I started reading this book with great anticipation (I seem to have developed some sort of an addiction to Frank Herbert's books). It lived up to all my expectations and more. At the same time, it was a disappointment. Let me explain.
The book is one of the best of the Dune series, though it takes effort to go through the first half or so. While it takes the author many chapters to set up for the conclusion (I had to struggle to immerse myself into the spirit of the book), the Heretics of Dune has everything a Dune fan desires: myths and intrigue, tactics and machinations, heroics and love, thoughts behind thoughts behind thoughts (a Herbert trademark), and of course, great story telling.
While going through the first 200 pages or so, I may have just become saturated by the Herbertian style. I must confess having somewhat lost my interest in whether it will be the Bene Gesserit, the Tleilaxu, the Honored Matres or some other yet unnamed force in the universe claiming ultimate victory in shaping mankind's destiny.
But at the conclusion (albeit a bit too abrupt) all comes together. Purpose and means. Collision between choice and predetermined fate. Willpower, determination manage to finally alter the unalterable. Against all odds the heroes are brought together and carry out their mission.
A most ingenious symmetry evolves in this installment of the Dune series. The same but different theme runs through almost every page of the book. Siona and Sheena; Teg and Leto I; Bene Gesserit and Honored Maitres. Every major power and player has a counterpart from the Scattering that shows similar traits but with a twist.
The word 'whore' is used way too often in the book for my taste. Maybe I am getting a bit prudish with the passing of years but I believe there could have been a more fortunate way of expressing the Bene Gesserit's hatred toward their arch enemy.
A cool quote from the book:
There was a man who sat each day looking out through a narrow vertical opening where a single board had been removed from a tall wooden fence. Each day a wild ass of the desert passed outside the fence and across the narrow opening - first the nose, then the head, the forelegs, the long brown back, the hindlegs, and lastly the tail. One day, the man leaped to his feet with the light of discovery in his eyes and he shouted for all who could hear him: "It is obvious! The nose causes the tail!"
The book is one of the best of the Dune series, though it takes effort to go through the first half or so. While it takes the author many chapters to set up for the conclusion (I had to struggle to immerse myself into the spirit of the book), the Heretics of Dune has everything a Dune fan desires: myths and intrigue, tactics and machinations, heroics and love, thoughts behind thoughts behind thoughts (a Herbert trademark), and of course, great story telling.
While going through the first 200 pages or so, I may have just become saturated by the Herbertian style. I must confess having somewhat lost my interest in whether it will be the Bene Gesserit, the Tleilaxu, the Honored Matres or some other yet unnamed force in the universe claiming ultimate victory in shaping mankind's destiny.
But at the conclusion (albeit a bit too abrupt) all comes together. Purpose and means. Collision between choice and predetermined fate. Willpower, determination manage to finally alter the unalterable. Against all odds the heroes are brought together and carry out their mission.
A most ingenious symmetry evolves in this installment of the Dune series. The same but different theme runs through almost every page of the book. Siona and Sheena; Teg and Leto I; Bene Gesserit and Honored Maitres. Every major power and player has a counterpart from the Scattering that shows similar traits but with a twist.
The word 'whore' is used way too often in the book for my taste. Maybe I am getting a bit prudish with the passing of years but I believe there could have been a more fortunate way of expressing the Bene Gesserit's hatred toward their arch enemy.
A cool quote from the book:
There was a man who sat each day looking out through a narrow vertical opening where a single board had been removed from a tall wooden fence. Each day a wild ass of the desert passed outside the fence and across the narrow opening - first the nose, then the head, the forelegs, the long brown back, the hindlegs, and lastly the tail. One day, the man leaped to his feet with the light of discovery in his eyes and he shouted for all who could hear him: "It is obvious! The nose causes the tail!"
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