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Mar 11, 2011

Josh rated it:

This is when I officially gave up on the Herbertverse. This was awful!!! I really do not care for the children of Mu A'dib, they're both creepy and way too articulate (kind of like Dakota Fanning) I was actually rooting for the assassins the entire book. And when the kid smears worm larvae on himself and becomes a god!?!!?!!?! Sorry folks, I checked out. I don't even care how the rest of the saga works out. No God Emperor of Dune for me, no Heretics, stop this universe, I want to get off More...

1 comment like (7 people liked it)

May 06, 2008

Richard rated it:

The Dune series is remarkable in that each sequel gets progressively worse until it's unreadable.

The first book is truly excellent. It's mantra on fear alone makes it great.

The second book a very good sci-fi novel.

The third book is merely okay.

The fourth book is sub-par, but still interesting.

The fifth book is a pain in the ass to read.

The sixth book will leave you concerned about the author's health, so terribad is the writing.

2 comments like (16 people liked it)

Mar 09, 2011

Drew rated it:

The conventional wisdom seems to be that only the first Dune book is good and that the rest of them are awful, but I've found this to definitely not be the case. This 3rd book in the series was gripping and exciting...I literally couldn't put it down! Don't listen to what everyone else says, read these books for yourself and make your own decision...you won't be disappointed! This one focuses on the children of Muad'Dib, as well as his sister Alia, wife-in-name-only Irulan, and the return of More...

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Oct 28, 2008

David rated it:

The classic biblical conundrum - are the sins of the father really inherited by the son?
Yes, CoD went a lot further in analyzing religion and society than the previous book which I found interesting, but more interesting was the current day metaphor with society's "progress" without regard to the costs involved. Who is going to pay for our excesses today, and how will they go about fixing them?
The Preacher seemed a powerful figure at the beginning of the story, but by the More...

0 comments like (5 people liked it)

Jun 02, 2011

Michael rated it:

This one is officially my favorite of the series. Herbert's narrative style has been honed and refined in this sequel. The result is a novel with a lot more showing and a lot less telling. The telling that remains now is there mostly to help the reader bridge the nine year gap between novels.

What can I say about the plot without giving anything away? It was far-reaching, character-filled, and cerebral. There is a short slump in the middle where I felt like Herbert could have cut thi More...

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Jul 03, 2010

Bryan added it

A Masterpiece Revisited: ---
Why review a book in 2007 which originally came out nearly a half-century ago?

Because I just reread it this week, and now I remember why it has always been my favorite of all the Dune books.

In the unlikely event that you don't already know the story, herewith a very brief plot summary: About ten thousand years from now, on a planet that used to be an almost-uninhabitable desert but which is now slowly turning green, two nine-year-old children, a boy and a girl-- More...

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May 04, 2011

Demerzel rated it:

This review won't make sense if you haven't read the book.

The problem with this part of the Dune series is the fact that a classic has evolved into a family story without much of a plot. Riding on the comfort of knowing that most of his characters are already well-established and well-loved (I do not add equally well-hated as all of the 'bad guys' tend to be wiped out at the end of every book in this series), Herbert proceeds to throw in another tale to preach to us more inspiring idea More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Apr 10, 2011

Jing rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Mar 09, 2011

Harmonybites rated it:

This is the third novel in the Dune series, so you should at least read Dune and Dune Messiah before tackling this one--the question is if having done so you should continue on at all.

I loved the first book, Dune and rated it a full five stars. After the epic sweep of the first book, the immediate sequel might seem underwhelming. Even just looking at both books, the first looks very slender compared to the first book's doorstopper thickness. The second book is far more intimate really More...

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Aug 18, 2010

Synbiosee rated it:

I'm not going to go into a huge analyze of the book, I just want to give a quick opinion for those reading feedbacks trying to decide if they should read this book.

I absolutely loved the first two books, they were brilliant. This book was very good, but not as good as the first two. The main problem in my eyes is that the book felt like it was meant to be 800-1000 pages but ended up being cut by half or more. The result is that there is a ton of characters who all play a fairly minor More...

