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Chapterhouse: Dune

(Dune #6)

Frank Herbert

3.91 · Rating details · 43,420 ratings · 767 reviews

The desert planet Arrakis, called Dune, has been destroyed. Now, the Bene Gesserit, heirs to Dune's power, have colonized a green world--and are turning it into a desert, mile by scorched mile.
Here is the last book Frank Herbert wrote before his death. A stunning climax to the epic Dune legend that will live on forever...

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Mass Market Paperback, 436 pages

Published July 1st 1987 by Ace Books (first published April 1985)

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Start your review of Chapterhouse: Dune (Dune Chronicles #6)

May 18, 2018 Michael Finocchiaro rated it really liked it

Shelves: sci-fi, american-20th-c, fiction, series

Introductory notes:
Some initial notes for building my impressions of Dune where book references are denoted by D1-D6 for the 6 volumes of the trilogy - warning - there are some spoilers below, but once again if you have read this far into the Dune series, they are hardly spoilers because you already know all of this, or most of it.

Royal Houses
Atreides
Harkonnen
Corinno

It is interesting to me that despite the massive scale of Dune, it remains a tale concerning really only three families ...more

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Jun 05, 2014 Lyn rated it liked it

Chapterhouse: Dune was the last Dune novel that Frank Herbert completed and published before his death in 1986. Though he had written notes and the series would continue with his son Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson, most Dune fans regard the six Frank Herbert publications as the “Original Series”. After many books written since his death, pundits have stated that the only notes left is a post it note that says, "write more books."

In this installment the direction taken in Heretics of Dune, ...more

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Jul 02, 2016 Evgeny rated it it was ok

Shelves: scifi

Unlike the previous books this one continues the plot-line of the previous ones; books 1-4 had definite endings, but book 5 did not. So the Bene Gesserit pulled back to regroup and get ready for a counterattack. The regrouping only took them 10 years to do so while the new menace appearing out of nowhere continued to capture or destroy their home bases. Can we say after 5000 years of preparations the Bene Gesserit were not exactly ready? Sure we can. It is also completely unclear whether the new ...more

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Mar 25, 2013 Bradley rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 2017-shelf, sci-fi, worldbuilding-sf

As with much of Frank Herbert's other writing, Dune excluded, this one is a novel notable and worthy on the realm of ideas. He never stints on ideas. He might get slighly sloggish and lose the thread of the plot while we plod around in the ideas, but there's always great scenes and always great blow-out reveals. The original classic of Dune has none of these faults. It is a classic and imminently readable from page one and is still my favorite book of all time.

So what about this one? Is it worth As with much of Frank Herbert's other writing, Dune excluded, this one is a novel notable and worthy on the realm of ideas. He never stints on ideas. He might get slighly sloggish and lose the thread of the plot while we plod around in the ideas, but there's always great scenes and always great blow-out reveals. The original classic of Dune has none of these faults. It is a classic and imminently readable from page one and is still my favorite book of all time.

So what about this one? Is it worth reading for everyone else? It's book 6 in the very impressive and automatically Epic series that encapsulates over five thousand years from the events of Dune, ending with the centric viewpoint of the Bene Gesserit after the tyranny of Paul's son and the great diaspora that scattered all the peoples of the galaxy after his death.

The planet Dune is effectively destroyed at the end of Heretics of Dune and only a single sandworm and some sandtrout was lifted from the planet to be the seed of a new place where the Spice can be produced. This is especially important after the Bene Tleilaxu were also destroyed or partially submerged under the auspices of the Gesserit after the Honored Matres rampaged through the known universe.

This book takes up the new clones of Teg and Duncan, but mostly revolves around the conflicts between the Bene Gesserit and the Honored Matres. Each side has taken prisoners and tries to subvert the captives. The Bene Gesserit are more than slightly more successful at the task than the "knock-off Bene Gesserit" Honored Matres, despite the others being wildly more dominant and deadly in combat.

