Yuffie's Book Reviews

Children of Dune - by Frank Herbert

Book 3 of the Dune series, and holy shoes was this the wildest ride of them all so far!

This'll be a short post of a couple things that stuck out to me about this book. Go read the series yourself. :)

My favorite part was Alia. The way Herbert showed her fall to Abomination was absolutely heart-wrenching. Watching her povs struggle with being possessed, and then seeing the outside perspectives of her screaming and freaking out in an uncontrolled rage hurt my heart so much. I teared up when Duncan finally realized she was possessed and wasn't coming back, that she was plotting to kill him. When he left and broke down crying, my heart broke. Then the end with Alia fighting and flashing between herself and Harkonen was so tragically beautiful. Again I found myself tearing up when she, Alia, threw herself out the window to save everyone from herself.

Another thing to note are the twins. Leto was ... shit, man, he was freaky and terrifying by the end, when he turned tyrant, becoming worse than Paul. I was shaking when I finished the book and it ended on him as Emperor, but he was almost evil. And then you can even argue that he wasn't evil, like we could with Paul, that his behavior was necessary in the grand scheme of the universe. The Atreides have ascended to godhood, with knowledge of the entire past of humanity and sight into the future, so how do we know their seemingly cold, atrocious actions aren't exactly what humanity needs? It's a terrifying and intriguing question, and I love the way Herbert explores this. Herbert is not afraid to break all conventions and take things too far, twisting morality and reality into one of the most epic and profound stories ever written. I love it so much.

5/5 stars