say about the book that was so completely terrible that it so turned you off of the series that you refused to read the four books that came after it for over a decade? This book is bad in a way that few things achieve. Oh, yes, there are worse things than this book in human history, and I do not mean to cheapen the horror of those atrocities, but when it comes to complete and utter fail...more
Book 4 of the Dune Chronicles
By Frank Herbert
A Dune Retrospective by Eric Allen
What do you say about the book that was so completely terrible that it so turned you off of the series that you refused to read the four books that came after it for over a decade? This book is bad in a way that few things achieve. Oh, yes, there are worse things than this book in human history, and I do not mean to cheapen the horror of those atrocities, but when it comes to complete and utter fail...more
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Reviews for this book have called it "heady" and "deep." I cannot concur more. Few books have mastered this combination of deep material with a hurtling plot, and this is one of them.
Of the Dune Chronicles so far (this is book 4), God Emperor of Dune is my clear favorite. This profoundly philosophical installment in "the bestselling sci-fi series of all time" explores the now-verdant world of Arrakis thirty-five hundred years after the events in Children of Dune.
Leto, the nine-year old son of P...more
Of the Dune Chronicles so far (this is book 4), God Emperor of Dune is my clear favorite. This profoundly philosophical installment in "the bestselling sci-fi series of all time" explores the now-verdant world of Arrakis thirty-five hundred years after the events in Children of Dune.
Leto, the nine-year old son of P...more
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Please, make it stop.
11 likes
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I hated this book the first time I read it. Hated every person in it, did not understand why anyone acted the way they did. Now it's one of my top-ten comfort reads, and I see so much in Leto I want for myself.
Dune was the perfect hero book, and then Herbert turned the trope of “boy becomes Messiah and saves the noble people” on its head with Dune Messiah and Children of Dune. In those two volumes, everything assumed and trusted became so much sand, and a son had to destroy his Messiah father’s...more
Dune was the perfect hero book, and then Herbert turned the trope of “boy becomes Messiah and saves the noble people” on its head with Dune Messiah and Children of Dune. In those two volumes, everything assumed and trusted became so much sand, and a son had to destroy his Messiah father’s...more
Dune was the first book I ever bought with my own money. I read it when I was somewhere around 14 or 15 and was simply astonished by Herbert's ability to create this whole new universe with its new sets of religions (basically what every great sci-fi writer (I'm looking at you, Dan Simmons) excels in doing) and the planetary-ecological issues.
I learned to love that book, and to this day keep on getting excited by the pure greatness of it when I remember scenes such as the time Paul is tested by...more
I learned to love that book, and to this day keep on getting excited by the pure greatness of it when I remember scenes such as the time Paul is tested by...more
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when i first read this, i really didnt understand what Herbert said. this was such a departure from his first three books that i thought it was awful. in fact, at the time, i told a friend that i didnt like where Dune was going and that i was going to quit the series after this book. long story short, i didnt quit. and, although i didnt like the book at the time, i reread this book back in '06 and i really liked it. i guess you have to understand what leto went through for his "Golden Path". he...more
A very good read. Herbert's use of dialog and overall language forces the reader not to focus on what the author is saying but what the author is leaving out. I was a little disappointed in the ending; thought it could have had more detail or substance, but overall a very enjoyable read.
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Aug 02, 2011
Anthony
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I don't use this word lightly but it was definitely epic. It took me way too long to finish this book primarily due to all the information I was absorbing, I just had to take so many breaks from reading it. It strange how so many of of the characters seem forgettable almost halfway through the book and then all of a sudden those same characters are so enthralling. I can admit a large majority of the philosophical elements went way over my head, though I enjoyed the book just the same, I do plan...more
Okay, this was my second read of God Emperor of Dune. Honestly, it was quite an useful read because now I understand more precisely what was Leto's goal and the exact purpose of his Golden Path. To make a long story short the Golden Path is nothing more than the survival of the human race. At the end of the old empire (period described in the previous books) the human race has become doomed beyond hope with a corrupt and decadent feudal ruling system, stagnant and with an major addiction to subs...more
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God Emperor of Dune is one of those books you can measure inner growth and change by.
As a child, I hated it. I got bogged down in what I felt was a lack of story and plot. I hated the characters which I felt were very, very one dimensional and boring. I hated the protagonist, Leto II, who I thought was stuffy and pretentious.
Then, as an adult, I rediscovered it and it is now my favorite book of the Dune series (the original Dune is right behind it) and indeed one of my favorite books in the worl...more
As a child, I hated it. I got bogged down in what I felt was a lack of story and plot. I hated the characters which I felt were very, very one dimensional and boring. I hated the protagonist, Leto II, who I thought was stuffy and pretentious.
Then, as an adult, I rediscovered it and it is now my favorite book of the Dune series (the original Dune is right behind it) and indeed one of my favorite books in the worl...more
Originally published on my blog here in January 1999.