What we have is a novel that reminds me a great deal of the later Wheel of Time books with Egwaine in the White Tower, only, I have to point out that Chapterhouse Dune came out first. :) We know that Jordan was a big fan of Dune and stole a tone of great ideas from Herbert, so this shouldn't be too surprising, but rather than a 5-6 enormous spread of books, Herbert accomplishes a success-from-below story in a single novel. :)

The teaching and the subversion is the real main story in Chapterhouse. Don't let the cool space battles and space-opera fool you. This is a story of fantastic women doing fantastic things, the undisputed masters of the galaxy, and a massive conflict between the returning diaspora offshoot of the Bene Gesserit and the main line that stayed behind.

On that level, it's still a great tale despite my other issues with it.

Anything this complex and full of great observations about human nature, politics, and even love should not be discounted lightly. It's super dense with fantastic ideas on every page and even though it will never be considered a standalone classic, it's a very, very worthy novel to read. Especially in conjunction with Heretics of Dune.

And, I assume, Hunters of Dune and Sandworms of Dune carry on the tradition well since I'm going to plow through them and continue the storyline set up here. :) The cliffhanger at the end of Chapterhouse was a doozy. :)

Let's see if Herbert's son and Anderson make the ideas into something more traditional, eh? I can hope. They've had a lot of practice in the universe before attempting the big one. Herbert's death put a stop to the story and most of us fans were extremely upset. Hell, I remember reading this book the first time in '89 and wishing I could have written the sequel to it. I can't be alone in this. :) I can only hope that expectations live up, etc., etc. ...more

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Aug 11, 2014 Markus rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: dune, hanging-out-with-mrs-kholin, science-fiction, 2015

Buddy read with Athena!

“Seek freedom and become captive of your desires. Seek discipline and find your liberty.”

The Honoured Matres have returned with their full strength from the Scattering, and their fleets are assaulting all the worlds that once made up the old Empire at the core of the universe. The nobility and the Ixians have fallen, and the one force resisting the relentless invasion is the now legendary sisterhood of the Bene Gesserit.

Heretics of Dune ended with one of the most dramatic ...more

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Aug 17, 2009 Gabe rated it it was amazing

I am a reader who sometimes enjoys books that make me work hard. This book (this series) is one of those. I loved it, but I fully understand that not everyone will.

In addition to being one of the greatest science fiction sagas ever, the Dune Chronicles were a massive sociological "thought experiment" on Herberts part, and I for one am thankful he had the time to share his thoughts with us. These books (especially the later ones) are the kind you have to put down from time to time to just think ...more

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May 28, 2008 Terence rated it liked it · review of another edition

Recommends it for: Dune completists

Shelves: sf-fantasy

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Book: 3 stars
Audio CD: 3 stars

In Dune, Frank Herbert achieved a near perfect balance of story, character and exposition. In fact, the story and characters expressed the themes of the book, and Herbert avoided long, philosophical discursions. Dune is a self-contained novel needing no prequels or sequels. However, Herbert had more to say and produced five further novels set in the Atreides Imperium that were interesting to the compulsively completist amongst us (and I number myself one in this ...more

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Aug 17, 2008 Stephen rated it liked it

Shelves: audiobook, sf-space-opera, sequels

3.0 to 3.5 stars. After loving the first five books in the series, I was a little disappointed in this last installment of the Dune Chronicles by Frank Herbert. While I have always been a big fan of Herbert's heavy use of dialogue and philosophical argument to advance the themes of the story, I thought that its use in this volume was not as crisp and felt a bit too plodding. That said, I did like it and it is certainly not a bad book, but it does suffer in comparison to the previous ...more

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Mar 01, 2011 Drew rated it it was amazing