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Jun 24, 2010

Daniel rated it:

Feint within feint; plot within plot; backstabbing within backstabbing… These elements make up the driven words of Frank Herbert's Children of Dune. It was very difficult for me to put this book down. Where the first book of Dune was fascinating in plot, structure, and form, Children of Dune read like a tabloid and political manifesto joined together as one. I say tabloid because it is filled with political back-stabbing and musings into, "who is Alia sleeping with now?" And, "is More...

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Jan 06, 2010

Dylan rated it:

The end of what I consider the Dune Trilogy. The first three books of this story carry a pretty solid story through to the end... a story that get's lost in the millennia jump to the next book. However, it's usually by the time you read this book that you are thoroughly and completely invested in the world and story of the Atreides bloodline. So you keep going... and a tough slog it ends up being.

All that is to say while this book is a really good read, be warned: the story DOES N More...

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Nov 07, 2009

John rated it:

*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 More...

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Apr 05, 2009

Alex rated it:

Man, I keep reading these things cause I hear number four is pretty f'd up in an entertaining way, but after this one I'm beginning to wonder if it's possible for Herbert to write an entertaining book. Well, won't that be egg on my face...

Also: You know how when you read any given fiction, no matter the quality, you manage to find one character who you like/can emphasize with/who you're sort of rooting for to not get totally screwed over by whatever's happening. Man, not the Dune b More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Jan 01, 2012

Will rated it:

For me, the great thing about Dune Messiah was how it captured so many big problems. It had historical functionalism v. intentionalism- how responsible was Paul for his own genocidal jihad, and could he have even stopped it? It had the instant corruption of absolute power- the sequence near the beginning when everyone who knelt before Jessica too slowly was killed on the spot, and everyone who knelt too quickly was arrested to be tortured for further information. It had the conspirators who w More...

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Feb 17, 2011

Andrew rated it:

The anti-George Lucas.

Frank Herbert, that is. His science fiction universe has come to embody everything that another seminal epic of our time, “Star Wars,” cannot: subtlety and mystery. “Children of Dune” is the third installment in the series and centers on the vicissitudes of a power struggle involving Paul Atreides’ sister and his children. This in a vacuum created by Muad’Dib since his disappearance into the desert at the end of the second novel, “Dune Messiah.”

Ar More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Mar 28, 2010

Brian rated it:

Children of Dune is one of those books which is curiously surpassed by the movie (in this case, the SciFi/SyFy movie by the same name). Don't get me wrong: Children of Dune as a book is much richer in terms of musings about the nature of time, prescience, and depth, but the movie just captures the emotional nature of the primary storyline with greater clarity.

To give a brief synopsis, Children of Dune centers on Dune shortly after the time of Muad'Dib (Paul Atreides). A theocracy has tak

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Aug 19, 2008

Heather rated it:

The Dune books just got weirder and weirder and I didn't much like them. I LOVE the first one and have read it a bazillion times. I read each of the later books and never wanted to read them again. I didn't like what they did to the characters I loved (and hated) and I didn't like the new characters introduced.

I'm sure there are lots of Herbert fans out there who loves the rest of the series and think they are the most amazing things ever. I'm not one.

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Feb 11, 2012

Kirsten rated it:

Paul Atreides is presumed dead, and his sister Alia reigns as regent in his place. Leto and Ghanima, the twins who were born at the end of Dune Messiah, are to be the new rulers when they come of age, but their lives are marred by dangerous political intrigue, superstition, and suspicion. Like Alia, they were born with the conscious memories of all of their forbears, and think and act like adults despite being only ten years old. Are they, as the Bene Gesserit believe, Abominations? Or do they h More...

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Aug 15, 2009

Ashley rated it:

Originally meant to be the final book of a Dune trilogy, it details the lives of the children of Emperor Paul Muad'dib and Chani as they negotiate attempts on their lives; scheming, megalomaniacal, and possessed aunts; emotionally overwrought quardians; skeptical grandmothers waiting to pounce; and the inexorable force of prophecy and "The Golden Path." Leto II, who will headline in the next novel, God Emperor of Dune, is introduced as an unnerving prodigy set on taking up the role hi More...

