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59 of 60 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
The Penultimate Dune, March 27, 2003
In Heretics of Dune, Frank Herbert takes us fifteen hundred years after the previous book and well over four thousand years beyond the original trilogy. The God Emperor is gone, the Atreides clan has faded from its former prominence, and, as always, there are a number of groups struggling for dominance. With so many specialized types of humans and prolonged lifespans, it is not overly surprising that civilization has not undergone any truly drastic changes since Leto II's transformation. This book focuses on the Bene Gesserit, the sisterhood who have grand designs for humanity. Among others jockeying for power are the Tleilaxu who have mastered biology in other fashions. More dangerous still are the Honored Matres, a powerful organization that is a dark doppleganger of the Bene Gesserit. Of course, there is another Duncan Idaho who is a pawn in all this scheming, but the most interesting characters are Miles Teg - a master warrior called out of retirement to mentor Duncan - and Sheeanna, a young girl who can command the sand worms of Rakis (the former Arrakis). Sheanna is probably the most refreshing character this series has had in a while; she behaves like a real child, and isn't a grand schemer unlike every other character. This is still good science fiction. Dune/Rakis/Arrakis is not as central as in previous books, and the role of sex is much more important, at times even overshadowing the spice. At first, the story is a bit disorienting - there are no familiar characters until Duncan appears - but things pick up quickly enough. All the Dune books conclude with a new order imposed on the galaxy and this book is no exception. What that new order is, however, is for the reader to find out. The Dune series is not always easy to read, but it is a complex and worthwhile classic of science fiction. For those who have enjoyed the previous books, this book will continue the pleasure.
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29 of 32 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Dune series hits the afterburners!, June 29, 2000
I bought this book along with Chapterhouse: Dune (which I have just started) mainly in order to finish the series. Dune itself had disappointed me initially - it is hard for a book to live up to a blurb like "Dune is the finest, most widely acclaimed science fiction novel of this century. Huge in scope, towering in concept, it is a work which will live in the reader's imagination for the rest of his life"! However, I enjoyed it more on later, more careful readings. I was somewhat depressed by Dune Messiah but thoroughly enjoyed Children of Dune, which made more sense (maybe I was just older and wiser when I came to read it). Then came God Emperor of Dune. Oh dear. The main problem with this book was that I couldn't understand why anyone did what they did. I couldn't fathom what this big universal plan for the future of humanity was and what had happened to it at the end - not knowing, of course, that much of what had happened was part of the plan, which was still going on! In Heretics of Dune, the Dune series acquires a new set of bad guys, or rather girls, in the form of the Honoured Matres. However, the familiar ingredients are all in place - everyone double and triple-crosses everyone else, surprises come thick and fast and the underlying scheme is unseen until the end. As in Children of Dune, a slow-burning beginning filled with much scheming, confusion and philosophising suddenly leads to a whirlwind, shocking ending which I doubt I could have expected without reading the back of Chapterhouse (tip: don't buy Chapterhouse until you finish Heretics!). I feel that it is the characters who make each Dune story work or otherwise. In God Emperor, for example, the characters' motivations are hard to see - they do things which make no sense with no explanation. In Heretics, on the other hand, the characters' backgrounds are fleshed out by their remembrances, which helps to make their actions seem more sensible. Chapterhouse awaits, and no doubt all will be revealed.......or, more probably, not.
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15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Doesn't get started until the next book, September 3, 1998
This book is good to read. I enjoyed reading it, but now, looking back, I'm not sure why. Because, once you finish the second trilogy, you realise that Heretics Of Dune is actually just a long, long run up to the final book. But even so, a lot happens here, and now, not having any Atreides from the initial Dune nuclear family to follow, we see the universe from the Bene Gesserit point of view. And something strange happens. We begin to like them. Up until now the Bene Gesserit have been a hindrance or a nuisance. They even tried to have Paul Atreides killed off more than once in the first trilogy. But now, after the Tyrant Leto's lesson, they are a changing people. And they are a sisterhood fighting to stay in touch, for Leto's universal shake-up caused a mingling of humanity that has resulted in a band of fearsome women called Honoured Matres. And the Honoured Matres don't have anything but digust for the Bene Gesserit. And so begins a plot to... do something. For all the way along we are kept as confused as the main characters. Only the Bene Gesserit's Mother Superior knows what the final objective is, and she's not telling anyone anything they don't need to know. Even the people executing her plan don't know what it is they're ultimately aiming for, and this does add to the intrigue. This is a great book, despite it becoming so obvious that the real ending will be found within the next book: Chapterhouse Dune. Although Chapterhouse would make little sense without first reading Heretics Of Dune - so read it.
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