This 6th and final book in the Dune saga that Frank Herbert wrote before his death in 1986 stands as one of the best in the entire series. Many have complained that it doesn't "go anywhere" for the first 150 pages or so, but I think it does. There are all of these seemingly unrelated plot threads that slowly but surely converge such that by the time you're halfway through the book, it all makes sense. The last half of this book is a mixture of intrigue and action that left me breathless and This 6th and final book in the Dune saga that Frank Herbert wrote before his death in 1986 stands as one of the best in the entire series. Many have complained that it doesn't "go anywhere" for the first 150 pages or so, but I think it does. There are all of these seemingly unrelated plot threads that slowly but surely converge such that by the time you're halfway through the book, it all makes sense. The last half of this book is a mixture of intrigue and action that left me breathless and unable to put the book down until I was finished. The story here continues from the end of Heretics of Dune, with the Bene Gesserit hidden on their base planet of Chapterhouse, hiding and regrouping from the rampaging Honored Matres who hunt and slaughter them across the galaxy. However, the Bene Gesserit soon deduce that the Honored Matres themselves are being hunted, driven back into the Known Galaxy from the outer depths of The Scattering...and who these mysterious hunters are is not known. A desperate plan is conceived and ultimately carried out, but nothing goes as it was 100% planned and the resulting outcome leaves the two orders in shambles, merged together by force, with factions resisting, including some of the major players, who make their escape into the unknown. Throughout all of this are glimpses of two mysterious and all-powerful watchers who try to gather the most powerful of the renegades in their net...what ends up happening? Read it to find out!

Chapterhouse: Dune is famous for it's ending, which has been alternately called "cliffhanger" and "open." There has been raging debate over the intervening 25 years whether or not Frank Herbert intended to complete the saga with a 7th book, or leave it open-ended and finished with Chapterhouse:Dune. This is bolstered by two arguments...the short tribute to his wife that follows the final chapter (she died a year before this was published) and the fact that the mysterious watchers take the form of an elderly couple patterned after Frank and his wife Beverly. Further muddying the waters are the two horrendous "sequels" Herbert's son and his hack-writing partner Kevin Anderson published, supposedly based on an outline for "Dune 7," the supposed sequel and wrap-up to the saga, written by Frank Herbert and found in a safe-deposit box after he died in 1986. I won't get into any spoilers here, but suffice to say that the fact that the VAST MAJORITY of the "sequels" tie in characters created and introduced in Brian Herbert and Kevin Anderson's "prequels," written YEARS after Frank died, and it's clear that, even though the outline may very well exist, they did not follow it one bit. This becomes clearer after reading the "sequels," (and don't worry, I'll savage those books and reveal the lies from those two after I read them again and review them on here).

Thus, we are left with an open/cliffhanger ending that is at the same time satisfying and frustrating. This is a testament to Herbert's imagination and talent, however...the final chapter of Chapterhouse:Dune is chilling and amusing and leads your imagination into a million "what-ifs" about what happened next. If only Frank could have lived longer and finished the saga (if he ever indeed intended to), but we still have his 6 Dune books and all of the imagination-spurring it provides, and isn't that really what we want out of the best fiction in literature? ...more

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Aug 20, 2013 Adrian rated it it was amazing

Shelves: zz-owned-books, sci-fi

This is probably the best book so far in my opinion. Excellent storyline and well written, and gripping to the end

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Apr 16, 2012 Bob R Bogle rated it really liked it

Shelves: herbert

[Nota Bene: As Frank Herbert's last two published novels in the Dune series, Heretics of Dune and Chapterhouse: Dune, along with the unwritten Dune 7, in fact comprise a single story that happened to be divided into three parts, I'll post the same review for both of the two published volumes. This review contains no spoilers.]

During the first half of his literary career, Frank Herbert focused most on coming to terms with what it meant to be conscious. The evolution of his thinking on the subject ...more

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Aug 03, 2009 najla rated it liked it

i think i read the first book when i was 12, and for some reason got the idea in my head that i should read the whole lot in rapid succession. well, the rapid didn't happen so much, and i am grateful that i am five pages away from concluding my brief, but friendly affair with mr. herbert. you know when you begin to go on dates with someone that has been an intermittent and casual friend? you think, well, they seem perfectly nice, reasonably intelligent, compelling conversationalist, let's try. ...more

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Dec 11, 2012 Bukk rated it liked it