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Feb 19, 2011

Casey rated it:

Children of Dune is definitely more engaging that Dune Messiah, but I surely missed having Paul as the main character. Ghanima and Leto II take center stage, except that it's mostly Leto II, whereas Ghanima takes a back seat, being the "weaker" one. I don't think I ever got around to caring for Leto and in fact I found him strange and boring. The big secret of the Preacher was not really a secret at all and it would have been more surprising if he had turned out to be someone else.
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Oct 14, 2010

Noor rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

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Feb 15, 2010

Leslie rated it:

So...this one gets kind of "out there." I was pretty sure I could see an underlying political point to Dune Messiah, but I think this was more pure science fiction. There are a lot of interesting observations about human nature. Herbert's perspective on the depth of human interactions, subtext, planning, and manipulation is somewhat...paranoid. Everyone's trying to achieve his own selfish ends, and it's a competition to see which one can out-deceive, out-manipulate, and out-maneuve More...

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Oct 16, 2009

Zach rated it:

Disregarding the underwhelming Dune Messiah, Children of Dune is a true and worthy sequel to Herbert's seminal classic. It's a rare sequel that not only stands on its own merits but illuminates the original in a whole new light. To wit: reading this book made me realize an aspect of Dune that I had overlooked before -- the realistic emotional portrayal of a legitimate religious prophet. Herbert's superhuman protagonists have genuine abilities of prescience that cannot be explained without a More...

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Aug 30, 2011

Jon rated it:

These Dune books all follow a similar pattern: start really slow, catch you attention when the sh-- hits the fan, then end in a truly epic and legendary manner. Usually the ending makes up for all the slogging early on, and it mostly did in this one, but not as well as in the first Dune. I had trouble understanding the motivations of most of the characters, why they did the things they did.

Most importantly, I had trouble rooting for any of them. All of the sides in the conflict were e More...

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Jan 11, 2012

David rated it:

Paul is now gone and his children are struggling to keep power. Leo, Paul's son, sees a single future where humanity exists and he must make a serious change for humanity's sake. What will he have to sacrifice? His family members? Or is it something he must do?

The third book of the Dune series was as far as I got. I thought Leo's choice on what had to be done to save humanity was so unbelievable that I am not even continuing this book series. I understand it is a classic book series bu More...

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Jan 22, 2012

Lillian rated it:

Just finished this one! Very intriguing book filled with philosophical insight. Frank Herbert creates a dynasty in a powerful science fiction saga, that continuously inundates the reader with enlightening morsels of thought. I will include a quote I found particularly striking- and there are many.

"Because I know this planet. You don't understand? Think how it is. Beneath the surface there are rocks, dirt, sediment, sand. That's the planet's memory, the picture of it's history. I More...

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Sep 08, 2009

Laura rated it:

Apart from the storyline, I liked the book. I was compelled to keep reading it and was reluctant to put it down until I finally reached the end. Having said that, I'm still quite befuddled as to what all was going on. I understand bits of it, especially the part where Leto succumbs fully to the mythos/fate/whatever-you-call-it that his father tried to run from and his aunt, Alia, was too scared to face, a course which robs him completely of his humanity. But to what end? Who is the enemy an More...

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Nov 17, 2011

Patrick rated it:

This book wraps up the trilogy of Dune. After trudging through most of this book I realized I did not care about any of the characters. The way they interacted with each other, even brother and sister, was so callous and void of emotion that I found myself callous and unemotional about the story. The way the dialogue and situations played out was well done in my opinion. With so much going on it seemed like the plotting and scheming distracted from the story itself. It was almost like, to steal More...

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Jul 28, 2011

Daragh added it

More intrigues, more tense face-offs between the wonderfully enigmatic Preacher and his sister, the demented and besieged Alia. However it marks a slighty sad passing of the loved characters from the original Dune. Gurney and Stilgar are all but sidelined, poor Paul/Preacher goes out with a distant whimper (it was much better handled in the TV mini-series) and Leto II after he begins his transformation, becomes a seriously malevolent and unforgiving 'person'. It's somehow distressing to see the More...

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