Children of Dune
Year: 1976
Author: Frank Herbert
Publsher: Putnam Publishing
Pages: 444
Published: 25/08/23
Author: Frank Herbert
Publsher: Putnam Publishing
Pages: 444
Published: 25/08/23
Following the release of Denis Villeneuve’s first Dune film I eagerly jumped into Frank Herbert’s iconic sci-fi novels, only to be scorned by a thoroughly disinteresting story full of characters that weren’t relatable, writing that was needlessly complex, and a lack of finality…twice. The second novel in particular, Dune Messiah, was one of the worst books I’ve ever read, and upon closing the final page I vowed not to return to Herbert’s novels as they clearly weren’t for me, and I’d be better suited to the visual adaptations.
But with Dune: Part Two looming on the horizon for release later this year my excitement hit fever pitch and I thought I’d have another go at Herbert’s novels. Whilst I wouldn’t say all is forgiven, Children of Dune may be the Dune book I have enjoyed the most so far.
Nine years have passed since Emperor Paul Atreides, Muad-Dib (messiah) of the Fremen people, walked into the deserts of Arrakis accepting of his death.
In his wake his sister Alia rules the universe as regent, awaiting the day where one of Paul’s children, his son Leto II, or daughter Ghanima, will claim their rightful place upon the throne.
The ecology of Arrakis has changed, the deserts are giving way to plant life, water can be found pooling on the surface, and the sand worms are dying. With this comes a decrease in spice production, putting pressure on the spacing guilds, and the economy of Arrakis.
House Corrino sees an opportunity to seize Arrakis from House Atreides and revert the planet to its former desert glory, a plan supported by the spacing guilds and the Bene Geserit.
This external pressure fractures House Atreides. Alia seeks to become Empress and seeks to reverse Dune’s ecology. The Lady Jessica desires House Corrino to rule, having had her Duke and her son killed by the pressures of ruling Arrakis. Leto & Ghanima have a plan to use their powers passed down by their father to continue Atreides rule of the universe. Meanwhile a mysterious Preacher emerges from the desert, cleansing the perversions made to Muad-Dib’s teachings, but many Fremen are beginning to question whether this Preacher is in fact their resurrected messiah.
It’s a complicated story to try and summarise because there’s a lot going on, but I think that’s what makes Children of Dune so much more enjoyable than the previous two books. This thing actually moves, it had proper pace to it, real excitement, and the staging for the story following on from what was established in Dune and Dune Messiah is very intriguing.
The decision to have the Atreides effectively turn on each other is an excellent choice. The first book saw a war for Arrakis between House Atreides and House Harkonnen. Messiah sees Atreides firmly unchallenged and becoming so much more powerful than even what the Harkonnen’s achieved.
So, for the downfall of Atreides to come from within is really the best way to go, particularly because Paul is no longer there to act as the glue keeping Atreides, Fremen, and the complex politics of the wider universe in balance.
Each generation of Atreides has their own desired outcome, they all have their own stakes, and it turns a character like Alia who was previously little more than a mini-Jessica into this deeply complex woman who has her own desires and is prepared to put her family’s lives on the line to secure her future.
That being said, characters are still written completely devoid of emotion and remain entirely unrelatable as a result. It doesn’t help that Alia, Leto, and Ghanima all share Paul’s special abilities that allowed him to see into the future and yet continue to be woefully unprepared for every outcome they steer the universe towards.
One of my favourite parts of the story was the Preacher, and how since Paul’s death his teachings have become bastardised by priests that have created an organised religion.
It mirrors a lot of major real-world religions that leech off the good will and faith of believers to benefit those in charge who themselves are not true believers. Just conmen who see an easy target.
Whilst the conclusion to the Preacher’s storyline does get quite complex, I loved how for much of his early time in the book he’s just going around slagging off these new age priests who aren’t properly relaying the teachings of Muad-Dib.
Another aspect I really enjoyed was the changing ecology of Arrakis, and how that affects the Fremen.
In the original book, the character of Dr. Liet Kynes dreamed of an Arrakis that would see less harsh living conditions. Now thanks to Paul this has come to fruition and the Fremen are unable to cope. Economically the rarity of spice has made Arrakis’ export trade tough, and there is less money to go around. Plus, younger generations of Fremen have begun to disregard basic survival training and are wasting water because it’s more easily available now, something that rubs older Fremen like Stilgar up the wrong way because it’s frivolous and disrespectful to their traditions.
Paul dreamed of showing Chani the ocean, a body of water so large she could swim in it forever and never see land, but in setting Arrakis on the path towards that goal he is destroying her people and will eventually cause the universe to collapse from the lack of spice.
Perhaps the biggest thing that allowed me to enjoy Children of Dune more than the previous two is that it felt easier to read. Perhaps I have become accustomed to Herbert’s phrasing, but honestly, I just felt like Children was just better written and more accessible.
It’s longer than Messiah, but shorter than Dune, so it strikes the perfect kind of length where nothing seems rushed, and few things get dragged out longer than they need to be.
Honestly, Children of Dune is the first time I finished a Dune book with a smile on my face and the willingness to not only want to continue the series, but perhaps even re-read it at some point.
The book isn’t perfect. It still stumbles at many of the same hurdles as the first book, but for the most part I found Children of Dune to be a significant improvement over its predecessors.
