Rating: 2/5
The twin Atreides, Leto and Ghanima, appear to be nine years old but in truth, are far older. So old, in fact, that they single-handedly manipulate hundreds of people to get what they want: the Golden Path. They will do whatever it takes (and I mean anything) for this strategy to become reality.
Spoilers will begin shortly.
Plot and Pacing: Oh, lord. This book. I can’t begin to explain how bored I was. I only found the last two chapters interesting. Which is really sad because I gave up a WEEK to read this bloody book (oh, the alliteration). Herbert is really good at endings. I’ll give him that. Too bad a book consists of a beginning and a middle as well. I felt that Herbert was just adding random things to the Dune universe to ensure that more books could be written and more money could be made. Yes, he is very good at world building but I felt that a lot of things were just thrown in so that there COULD be various sequels. The pacing was incredibly slow. It could easily have been a one hundred page story. And the ending, though well-written, was so gross! The twins marry each other! INCEST!! IT’S CERSEI AND JAIME ALL OVER AGAIN! (Although technically, ASOIAF was published AFTER the Dune Chronicles.)
Characters: Again, the female characters were crap. They didn’t do anything! Alia gets possessed, Ghanima is made to forget and Jessica’s just there. Teaching another random character. Really, there was no point in including her in the story. The only female character who really redeemed herself was Irulan who becomes caring. But then, she was so stereotypical. As usual, Herbert’s books show that females are capable of absolutely nothing and that only males can change the world. Leto becomes a goddamn God by the end of the story. Something to do with sandtrout? I was VERY confused. How the heck do you absorb sandtrout into your skin? See, this is what I mean when I say Herbert is really doing whatever he can to keep this series alive.
Writing Style: Don’t even get me started. From the general tone of this review, it’s fairly clear that I despise the writing. And the story. And the characters. Basically everything. It’s really very disappointing because the first book was AMAZING. I’m not kidding. It was so good. And to see the quality deteriorate is heartbreaking.
This is where I pull a Dobby and pound a bedlamp against my head. Curse my need to finish a series!
Earnestly Eccentric 