Dune: The Duke of Caladan (The Caladan Trilogy Book 1)

by Brian Herbert

he let himself vanish into the crowd.

Humility

Combine Honnete Ober Advancer Mercantiles,

consider them all sycophants, Sire. Some are worth

think ahead, to consider the consequences of your actions and avoid pitfalls.”

He and Leto also had a history.

Theres beef here.

It was not Leto’s choice but the Imperium’s.

Jessica and Leto were initially an arranged marriage.

“My father taught me that the first responsibility of a Duke is the safety of his people. I am first and foremost the Duke of Caladan.”

Nobility over tradition.

You don’t think your holdings would thrive better under independent rule? Or do you like having tithes and taxes siphoned off for ridiculous expenditures like this grand museum?”

Houses were colonized by the Corrinos for centuries.

Otorio was our ancestral sanctuary. The damage can never be undone.”

House Aru inhabited Otorio until the Emperor colonized it.

I have taught you, do not sacrifice what you truly want for what you want right now.

Humanity cannot sustain a thousand more years of Corrino decadence. The modern Imperium serves no purpose except for despotism.”

Jaxson struggled to convince Malina to avenge what the Imperium did to Otorio.

“Why do you all tolerate an ancient and corrupt Imperium, monopolized by one greedy family, when we could have thousands of thriving independent planets, each controlled by its own leaders and its own people? That is how the human race survives!”

Jaxson's goal

“Jessica … Jessica of Caladan! You must take her away from him! Jessica.”

Does she mean Paul?

“I cannot believe this,” Shaddam said. “My museum complex, my festival!” Leto forced his words out against the crushing acceleration. “All those people.” He looked at the lighter’s passenger compartment. “I wish we could have saved more.”

The Atreides-Corrino contrast.

It wasn’t the first time Paul had dreamed of the mystery girl.

Chani

“When we learned what happened at the Emperor’s festival, I had to bring word from my followers. We prayed for you, Duke Leto, our Duke. I came in person so that you would know. The Muadh rejoice that you have returned to us safely. The Duke of Caladan is Caladan, who walks among us.”

Leto was an avid unifier.

A news report is based on fact, fiction, or a combination of the two, and is presented from a certain angle. Truth belongs to those who control that perspective.

Thufir insisted that he never sit or stand with his back to a door. Situational awareness.

Jopati’s own Great House had been overthrown many years ago in a scheme concocted by Emperor Elrood and Duke Paulus Atreides, an act of treachery that the man would never forget or forgive.

Reference to the prequel.

the loudest ones were likely the least problematic.

What better way to affect everyone in the Imperium, generate enormous revenue, and make them pay attention?

Shaddam clearly did not give a fuck about his people.

Malina Aru had a sterling reputation, was a vocal supporter of the Imperium and its traditions, and surely wasn’t part of the resistance to bring it all down.

Malina gave into the Imperium despite the colonization of Otorio.

“We are basically animals, so that’s our instinctive side. The other side, the human one, involves socialization, learning how to find our way in society and excel in our pursuits.”

“Ultimately, the goal of our lives is to become as human as possible, to advance as far as we can.”

Suspicions have a way of becoming “facts,” even if they have no basis in truth.

As an offhand report a year earlier, Aricatha had let Malina Aru know that Shaddam intended to annex a minor world called Otorio, where he would raze part of the landscape and commence construction of an unprecedented Corrino museum. Aricatha had not known the significance of that backwater planet, simply reported the information as a matter of course. She had no idea what Otorio meant to the Aru family. Malina now regretted that she had chosen not to tell her son Jaxson about it immediately. She had miscalculated just how mortally offended he would be when his father’s burial shrine and the sacred olive grove were desecrated.

There was a particular importance to Otorio for House Aru. Malina just realizex that after denouncing Jaxson.

Sometimes waiting for a thing is part of the enjoyment.

Paul envied these people for knowing their exact place.

Paul was surrounded by a reality that couldn't care less of who he truly was.

he allowed himself a faint smile.

His cynicism came at the expense of a once good intention.

Brondon wept for his lost life, and Jaxson wept for all the lost time and opportunities with his father.

“Don’t waste your life, Jax. I did. Now it’s over. Never gave it a thought. But you … do great things. Do what you must. And people will remember for ages to come.”

Now he stared at the glassy wreckage of the impact site, where the lovely olive grove had once stood, the peaceful, sacred area where his father had been buried. The wanton destruction from the crash pained Jaxson, but his beloved home had already been destroyed by the hated Shaddam Corrino.

Shaddam made it painfully personal for Jaxson.

“Sire, I believe this drug has spread across the Imperium—right under our noses.”

Oh??????

Some people want to know the future so they can prepare for it. But I prefer not to know. I would rather prepare myself for eventualities and move forward with the confidence that I am strong and ready to face whatever may come.

“Jessica! Jessica of Caladan! Take her away! Our future depends on it.” She choked, then spouted more words around spittle in her mouth. “I have seen horror … bloodshed! Disaster! The end of the Sisterhood! Take her from the boy.”

The Kwisatz Haderach was already an omen.

Jessica had been indignant that the Sisterhood would meddle so blatantly,

Jessica was trying to be different.

The difference between delirium and insight is only a matter of perspective.

Unfortunately, the most evil personalities often possess extraordinary intellectual skills that enable them to advance their dark agendas.

Trumpism, fascism, nazism

“I fear Chaen Marek … more than you!”

“But the goals of the Bene Gesserit must remain paramount in their minds and in their hearts. No matter where they go or what assignments they receive, all Sisters belong to the order.”

What did Lethea want from Jessica? Why was the Sisterhood’s future at stake? And why was it so important that the mother be torn from her son?

The threat of the Holy War

“Bring me Jessica! Jessica of Caladan!”

The bitch is dead serious.

The Emperor was beginning to see traitors everywhere, most of them imaginary, but some were genuine rebels.

In order to build a strong and unified Imperium, do we dare give power to a man who idealizes the very concept of breaking it up?”

Modern-day Trumpism

“You know what the Noble Commonwealth hopes to achieve, and you know in your heart we are right. House Atreides has been a pawn of Corrino schemes more than once. Oh, here on Caladan, you give a cold shoulder to Imperial politics and machinations, but you know how corrupt, petty, and manipulative Shaddam Corrino can be.”

Negotiate fealty.

Isn’t the promise of true freedom and economic independence worth expending a little effort, enduring a little pain?”

“If you wanted only simple choices, perhaps you should have been a fisherman instead of a Duke.”

The initial report of income generated by his new spice surtax had proved disappointing. He had established the surtax to fill the hole in the treasury left by the gigantic, expensive, and now-vaporized Corrino museum complex, but the increased income was far less than he had expected.

Trump 2024 tariffs much??

“Silence will be my only response—the safest response.”

“Not civilians—enemies,” Leto said, cold as he spoke the words. The first responsibility of a Duke … “Those are not peasants or pundi rice farmers. Destroy the field, as planned.”

Leto is getting out of his own ducal orbit.