Shelves: series, novels, fiction, speculative-fiction, american

A good end to the Dune series. The final 150 pages really took off into something excellent, climbing and climbing until peaks of ultra-epicness appeared that I wish the rest of the book matched. Maybe my mediocre enjoyment of the first 280 pages or so was my own fault, which I will find out someday in the future when I hope to reread the whole series. I found it a bit too slow and uneventful for some time, with actual events of interest or importance being too far apart, and the whole thing ...more

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Nov 03, 2012 M.M. Strawberry Library & Reviews rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: science-fiction, author-frank-herbert, outer-space

As far as I am concerned, this is the last Dune book (besides the Encyclopedia) and should be considered the end. The disappointing tripe of Hunters and Sandworms of Dune by Brian and Kevin are nothing but poorly written fanfiction.

The consequences of Leto's Golden Path are made apparent in this and its predecessor, Heretics of Dune. Sheeana is a intriguing character and so is Murbella and Odrade, as well as the nth incarnation of Duncan Idaho.

Frank Herbert died before he could write Dune 7, so ...more

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Jan 27, 2015 Athena Shardbearer rated it liked it

Shelves: sci-fi-fantasy, dune, fantasy, space

Buddy Read withMarkus

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Mar 09, 2008 Matthew rated it really liked it

After tens of thousands of years, the theme of ultimate prophetic prediction, spice (i.e. water/oil) dependence, universal religious programming, not to mention a great primer on behind-the-scenes political activities, comes to a close. and what a perfect way to bring this series to an end. Well worth the devotion, this series follows one genetic line with supra-sensory perceptions which gave birth to a messianic figure and his son, whom became a galactic tyrant in the name of progress, nay, of ...more

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Feb 11, 2012 Kirsten rated it really liked it

Shelves: from-library, spec-fic, fiction

A thrilling and satisfying end to the Dune saga. I know there's quite a bit of evidence (including in the text) that Herbert intended to write at least one more Dune novel, but I feel quite satisfied with this as a concluding chapter. I don't believe I will read any of Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson's sequels or prequels; I have not heard good things, and Herbert's vision was so unique that I have trouble imagining that even his son could continue it in the same vein.

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Jan 15, 2020 Ramón S. rated it did not like it · review of another edition

Shelves: worst-books-ever

Finally I ended this unbearable book. Had been a real penance, a hardship. I recognize that Dune is a classic in the genre but just the first book. The rest of the saga is incredibly boring and full of emptiness, the worst of the philosophical reasoning fills the book, a pomposity and a senseless discourse. One of the worst books I have ever read. Such a pity

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Nov 07, 2009 John Shumway rated it really liked 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 the Original Dune series in any way, and you could ...more

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Mar 07, 2011 Kevin rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: sci-fi

The grande finale of the whole of Frank Herbert's six Dune novels. Interesting ending (were the old couple actually god and his wife?), although it leaves many unanswered questions and various loose threads - which apparently his son Brian Herbert has tried to tie up in the later novels based around his Fathers notes. However I hear mixed reviews on these books. Maybe I will try and read them some other time.

The Space-Operatic original book, Dune, went very philosophical from Dune Messiah ...more

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Aug 23, 2007 Tom rated it really liked it

Shelves: sci-fi

Chapterhouse: Dune marks the final installment in Frank Herbert's original Dune Chronicles (though the story continues through another six prequels and two final sequels written by his son, Brian Herbert).

Set twenty or so years after the events in Heretics of Dune, readers may now follow the final confrontation between hyper-sexualized and dominating "Honored Matres," vs. the Rasputian, scheming Bene Gesserit, for control of the old empire and the fate of humanity (though in this installment, ...more

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Sep 28, 2016 Yassine Lachgar rated it it was amazing

Chapterhouse: Dune

Frank Herbert's sixth novel of his Dune series.

Definitely a 5/5 stars book.

