A review by josiah17
Dune Messiah by Frank Herbert

dark reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

This book is decent. For starters, I think the themes and warnings about the power and role of governance, as well as deifying leaders, are well done. They remain relevant today and clearly Frank Herbert was passionate about expressing this caution and philosophy. This is easily the best part about the book. 

"There exists a limit to the force even the most powerful may apply without destroying themselves. Judging this limit is the true artistry of government. Misuse of power is the fatal sin. The law cannot be a tool of vengeance, never a hostage, nor a fortifications against the martyrs it has created. You cannot threaten any individual and escape the consequences."

I also found Herbert's prose to feel more polished than I remember from reading Dune a year ago. It matches the philosophical and introspective tone quite well.

However, even if the themes and prose are good, they're not quite enough to make up for the elements of the book I found to be lackluster.

The plot introduces some good promise of a conspiracy (minor spoiler). However I don't feel that it delivers on this promise in a manner that is ultimately satisfying.

I also found that I didn't really feel anything for the characters besides resentment towards Paul. I think the massive time jump doesn't help with this either. And I saw someone say something along the lines of Herbert writing his characters as if they're more so pieces on a chess board to convey certain messages, and I think that's accurate to how I feel. They feel more like plot devices rather then real people I'm supposed to connect with. Not that that's necessarily poor character writing, but I'm not sure it works for me. And I didn't have any problem with the subversion of the Messiah archetype with Paul; I actually thought the execution was solid. It's just that I had no strong feelings or attachment to the characters.

And finally, part of the appeal to reading the Dune books was Herbert's praised worldbuilding. I found Dune to match and even exceed the hype around Herbert's worldbuilding. What he's able to do in building Arrakis and the entire Fremen cultural is nothing short of extraordinary. However, because all of that worldbuilding is done in the first book and we remain on Arrakis for this book, Dune Messiah feels like it's missing something captivating to me. I hope that makes sense. I just miss the level of worldbuilding of the first book.

Ultimately, I think this is a step down from Dune.
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