parallax_kimchi's review against another edition
4.0
At times my favourite in the series since Messiah. How Herbert has evolved the universe is staggering, it's amazing it feels like the same universe to the original when it's completely different in so many ways. There's some great studies of anthropology here and evolving cultures. The completely new cast is the strongest any of these books have had since the original, some of my favourites in the series.
The general writing of course remains strong as well. Some fantastic passages here, and really engaging dialogue. That's definitely been the thing Herbert improved most at across the series. Some really exciting action scenes too! I've really enjoyed reading it overall.
Unfortunately, gawd this is a horny book. There's so much uncomfortably analytic sexual stuff in this, to the extent that it's a core part of the theme and story. It's insane how often it's here but never with any passion. I'll be enjoying a chapter and then oop time to talk about how incredible these characters are at sex, to the extent they literally control a culture with it.
And the main characters always manage to pull some incredibly overpowered ability out of nowhere to get out of any situation. This has always been an issue for me with these books but it's only gotten worse, to the extent that a character in this unlocks some kind of god mode and it's never really explained how.
There's some incredibly tense moments and I was always getting tensed for a death of one of the characters I've grown to like, then uh actually they unlocked some ability and instantly killed every foe. I wouldn't mind it so much if there was more payoff for these tense moments, but then actual key character deaths always happen outside of the current scenes. You never experience them, they just die off the page. And in a throwback to the original, there's a HUGE action scene at the end that would have served as a really cathartic thing right before the finish that is completely skipped. It's so frustrating. Plenty of time to talk about how mind-blowing those characters ar wat sex though.
AND DESPITE THAT I still really liked this. I love this universe, the writing is great and the characters really likeable.
One more to go.
The general writing of course remains strong as well. Some fantastic passages here, and really engaging dialogue. That's definitely been the thing Herbert improved most at across the series. Some really exciting action scenes too! I've really enjoyed reading it overall.
Unfortunately, gawd this is a horny book. There's so much uncomfortably analytic sexual stuff in this, to the extent that it's a core part of the theme and story. It's insane how often it's here but never with any passion. I'll be enjoying a chapter and then oop time to talk about how incredible these characters are at sex, to the extent they literally control a culture with it.
And the main characters always manage to pull some incredibly overpowered ability out of nowhere to get out of any situation. This has always been an issue for me with these books but it's only gotten worse, to the extent that a character in this unlocks some kind of god mode and it's never really explained how.
There's some incredibly tense moments and I was always getting tensed for a death of one of the characters I've grown to like, then uh actually they unlocked some ability and instantly killed every foe. I wouldn't mind it so much if there was more payoff for these tense moments, but then actual key character deaths always happen outside of the current scenes. You never experience them, they just die off the page. And in a throwback to the original, there's a HUGE action scene at the end that would have served as a really cathartic thing right before the finish that is completely skipped. It's so frustrating. Plenty of time to talk about how mind-blowing those characters ar wat sex though.
AND DESPITE THAT I still really liked this. I love this universe, the writing is great and the characters really likeable.
One more to go.
enbypirate's review against another edition
3.0
Really 3.5 stars... Ugh, I don't think there's a series of books as frustrating as Dune. The original is such a masterpiece. There are moments in the sequels that fool you into thinking that just maybe the books are going to get good again. They never have though. I'm not certain if I think this is the worst aside from Children, or the best of the sequels. The plot can plod, the character growth is ambiguous, and the action isn't stimulating. I suppose since I've made it this far I'll have to read the final part of the saga that Frank wrote, but I really don't think I can bother with Brians'.
gregdv's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
anningana's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.5
lelder14's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
merqri's review against another edition
3.0
This is the fifth book in the Dune universe and the universe is getting increasingly complex. I am all for the complexity and that is one thing which is going for the series for a long time. Think about the various factions and their internal politics. I have not read any book that comes close to such a overarching macroscopic view of the universe and timelines. We are talking about years in the multiple of thousands here.
The sheer creativity of various factions like, Bene Tleilax with their technological advancements, Bene Gesserit with their memories and breeding designs. When you take an idea and expand upon it giving it a thousand years to mature, you can get very creative at the end.
However, the fourth and fifth (this one) books fall short when you compare these with the original trilogy. There is a lot of simplification and unexplained deus ex machina which reduce the sincerity of the plot and the pillars on which you, as a reader, are speculating about the course of events.
I have read five books in the series written by Frank, and I guess this lies above the God Emperor of Dune, but definitely lower than the original trilogy.
The sheer creativity of various factions like, Bene Tleilax with their technological advancements, Bene Gesserit with their memories and breeding designs. When you take an idea and expand upon it giving it a thousand years to mature, you can get very creative at the end.
However, the fourth and fifth (this one) books fall short when you compare these with the original trilogy. There is a lot of simplification and unexplained deus ex machina which reduce the sincerity of the plot and the pillars on which you, as a reader, are speculating about the course of events.
I have read five books in the series written by Frank, and I guess this lies above the God Emperor of Dune, but definitely lower than the original trilogy.
decapode's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
jujelly's review against another edition
5.0
this book was so fucking GOOD.
it expands soooo much on the world-building. there's barely any characters left from the first few books, but the initial institutions still existed, and it was really cool to see a follow up to their goal and their path.
speaking of path -- man, that was good to read after the last book.
this series is just simply a masterpiece.
it expands soooo much on the world-building. there's barely any characters left from the first few books, but the initial institutions still existed, and it was really cool to see a follow up to their goal and their path.
speaking of path -- man, that was good to read after the last book.
this series is just simply a masterpiece.
egexe's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
kleeritter's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
slow-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
4.5