Frank Herbert's last novel he wrote before his death in 1986, I consider this to be the third best novel in the Dune series after the Dune and GEoD. Can't believe why so many people think of it as a weak one, thinking that the first 1/4 of the book takes a slow pace. But I totally disagree Frank starts the book giving the reader strands of his main plot through dialogues and monologues you should really ...more

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Sep 15, 2011 Ivana rated it it was amazing

I'll keep this short. I think that this final novel is the perfect conclusion to the best sf series in history. First time I've read it I liked it, but when I've reread it I loved it. I guess that I had to process it a bit. Maybe because I was sitting in front of split city museum when I was reading it for the first time, and Split is so beautiful it can be distracting. Anyway, all of suppleness that you can find in Herbert's best novels- it's definitely there. Now, I'm not sure how many times ...more

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Jun 29, 2009 Eric rated it liked it

Frank Herbert's last Dune novel suffers from the same flaws as Heretics of Dune. One that I didn't mention in my review of that novel, but which certainly applies to both, is the lack of a character to care about. In the first four Dune books, Leto, Paul, and Leto II provide central figures whose rises and falls the reader becomes invested in.

None of the characters in Heretics or Chapterhouse stand out in that same way. The fact that almost every character is a Bene Gesserit, trained by a Bene ...more

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Aug 21, 2017 Ethan rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

See a somewhat expanded version of this review on my blog: http://examinedworlds.blogspot.com/20...

This is my third time through the series. I always enjoy a visit to the Dune universe, but it's not because I'd actually want to live in that universe. It's all too intense for me. I love the books but I have to admit they're pretty bleak with all those "plans within plans within plans" all in service of the raw pursuit of power. Dramatized with internal asides in italics! For all their See a somewhat expanded version of this review on my blog: http://examinedworlds.blogspot.com/20...

This is my third time through the series. I always enjoy a visit to the Dune universe, but it's not because I'd actually want to live in that universe. It's all too intense for me. I love the books but I have to admit they're pretty bleak with all those "plans within plans within plans" all in service of the raw pursuit of power. Dramatized with internal asides in italics! For all their machinations and glorious battle, nobody in the Dune books really seems to be enjoying themselves. At least until this one.

In my review of Heretics of Dune, I said that a big theme of the series is expanding humanity -- pushing human nature to new heights of abilities and forms from the Guild Navigators, Bene Gesserit, Mentats, Tleilaxu, Face Dancers, Honored Matres, and more. A bit part of Herbert's genius is the idea that if we eschew technology in something like the Butlerian Jihad, we might radically remake ourselves (with some help from the Spice, of course).

That's all fascinating stuff, but what makes Chapterhouse: Dune my third favorite in the series (after Dune and God-Emperor of Dune) is that it is about rediscovering humanity. In particular, it's about remembering that being human is also about things that many Dune characters find sentimental and inessential: love and laughter. This may be the only Dune book where anybody laughs out of amusement rather than rapturous revenge. The relationship between Duncan and Murbella is probably the first time people have really loved each other in the books since Leto I and Jessica. I'd like to think Herbert is consciously returning to this theme he basically left behind in the first book. Perhaps he was prompted by thinking about his own marriage. There's a touching dedication to his recently deceased wife, Bev, at the end of the novel.

Some contemporary philosophers have discussed an objective list theory of meaning. It's not that meaning is entirely subjective, but it's also not easy to say that a few things are meaningful for everybody. Perhaps instead there's a long list of meaningful activities. The pursuit of plans within plans within plans is meaningful, but so is enjoying a meal or a walk, laughing, and loving. I'd like to think that the more we remember the meaningfulness of the little things, the less we'll sweat the big stuff. Not that we'll give up the big projects (and the Dune universe contains some big projects indeed), but they're not the only thing that makes life meaningful.

Darwi Odrade is one of my favorite characters in the Dune series, because I think she understands the importance of rediscovering humanity in the wild expansion and remembering the meaning of the smaller things in life. It's why she fights the power-mad, humorless Honored Matres. It's why she occasionally indulges in delicious meals and takes walks in the orchards just for fun. I'd like to think this was part of Leto II's Golden Path all along. Maybe part of his mysterious lesson to humanity was that there's more to life than the pursuit of raw power, that love and laughter and talking leisurely strolls are as important as developing fantastic abilities. And perhaps he saw that Odrade or someone like her would someday lead the Bene Gesserit against the Honored Matres and their ilk. Or maybe Odrade came up with the idea on her own. Another mystery added to the heap of Dune mysteries.

