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When Frank Herbert penned the epic Dune many, many years ago, he unleashed a whole world of possibilite's, characters, planets, and stories. Of course, his masterpiece spawned sequels, which spawned still more sequels, and finally, at the fourth generation, God Emperor of Dune was created. As previously stated, it is the fourth installment in the Dune series, and shows one of the most bizarre routes that Herbert could have taken the series to. This was truly an interesting piece to read. Interestingly enough, this book does not cover any parts of the life of Paul Atreides, or any of the characters from the first book, save for Duncan Idaho. However, this is not the actual Idaho that died in the first book, but rather the resurrected gold that the Emperor pays to have made again and again.
The main characters include Leto Atreides II, the son of Paul Atreides who seeks to become God by transforming himself into a giant sandstorm. Other characters in the tale are Money, Leto s minister; Sign, Money s daughter who hates Leto; Has North, an ambassador; and Duncan Idaho. Herbert s description of the characters is excellent, and there is much description of Leto, whose journals are the source of the story itself. Here, Herbert uses Leto s journal writings to convey his appearance: At this writing, the whole could be considered rather gross.
I am what could be called a pre-worm. My body is about seven meters long and somewhat more than two meters in diameter, ribbed for more than half of its length, with my Atreides face positioned man height at one end, the arms and hands just below. My legs and feet? Well, they are mostly atrophied. (Herbert 1981, p. 15) Herbert once again uses his amazing literary skill to deliver wonderful description and paint a very effective picture in the reader s mind. Herbert s literary skill is also evident throughout this story in many other ways. For example, the setting has been changed dramatically while still keeping intact many elements of the original books.
In this installment, Herbert has changed many things about the planet Arrakis and about the universe that is controlled by Leto, but the main factions involved in the first two books are still used. For example, the Spacing Guild, the Bene Gesserit, the Ixians, and the Tleilaxu are all major civilizations and organizations, and even though this work takes place three thousand years after the original, all of these highly important factions are still in existence and still play an important role in the universe of Dune. The planet of Arrakis has changed, but the Fremen are still in existence as well, although they have been demeaned and are reduced from their original honorable existence. Here, Herbert illustrates the change in Fremen culture and appearance: The Fremen was a wizened figure, crabbed and bent, wearing a copy of the old fremen robes and some glistening garment underneath, probably their version of a still suit. (Herbert 1981, p. 50) However, even though the world has changed as have the Fremen, their rituals, sayings, and other bits of their culture are still used throughout the book. Interestingly enough, Herbert has almost replaced the Fremen with an all female army that Leto calls the Fish Speakers, an intriguing bit of irony for the Dune series. The plot of this story is very different but also similar in that Leto s power over the universe comes from the now extremely limited supply of melange, the age-reducing substance that is in high demand across the universe.
Since the original book, Arrakis has become a lush, flourishing planet that is no longer covered in deserts. Because of the lack of deserts, the melange-producing sand worms are extinct, and the universe s supply of melange is limited. Leto II controls the largest amount of this substance, which he uses as both a bribe and a punishment to the Spacing Guild and the Bene Gesserit, two organizations that rely heavily on it. Leto is also under constant threat of assassination from the Ixians, Tleilaxu, and from the countless Duncan Idahos that Leto has made throughout his reign. In this way, most of the plot is similar to Dune Messiah but it is mainly overshadowed by Leto s inner struggles and dialogue between himself and other characters in which he details his status as God. The suspense is even removed, as Herbert foreshadows the end of the book in the first twenty pages, revealing the ending in this passage: I often think about my final metamorphosis, that likeness of death.
I know the way it must come but I do not know the moment or the other players. This is the one thing I cannot know. I only know whether the Golden Path continues or ends. (Herbert 1981, p. 14) This bit of foreshadowing really gives away the ending, and takes the suspense out of the whole story. This book does provide an interesting point of view on the universe and the condition of the empire that Paul Atreides built, even though some of the changes that Herbert has made seem outrageous.
This book can be appreciated for many reasons. It contains the amazing idaho set forth by Frank Herbert, it has tons of descriptive phrases and sensory images. The plot and constant dialogue involving Leto Atreides provide an interesting view of what the Dune universe has become, and overall, this is a book that is definitely a noteworthy addition to the Dune series. Although none of the extensions have captivated me as much as the first one did, I always seem to have a hard time putting down the Dune books, and this was certainly no exception.
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Research essay sample on Frank Herbert First Book
