God Emperor of Dune
Dune Chronicles #4
by Frank Herbert
SF
Dtb, 404 Pages
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Good stuff.
After having read Brian Herbert & Kevin Anderson’s prequels and sequels, the little throw away references took on a much larger import.
The Golden Path is still not spelled out for the reader. We simply have to figure out stuff while the main story unrolls. That is one thing I really enjoy about the Dune Chronicles, they are not the “Transformers” of books, but a very thoughtful and insightful look at what it means to be human.
Herbert deftly weaves words and thoughts to reveal his idea of what humanity is and where he thinks it could go. In many ways, a psychological version of what Neal Asher graphically shows with his souped up science in his Polity universe.
Poor Leto. To see, to know, to sacrifice, all for a species that turns on him, reviles him, fears him, worships him and ultimately, just wishes he didn’t exist.
Herbert also tries to posit the non-existance of any sort of God because he claims it is incompatible with free will; free will being the ability to DO anything one wants. which is why the argument fails, because free will is about the ability to make the CHOICE about doing something, even if it is between 2 horrible choices.
So anyway, lots to love about this book 🙂