Is this mission to rediscover humanity successful? I'll have to go into full spoiler mode to discuss this question. (view spoiler)

So this book -- and the series -- ends with plenty of unanswered questions, which I think is fitting for a philosophical science fiction saga. What fun would it be to see the end of the Golden Path?

Sure, there are those direct sequels from Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson (Hunters of Dune and Sandworms of Dune). I might read them, especially since they're allegedly based directly on Frank Herbert's notes. I never like their Dune prequel books much, although I've read several; when you need to spend time in the Dune universe, sometimes a mediocre trip is better than none at all.

Luckily, I think the books Frank Herbert actually wrote during his lifetime stand up fine on their own. And I continue to love the sixth book as a bit of a correction to and complication of the earlier books. As we expand humanity it's good not to forget all the other things that make human life meaningful. ...more

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Jun 27, 2019 Tarash_bulba rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: science-fiction

Some very interesting ideas and exploration of complex concepts (government, love, bureucracy) but also very inconsistent and downright frustrating at times. I think I'll just read Hunters and Sandworms to get the"complete" dune saga but that's as far as I'll go considering the lowering of the quality of the series from sequel to sequel.

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Jan 06, 2014 Sarah rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Having reached the end of this long and arduous series, my dominant thought is 'finally.'

Chapterhouse: Dune is similar enough to Heretics of Dune that it seems as if it could be one book split in two. Chapterhouse takes place only a few years after Heretics, and like Hereitcs, it involves average writing, a mildly interesting plot, and typically static characters. More of Herbert’s trademark dawdling narrative. Easy enough to swallow in the beginning of the series when the fantasy world was Having reached the end of this long and arduous series, my dominant thought is 'finally.'

Chapterhouse: Dune is similar enough to Heretics of Dune that it seems as if it could be one book split in two. Chapterhouse takes place only a few years after Heretics, and like Hereitcs, it involves average writing, a mildly interesting plot, and typically static characters. More of Herbert’s trademark dawdling narrative. Easy enough to swallow in the beginning of the series when the fantasy world was exciting, new, and fresh, but by the sixth book, requires pulling out your wading boots and slogging through.

Just about the only aspect of the series that continued to pique my interest in this final installment are the maxims that touch on governance, bureaucracy, and politics. While much of what Herbert has to say is contained within the storyline and the characters themselves, I've found that the maxims in combination with the action are his more clear and powerful modes of thematic expression. This is a strength that has not altered since the beginning of the series, in addition to, of course, the description of fantastic planets in his imaginary universe. From the orchards to the sea, Herbert made the planet of Chapterhouse sound more pleasant than most, peaceful and lush with vegetation.

Herbert also garners a renewed interest in the individuals of his story. Among the typical fixed characters, used as representations of the themes of religion, politics, and power, are two relatively shining beacons of character development: Odrade and Murbella. In Odrade we find the deepest look into a Bene Gesserit yet, including flashbacks of her childhood. It provides a refreshing contrast to the sterility commonly seen in other members of the order. Truly getting to know a character gives the reader someone to root for, something that was missing from Heretics. Odrade forms a much stronger lead presence, and for what felt like the first time, a main character has emotions. The reader can somewhat feel her worry of the Honored Matres, her sadness at changing Chapterhouse to a desert. If Herbert had been a stronger writer, this could have been exceptionally powerful.

In a similar way, Murbella serves as a breather between stiff and hard-to-follow dialogue among other characters. Her spirit brings something new to the Sisterhood, and ends up revolutionizing the entire order. Additionally, the fondness Murbella and Duncan have fostered for each other is a nice balance to the overdose of sexuality in the previous book. Murbella is, plain and simple, likeable.