The fourth Dune novel saw Herbert returning to the series after a considerable gap, both in internal and external chronology. This book is set several thousand years after Leto gained the throne, and he has maintained himself in a position of absolute power in the galaxy, his enforced peace being used to prepare mankind for a future event left unspecified at this point in the series. He has continued to change in response to the sandtrout he a...more
The fourth Dune novel saw Herbert returning to the series after a considerable gap, both in internal and external chronology. This book is set several thousand years after Leto gained the throne, and he has maintained himself in a position of absolute power in the galaxy, his enforced peace being used to prepare mankind for a future event left unspecified at this point in the series. He has continued to change in response to the sandtrout he a...more
For anyone who enjoys science fiction and fantasy fiction then i cannot recomend highly enough Frank Herbert's series 'the Dune chronicles' which are apsolutely spectacular and truly unique & origional. They are singular from the point of view that the world which the author has created is just so highly imaginative and truly singular, which i could not compare to anything else that i have read in either the fantasy or science-fiction genres. The mixture of creativity alongside a deep and co...more
Good stuff.
After having read Brian Herbert & Kevin Anderson's prequels and sequels, the little throw away references took on a much larger import.
The Golden Path is still not spelled out for the reader. We simply have to figure out stuff while the main story unrolls. That is one thing I really enjoy about the Dune Chronicles, they are not the "Transformers" of books, but a very thoughtful and insightful look at what it means to be human.
Herbert deftly weaves words and thoughts to reveal his...more
After having read Brian Herbert & Kevin Anderson's prequels and sequels, the little throw away references took on a much larger import.
The Golden Path is still not spelled out for the reader. We simply have to figure out stuff while the main story unrolls. That is one thing I really enjoy about the Dune Chronicles, they are not the "Transformers" of books, but a very thoughtful and insightful look at what it means to be human.
Herbert deftly weaves words and thoughts to reveal his...more
by Frank Herbert, published in 1981.
I rarely need to struggle and push myself through a science fiction novel, but on this one by Frank Herbert I had to do just that.
Don’t get me wrong, it’s not as bad as all that, just very dense and philosophical - which to some is probably great reading, but to me it felt like wading through dogma and cleverness and knee-high swampwaters.
The main character, Leto II the God Emperor, is unquestionably a unique and interesting character in the history of Science...more
I rarely need to struggle and push myself through a science fiction novel, but on this one by Frank Herbert I had to do just that.
Don’t get me wrong, it’s not as bad as all that, just very dense and philosophical - which to some is probably great reading, but to me it felt like wading through dogma and cleverness and knee-high swampwaters.
The main character, Leto II the God Emperor, is unquestionably a unique and interesting character in the history of Science...more
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God Emperor of Dune has been on my to read list for a long time mostly because I was determined to finish the series once I started it. However, I remember finding the language and concepts a bit difficult as a teenager so I could never quite bring myself to read the books one after the other and took fairly long breaks between them. I was also put off from continuing the series for so long both because of the disappointment various people expressed in the series after the third book and also th...more
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*Same review for the Dune Universe*
GREAT books! VERY time consuming! Worth the time!
Ok here is the deal. If your not sure about starting a series this big, here is what I would do.
1. -- Read the 1st one by Frank Herbert "Dune" if you like it...
2. -- Read the "Legends Of Dune" series. Its 3 books written by Frank's son Brian and a author I really like by the name of Keven J. Anderson. Its a prequel that is so far in the past that it doesn't spoil the Original Dune series in any way, and you could...more
GREAT books! VERY time consuming! Worth the time!
Ok here is the deal. If your not sure about starting a series this big, here is what I would do.
1. -- Read the 1st one by Frank Herbert "Dune" if you like it...
2. -- Read the "Legends Of Dune" series. Its 3 books written by Frank's son Brian and a author I really like by the name of Keven J. Anderson. Its a prequel that is so far in the past that it doesn't spoil the Original Dune series in any way, and you could...more
I'm not sure why I keep reading the Dune novels. I don't like them, at least I didn't enjoy the first three . . . . They're not well written (when compared, for instance, to Ondaatje's, Pamuk's, or Marilynne Robinson's works) and they're not nearly as good as Tolken's novels. Reviewers go on and on about how 'philosophical' Herbert's novels are. So as a philosophy student I should love them. But I don't. Maybe they have too much dialogue (blah). Maybe they focus too much on what the emperors/rul...more
This fourth venture into the Dune universe is not as action-packed or thrilling as the previous books, but it is definitely the most intellectual and philosophical ones. Through Leto, Herbert explores and elaborates on a complicated ideology regarding human predilection towards excitement and even chaos when society is at peace, and that ultimately it must be saved by restricting it and setting new boundaries to be broken.
