This review contains spoilers for Dune (reviewed here), the first book in the Dune saga.
Dune Messiah is a perfect sequel to Dune and second act of Frank Herbert’s legendary epic, building on the saga’s world, story and commentary not by repeating it but by complementing it.
Underlying the beauty of Dune Messiah is its inversion of the situation of Dune, a flipping of the plot on its head that produces a satisfying symmetry of story and themes between the two works.
In both Dune and Dune Messiah, the central conflict is between an established government and elements that seek to overthrow it. However, while in Dune Paul Muad’Dib leads a rebellion, in Dune Messiah he confronts one. In Dune Muad’Dib is the resistance and the Emperor is his enemy; in Dune Messiah Muad’Dib is the Emperor and his enemies have their own resistance. Where Dune has battles in the sand, duels in the throne room and frontal charges on the Shield Wall, Dune Messiah has subterfuge and conspiracy under the intricacies of running an empire. I especially loved the ending, which in contrast to the grand finale of Dune was subtle, poignant and surprising - and just as satisfying.
Dune made Paul Muad’Dib a hero, but Dune Messiah examines the underside of that heroism - especially when a hero becomes a god, and their followers become a government. It’s a penetrating critique of the concentration of too much power in one person, and of the acts that can be committed in such a person’s name. It gives the myth of Muad’Dib balance and nuance, and makes the saga’s perspective more complete.
That said, all of these differences work well because they’re underpinned by some basic common threads underlying both Dune and Dune Messiah. Both are defined by exquisite world-building, meticulous characterization and a captivating mix of politics and mystery. Dune Messiah continues expanding the universe introduced to us by Dune, revealing new people, places, practices and groups and developing further the technology and culture of the Imperium and Arrakis. Its plot is charged with the same suspense and intrigue, and Herbert’s commentary is just as sharp and insightful as in Dune.
Overall, I loved Dune Messiah and highly recommend it to fans of Dune.
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