Yuffie's Book Reviews

Dune Messiah - by Frank Herbert

At about 250 pages, Dune Messiah is half the length of its predecessor Dune, but it's just as awesome. I adored every moment of it, while there were some over-detailed sections in Dune, Messiah is compact (though a bit repetitive by the end). It also doesn't follow the predictable Chosen One plot. It's the after-Chosen One plot, which is what is making me really drawn to it.

And IT'S SO BIG. Paul becomes the ruler of the entire known universe, and he's shouldering that burden. It's incredible and Paul is so freaking badass. The story takes every opportunity possible to show how god-like Paul is, how the myths around him are so huge, how many tidal waves he's made throughout the universe. And Paul is just a freaking god and he's so cool. 8D Oh my god the scene where the atomic bomb went off and blinded everyone including Paul— I started flat-out grinning because it was so dang powerful and Paul is a freaking badass.

Did I mention Paul is freaking badass?

Since this guy can see into the future now and is very nearly omniscient, even though he lost his vision, he can still see everything around him as a vision moments before it happens, so he knows exactly who's in front of him, what they look like and what they're doing, etc. It's extremely disconcerting to the people around him, and really awesome to me as a reader.

So plot-wise, it's pretty simple. A bunch of characters are conspiring to take down Paul and his empire. Paul is omniscient almost, so clearly that goes well for the villains. It's not really tense as it is amusing to watch Paul roll his eyes (figuratively) at everyone because he already knows what's going to happen. Paul is totally in emo mode throughout this book, and while some critics have called him whiny, I really sympathized with him, because of how beautifully and tragically his situation was written by Herbert. There are some mysteries throughout that keep you turning pages and worrying about what'll happen, but after a while you realize Paul doesn't give any fucks and is just moping around on his own while his enemies scramble around in a panic wondering where they went wrong. They are genuinely not even on Paul's radar. But the way it's written is full of tension, somehow. Herbert did a phenomenal job weaving tension and foreboding and ominous vibes into the book from start to finish.

This is just a phenomenal book. One of my all-time favorites. It really clicked with me, and the philosophies and characterizations it offered were enchanting. I've never had such a strong urge to reread a book before. I can't rave about this enough.

5/5 stars