It's easy to see in the dialogue between Moneo and Duncan that Herbert co...more
It's easy to see in the dialogue between Moneo and Duncan that Herbert co...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
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Dec 09, 2010
Agnofeld
rated it
3 of 5 stars
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review of another edition
Shelves:
science-fiction,
philosophy
Of all of Frank Herbert's novel. I thinks this one is a bit stark. Kind of monotony. However, due to Leto Jr. Immortality, i think all is understandable. U can know few worldview here, one of the most prominent is the existence of the Fish Speakers. Logical, but there's no firm lead in the real word. Perhaps viewable in the future. If only there's a book that take it quite deep, on the spearhead the females' matrimony. Would be interesting.
Well, back to the book. The book is more of a lone end o...more
Well, back to the book. The book is more of a lone end o...more
I just finished this one and liked it almost as much as the first, which is really saying something. I have to say that Leto disgusted me at first ... gave me the willies just reading about him, kind of like squishing a snail, but by the end of the book, I felt dreadfully sorry for him, and had a reluctant respect for the lonely choices he made. I'd certainly have never made those sacrifices. I have a pile of quotes from the wise Mr. Herbert to add here ....
Since the last hundred or so pages of Children of Dune, I have slowly seen decline in the plot of the Dune series. Or at least, from the end of Children of Dune throughout God Emperor of Dune. There was something quite over the top about Leto II's slow transformation into a sandworm and his eventual three and half thousand year reign over the Universe - as a sandworm/human hybrid. I think I found it hard to visualise the being he slowly transformed himself into - although the plot of God Emperor...more
Hay mucha gente que considera que de la saga Dune sólo el primero es bueno, y yo no lo entiendo.
Este libro sigue la historia de los Atreides, dando un salto en el tiempo de 4000 años. Leto II, el hijo de Paul Atreides, sigue gobernando el Imperio convertido en un híbrido entre Gusano de Arena y humano. Dune se ha convertido en un vergel, y la especia es por ello más rara que nunca. Todos los antiguos jugadores del Gran Juego en las novelas anteriores (la Bene Gesserit, la Bene Tleilax, Ix, la CH...more
Este libro sigue la historia de los Atreides, dando un salto en el tiempo de 4000 años. Leto II, el hijo de Paul Atreides, sigue gobernando el Imperio convertido en un híbrido entre Gusano de Arena y humano. Dune se ha convertido en un vergel, y la especia es por ello más rara que nunca. Todos los antiguos jugadores del Gran Juego en las novelas anteriores (la Bene Gesserit, la Bene Tleilax, Ix, la CH...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
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The excellence continues, however here, Herbert decides to expose his intent in full naked glory without the concern of inconsequential garments like plot.
To a degree this is how the book reads and whether you enjoy it or not largely comes down to whether you're interested in what Frank is talking about through Leto's lips. I for one am. The overriding theme throughout the Dune books so far for me has been the focus on realigning humanity's perspective towards the longevity of our evolution, in...more
To a degree this is how the book reads and whether you enjoy it or not largely comes down to whether you're interested in what Frank is talking about through Leto's lips. I for one am. The overriding theme throughout the Dune books so far for me has been the focus on realigning humanity's perspective towards the longevity of our evolution, in...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
3508 Jahre sind seit den Ereignissen von “Children of Dune” vergangen. Ghanima ist tot, sie wurde von den Harkonnen getötet, aber ihre Nachkommen leben. Arrakis, nun Rakis genannt, ist nicht mehr das Dune von einst. Die Wüste ist verschwunden und nur ein kleines Stück, die Sareer verblieb. Es gibt keine Sandwürmer mehr und somit kein Spice. Alles verbliebene Spice ist in den Händen des Imperators, der der Sternenfahrergilde und den Bene Gesserit alle 10 Jahre ihr Rationen zuteilt.
Leto II ist nu...more
Leto II ist nu...more
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Sword and Laser: I have never finished the Dune series due to dislike. | 54 | 274 | Jul 15, 2012 08:30am | |
| Goodreads Librari...: ISBN 0425053121 | 3 | 26 | Oct 20, 2011 09:31pm |
Critically acclaimed and commercially successful American science fiction author.
He is best known for the novel Dune and its five sequels. The Dune saga, set in the distant future and taking place over millennia, dealt with themes such as human survival and evolution, ecology, and the intersection of religion, politics, and power, and is widely considered to be among the classics in the field of...more
More about Frank Herbert...
He is best known for the novel Dune and its five sequels. The Dune saga, set in the distant future and taking place over millennia, dealt with themes such as human survival and evolution, ecology, and the intersection of religion, politics, and power, and is widely considered to be among the classics in the field of...more
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“Most civilisation is based on cowardice. It's so easy to civilize by teaching cowardice. You water down the standards which would lead to bravery. You restrain the will. You regulate the appetites. You fence in the horizons. You make a law for every movement. You deny the existence of chaos. You teach even the children to breathe slowly. You tame.”
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“The truth always carries the ambiguity of the words used to express it.”
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