It takes the story of Dune and its characters in interesting new directions. The way the story of the first two books is effectively flipped on its head in various ways, to retroactively look back at what Paul has achieved and deconstruct that for a new generation of characters is kind of awesome.
I know Villeneuve has no plans to adapt the Dune novels after Messiah, but honestly, I think a big budget Hollywood production of this story would go down a treat. There’s always the mid 00’s TV miniseries but seeing this tale of familial espionage and treachery on the big screen would be a delight.
But with Dune: Part Two looming on the horizon for release later this year my excitement hit fever pitch and I thought I’d have another go at Herbert’s novels. Whilst I wouldn’t say all is forgiven, Children of Dune may be the Dune book I have enjoyed the most so far.
Nine years have passed since Emperor Paul Atreides, Muad-Dib (messiah) of the Fremen people, walked into the deserts of Arrakis accepting of his death.
In his wake his sister Alia rules the universe as regent, awaiting the day where one of Paul’s children, his son Leto II, or daughter Ghanima, will claim their rightful place upon the throne.
The ecology of Arrakis has changed, the deserts are giving way to plant life, water can be found pooling on the surface, and the sand worms are dying. With this comes a decrease in spice production, putting pressure on the spacing guilds, and the economy of Arrakis.
House Corrino sees an opportunity to seize Arrakis from House Atreides and revert the planet to its former desert glory, a plan supported by the spacing guilds and the Bene Geserit.
This external pressure fractures House Atreides. Alia seeks to become Empress and seeks to reverse Dune’s ecology. The Lady Jessica desires House Corrino to rule, having had her Duke and her son killed by the pressures of ruling Arrakis. Leto & Ghanima have a plan to use their powers passed down by their father to continue Atreides rule of the universe. Meanwhile a mysterious Preacher emerges from the desert, cleansing the perversions made to Muad-Dib’s teachings, but many Fremen are beginning to question whether this Preacher is in fact their resurrected messiah.
It’s a complicated story to try and summarise because there’s a lot going on, but I think that’s what makes Children of Dune so much more enjoyable than the previous two books. This thing actually moves, it had proper pace to it, real excitement, and the staging for the story following on from what was established in Dune and Dune Messiah is very intriguing.
The decision to have the Atreides effectively turn on each other is an excellent choice. The first book saw a war for Arrakis between House Atreides and House Harkonnen. Messiah sees Atreides firmly unchallenged and becoming so much more powerful than even what the Harkonnen’s achieved.
So, for the downfall of Atreides to come from within is really the best way to go, particularly because Paul is no longer there to act as the glue keeping Atreides, Fremen, and the complex politics of the wider universe in balance.
Each generation of Atreides has their own desired outcome, they all have their own stakes, and it turns a character like Alia who was previously little more than a mini-Jessica into this deeply complex woman who has her own desires and is prepared to put her family’s lives on the line to secure her future.
That being said, characters are still written completely devoid of emotion and remain entirely unrelatable as a result. It doesn’t help that Alia, Leto, and Ghanima all share Paul’s special abilities that allowed him to see into the future and yet continue to be woefully unprepared for every outcome they steer the universe towards.
One of my favourite parts of the story was the Preacher, and how since Paul’s death his teachings have become bastardised by priests that have created an organised religion.
It mirrors a lot of major real-world religions that leech off the good will and faith of believers to benefit those in charge who themselves are not true believers. Just conmen who see an easy target.
Whilst the conclusion to the Preacher’s storyline does get quite complex, I loved how for much of his early time in the book he’s just going around slagging off these new age priests who aren’t properly relaying the teachings of Muad-Dib.
Another aspect I really enjoyed was the changing ecology of Arrakis, and how that affects the Fremen.
In the original book, the character of Dr. Liet Kynes dreamed of an Arrakis that would see less harsh living conditions. Now thanks to Paul this has come to fruition and the Fremen are unable to cope. Economically the rarity of spice has made Arrakis’ export trade tough, and there is less money to go around. Plus, younger generations of Fremen have begun to disregard basic survival training and are wasting water because it’s more easily available now, something that rubs older Fremen like Stilgar up the wrong way because it’s frivolous and disrespectful to their traditions.
Paul dreamed of showing Chani the ocean, a body of water so large she could swim in it forever and never see land, but in setting Arrakis on the path towards that goal he is destroying her people and will eventually cause the universe to collapse from the lack of spice.
Perhaps the biggest thing that allowed me to enjoy Children of Dune more than the previous two is that it felt easier to read. Perhaps I have become accustomed to Herbert’s phrasing, but honestly, I just felt like Children was just better written and more accessible.
It’s longer than Messiah, but shorter than Dune, so it strikes the perfect kind of length where nothing seems rushed, and few things get dragged out longer than they need to be.
Honestly, Children of Dune is the first time I finished a Dune book with a smile on my face and the willingness to not only want to continue the series, but perhaps even re-read it at some point.
The book isn’t perfect. It still stumbles at many of the same hurdles as the first book, but for the most part I found Children of Dune to be a significant improvement over its predecessors.
It takes the story of Dune and its characters in interesting new directions. The way the story of the first two books is effectively flipped on its head in various ways, to retroactively look back at what Paul has achieved and deconstruct that for a new generation of characters is kind of awesome.
I know Villeneuve has no plans to adapt the Dune novels after Messiah, but honestly, I think a big budget Hollywood production of this story would go down a treat. There’s always the mid 00’s TV miniseries but seeing this tale of familial espionage and treachery on the big screen would be a delight.