book data
3838 ratings, 3.61 average rating, 128 reviews
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published
January 15th 1984
(first published 1981)
by Berkley
binding
Paperback
isbn
042507272X
(isbn13: 9780425072721)
description
4th in Dune Chronicles Series
With more than ten million copies sold, Frank Herbert's magnificent DUNE books stand among the major achievements of...more
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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 4496)
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avg 3.61
Read in February, 2002
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&...more
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Read in November, 2002
recommends it for:
Intense Sci-Fi fans
Hmm, this book was quite boring in most parts and the ending was very, very strange. I used this book to put me to sleep for about two months. Its not the worst book I've ever read, but its close and I'm a sci-fi fan.
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This has one or two really cool parts but overall just felt kind of fragmented. It felt to me like there wasn't as strong an idea of what this book was meant to be before it was written. I'm probably wrong about that.
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recommends it for:
Everyone
Most of the Dune books are probably beyond a younger mind. I read these way back when and didn't understand any except the first couple and even then, only on a superficial level. I don't remember them either so it's like reading them for the first time all over again!
God Emperor of Dune is decent. Herbert's primary theme is that when people live in harsh conditions, they become hardened. The weakest of the people are destroyed by their environment and those remaining are toughened acco...more
God Emperor of Dune is decent. Herbert's primary theme is that when people live in harsh conditions, they become hardened. The weakest of the people are destroyed by their environment and those remaining are toughened acco...more
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Read in September, 2007
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...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...more
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Read in May, 2000
recommends it for:
People interested in political/religious/social philosophy
So far, this is my favorite of the Dune books. I say "so far," only because one has yet to hit the shelves, although I doubt it could touch this, the fourth book of the Dune Chronicles. In God Emperor of Dune, the son of the Kwisatz Haderach, Leto II, has transformed over a period of 3500 years into a half-man, half-sandworm creature. During the time of his metamorphosis, he has decreed himself the "God Emperor" of the known universe, and all societal and religious str...more
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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
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So far this is my favorite of the series. It addresses so many philosophical ideas within such a great framework of story. At once engaging and thought-provoking. In order to do a better review and really get at everything I learned, I have to read it again. It's a bit intense/dense. What can I say? I prefer to delve into morality and philosophy using literature. It's more meaningful to me that way, and I think entwining a beautiful story with many meanings and purposes takes a great deal of ski...more
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It took me two tries to actually read all the way through this. Giant Worm King Leto basically has become a cranky tyrant. I don't like this book a whole lot, it gets pretty dense with the pseudo philosophy and at one point Herbert's homophobia shines through with Leto giving some aside about how homosexuality is no more than an unfortunate perversion.
...
Um, you turned yourself into a GIANT WORM. You are no one to throw stones. Leto. Shut up, Leto. You're wrong about a lot of thing...more
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Um, you turned yourself into a GIANT WORM. You are no one to throw stones. Leto. Shut up, Leto. You're wrong about a lot of thing...more
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I really loved the world Herbert further developed here, as well as Leto II's contemplations on humanity, religion, language, machines and war. There was certainly a long stretch of this book that I enjoyed far more than anything in the previous two.
Characters, however, are certainly not Herbert's strength. I enjoyed Moneno, Duncan and Leto, though the later two were a bit tiresome at times. The rest felt mostly empty. Plus, there were so many epic ideas in this, I suppose I wanted the fina...more
Characters, however, are certainly not Herbert's strength. I enjoyed Moneno, Duncan and Leto, though the later two were a bit tiresome at times. The rest felt mostly empty. Plus, there were so many epic ideas in this, I suppose I wanted the fina...more
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Inhalt zählt: Wer auf bücher mit aktion spannung und einer megaabwechslungsreichen handlung steht sollte lieber nach dem 3. buch aufhören und mit dem 5 buch wieder anfangen. der 4. teil setzt auf inhalt und das tut frank herbert in einer unvergleichlichen weise. nirgens findet man wohl so viel philisophie/theorie in einem sifi-buch. die handlung diehnt mehr als leitfaden, ist aber als solcher überaus interessant, wenn man die z.t. recht langen gespräche nicht als last betrachtet. auch wird ...more
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Read in September, 2008
4.5 to 5.0 stars. The Dune series is arguably the best written series ever and this novel certainly continues that tradition of excellence. This book is far more contemplative and cerebral that its predecessors which I found a plus because I always enjoyed the long monologues between the characters discussing politics, relagion, ecology, etc.. A superb book. Highly recommended.
One note: I have both read and listened to the unabridged audiobook of this novel (as I have for all of the first 4...more
One note: I have both read and listened to the unabridged audiobook of this novel (as I have for all of the first 4...more
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Read in October, 2007
About the time I was starting this book, my history class included readings over the Muslim faith. So many terms I read in the history book are used by Herbert to create the world of Arrakis and describe the Fremen. 'Mahdi' is the most striking and you can tell that Herbert was familiar with Islmaic culture.
I was looking around online for more information about the Herbert/Islamic links and found a paper that suggested that DUNE was not so much a book about our world's dependence on oil - b...more
I was looking around online for more information about the Herbert/Islamic links and found a paper that suggested that DUNE was not so much a book about our world's dependence on oil - b...more
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There is something leaden about this book. Plot-wise, the previous Dune books were driven by crisis brought about by change. God Emperor of Dune centers around stasis - stasis imposed by a tyrant for the supposed good of humankind. Herbert is once again wrestling with some fascinating and complex ideas, but the philosophical pay-off doesn't quite balance the sluggish pace, the almost cartoonish outlandishness of Leto II's physical form, and the tedium of Leto's self-pity and his repeated waxin...more
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Read in July, 2008
recommends it for:
everyone
Once again I have read this book in less than 5 days.
This is book four in a six book series about the Atriedes Family and the Planet Dune. Frank Herbert is one of the great SciFi writers of all time. As well as being a fanatastic continuation to a great story this book has two deeper meanings for me that I have pondered since my first reading back in 1988.
The first thought is found in the question regarding a "walking civilization" and the other is the suggestion that the key...more
This is book four in a six book series about the Atriedes Family and the Planet Dune. Frank Herbert is one of the great SciFi writers of all time. As well as being a fanatastic continuation to a great story this book has two deeper meanings for me that I have pondered since my first reading back in 1988.
The first thought is found in the question regarding a "walking civilization" and the other is the suggestion that the key...more
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Read in January, 2003
So, the first 3 in the series I really liked. After that, Herbert should really have stopped. This was too weird.
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Read in November, 2007
recommends it for:
Dune fans curious what happened to Leto II
the book is interesting, on an intellectual/philosophical level, but kinda dry on an action level. The ending, though, could be seen coming about halfway through. It became more apparent about 3/4 the way through, and even more so after that, until it is hardly even necessary to read the last 15 pages.
Oddly enough, the last 2 pages (the epilogue) were perhaps the most interesting pages, driving home the point that you are reading a future history (hence validating some of the dryness of ...more
Oddly enough, the last 2 pages (the epilogue) were perhaps the most interesting pages, driving home the point that you are reading a future history (hence validating some of the dryness of ...more
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Though I may or may not read this book again, this one was the hardest of all Dune books for me to read. It seemed like there was a lot of philosophical talk that I needed to re-read pages over again just to make sure I fully understood the intentions of everyone involved. Frank Herbert was great for letting the characters actions and words speak for themselves, rather then him telling the reader directly. If you could tie certain pieces together, and fully understood the meanings behind the wor...more
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Read in October, 1994
What?! This is where I had to give up. I mean Paul's son is now a giant worm.
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