Wednesday 23 March 2011

"Dune Messiah" by Frank Herbert

Having recently read "Dune", I went ahead and read the next book in the "Dune" series.  The second "Dune" book (there are loads) is Herbert's "Dune Messiah".

The first huge difference between "Dune" and "Dune Messiah" is immediately visible.  The sequel is much shorter than the first book.  For me, the first "Dune" book sometimes dragged and needed some editing (or splitting into two books).  "Dune Messiah" was a better length and still contained a large, sweeping story and significant time passage. 

Paul Muad'Dib is still the main character of "Dune Messiah".  Now we see him as emperor, universe power, and object of religious veneration.  Some of the characters that annoyed me (particularly his mother, the Lady/Reverend Mother Jessica) fade into the background, whereas characters like his sister (Alia the Knife) gain more prominence.

If you've read the first "Dune" book, I'd recommend going on with the second book, "Dune Messiah".

Musician Aubrey Baker has a song partially inspired by "Dune" called "Sufjan invites you to DUNE".  Click here to visit her Myspace page and listen to this song (I love it).

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