Still, as Herbert's characters are embodiments of his themes, I have always wished they would be fleshed out a bit more. In combination with a slow plot, it renders it difficult to tell which is the main focus of the book, the story or the characters. As the series goes on, neither end up being particularly strong, and that is especially true of Chapterhouse, a book which could have easily chopped out 200 pages and remained coherent. While having fewer loose ends than Heretics, this may be because it simply has fewer plotlines to connect. Still, elements are introduced that never find a resolution, such as the Futars. While it's possible these mysteries would have been solved in the next planned installment, it remains rather unsatisfying.

Also, there's pedophilia, so that's uncomfortable and weird.

Though possible to squeeze some enjoyment out of this novel, especially in the beginning, it remains a book to read for only those completionists determined to finish the series. And no, I certainly do not plan on attempting the books created from Herbert's notes by his famously less-talented son. ...more

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May 26, 2019 Michael Burnam-Fink rated it it was ok

Shelves: 2019, sci-fi

Well, that was certainly a book.

Dune: Chapterhouse is mostly empty sand, with a few bits of melange in original thoughts about tradition, power, and survival. The main character is Odrade, Bene Gesserit Mother Superior, who faces the destruction of her order at the hands of the rampaging Honored Matres. Only secrecy, and a Reverend Mother's willingness to die before betraying the order, can buy Odrade precious time to figure out a strategy for survival, a multipronged plan involving a ghola of Well, that was certainly a book.

Dune: Chapterhouse is mostly empty sand, with a few bits of melange in original thoughts about tradition, power, and survival. The main character is Odrade, Bene Gesserit Mother Superior, who faces the destruction of her order at the hands of the rampaging Honored Matres. Only secrecy, and a Reverend Mother's willingness to die before betraying the order, can buy Odrade precious time to figure out a strategy for survival, a multipronged plan involving a ghola of the Bashar Miles Teg, renegade Honored Matre Murbella, and the ecological transformation of the planet Chapterhouse into another Dune via sandworm.

But here's the thing, a protagonist requires a character arc; a heroic protagonist requires a flaw (at least in the classical sense), and the Bene Gesserit in this book provide neither. The are history embodied, through the thousand of other memories that live in the Reverend Mothers. the Honored Matre are a kind of twisted mirror of the Bene Gesserit, all of their vaunted control and power with none of the tempering of wisdom. But what faces Odrade is not barbarians, but what Iain M Banks deemed an 'Outside Context Problem'. What has returned from the vast Scattering of human space and evolution, and how is it beyond the memories of the Bene Gesserit. However, the Bene Gesserit are too unruffled, to serene even in the face of extinction. They're a far cry from the subtle shapers of people and events of Dune, and strangely unaffected by the failure of their 10,000 year program to produce the Kwisatz Haderach, which lead to Muad'Dib and the Tyrant Leto II.

Dune was at its best when it balanced the grand forces beyond human control, the Fremen Jihad, prescient powers, Bene Gesserit plots, etc, with the fact that it mattered that it was these humans, in this time and place, Paul and Jessica and Chani and Stilgar, on Dune, when the power of the Atreides has been broken.

Herbert died before the true conclusion of the series. Duncan foresees an enemy that the Honored Matres are fleeing from, which in perhaps the ultimate example of anti-climaticism, are Face Dancers named Marty and Daniel who have absorbed so many identities they have become super-human.

If Heretics were fragments of a better book, Chapterhouse is those fragments ground to dust. ...more

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Jan 09, 2012 Seth rated it really liked it · review of another edition

one of the best in the series. definitely fulfills a lot that felt unfulfilled in the previous book. it was refreshing to not have a thousand year gap in between two of the books again. you get the same characters back on a large scale for the first time since book two went into book three.

there is a helluva cliff hanger, and frank herbert died before he could write the next chapters. i'm very tempted to read books 7 and 8 by his son brian and kevin j. anderson, but i have my doubts. and after ...more

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Jan 17, 2009 Spike Spikey rated it it was ok

I have a problem when a long multi-book series basically finishes with no real ending.

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About Frank Herbert

Frank Herbert

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Frank Herbert was a 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 ...more