Trish's Reviews > Children of Dune

I'm very much looking forward to Villeneuve's interpretation of Dune that will be shown in theaters this year so I decided to not only read the original book but also the rest of the series.

Nine years have passed since the end of book #2 and the twins have grown, protected by Stilgar and others still loyal to Muad'Dib. Or are they? Every single one of them seems to be unsure.
Liet Kynes, Chani's father and thus the twins' maternal grandfather, always dreamed of Arrakis becoming a green planet full of life ... interesting considering he was an ecologist and should have known the kind of death that would bring. Now, his dream seems to be coming true more and more - with dangerous consequences.
Thanks to the Melange/Spice addiction in the family, the twins have genetic memory so they aren't just children. Consequently, they already sit in the council chamber with their aunt Alia and others, ruling the empire.
Part of the known universe has fallen in with the religious mania about the cult surrounding the Atreidis heir who became the messiah, while the other part of the universe strictly rejects this kind of madness and is still plotting to wrestle power back.
On top of the threats from without (the Corrinos, the Bene Gesserit, the "preacher", …), there is the threat from within. Because interestingly, confusingly, the Atreidis family is kinda falling apart. For example, (view spoiler)[Alia is seeing her grandfather, Baron Harkonnen, and actually becoming the abomination everyone feared
(hide spoiler)] (I will freely admit that I did NOT enjoy that part and it made me dislike (view spoiler)[Alia (hide spoiler)] a lot). Jessica was an actual disappointment. I felt almost as if she was no longer the Jessica we knew from the previous book(s) and I really didn’t like her trying to split up the twins, her judgment and that she had gotten so stupid.

"Too much knowledge never makes for simple decisions." - Ghanima is definitely right about that one as her father is proof.
"A universe of surprises is what I pray for." - Leto II

There were quite some big surprises for me, one being that the twins have red hair! *lol* Yes, I'm influenced by the mini series Children of Dune.
But there was also the revelation that the Fremen are NOT native to Arrakis and migrated there (Arrakis, in fact, seems to be the 5th planet they migrated to).
The biggest, however, was that the sandtrouts, the fore-form (larva) of the sandworms, do not originate on Arrakis either! That revelation led to us learning in even greater detail of the ecology and biology of the planet as well as of the process that creates Melange/Spice.

Once again, I enjoyed the exploration of the Spice addiction, that it is indeed called an addiction, and that we see not only the positive effects but also the dark side.

This volume is another coming-of-age story, albeit a bit different from the one describing Paul growing up. The twins are even younger here than Paul was in the first book and just like his father, Let II too, has to grow up too fast and learn to use these crushing powers. How he does it, however, is quite different.
You see, thanks to their powers, both Paul and Leto II see timelines either branching out or narrowing down, which intensifies as more and more choices are made, and that really showed how such god-like powers are nothing but a trap. A trap that Paul coulnd’t escape but Leto II did.
Or is it the other way around? That really IS debatable.
Leto’s early wisdom and willpower also made for some highly entertaining encounters - especially the one with his grandmother. *lol*
What was quite disorienting, however, was how most characters evolved (view spoiler)[, thus becoming enemies (hide spoiler)]. Heartbreaking in and of itself.

Plans within plans, some caught within the machinations, one intrigue after another, arranged family loyalties / marriages, the return of one of the best literary villains ever. It made for a tense reading experience indeed (not least because of my investment regarding some of the characters). (view spoiler)[I raged against Alia almost as much as I grieved for what was left of Duncan Idaho’s heart to name but one tragedy that had me almost cry. (hide spoiler)]

The final confrontation was ... epic. There is no other word for it. It will be highly interesting to see how the author handles the upcoming, immense time-jump.