Waterstones Children Of Dune

Author: Alan K. Dell

Rating: 5

Review: There’s a lot about Frank Herbert’s writing that’s really grown on me as I’ve continued through the series. As a writer who finds it difficult to fill space without dialogue, I am constantly in awe of writers such as Herbert (and Robert Jordan, and Ursula K Le Guin, etc…) who can fill out thousands of words - pages and pages - with character introspection and movement through the scene with very little dialogue at all - especially when it’s paired with a fairly conservative amount of description (Robert Jordan wasn’t very good at this bit - nor was Tolkien). I’ve also come to appreciate Herbert’s dropping of the superfluous “and” in his prose; it’s surprising how cutting out that one word speeds along an action sentence, jarring as it is at first. Though, I’m still in two minds about the deep philosophising: I love it because it feels like the author is having a lot of fun going in-depth about the heady concepts and themes of the book, and often they’re the kind that stick in the mind long after reading and unconsciously unpack themselves as time goes on. But I equally hate it because I barely understand the metaphors at the time of reading, and it makes me feel stupid. I’ve heard from many people that the Dune Saga gets weird, and here in Children of Dune really is where that begins. We have children who are not children - the pre-born, filled with the genetic memories of their entire ancestry - and Herbert really goes to town exploring the implications of that setup on the human psyche. One of the great things about sci-fi is how authors will often invent a topic that seems, on the surface, to be a benefit (how often do we say “if only I had known then what I know now”? A vague yearning to go back to a younger time in our lives but retain the maturity we’ve gained since, so we may make better decisions), and then probe them for all the ways in which they can be utterly terrible things. Pre-birth is something that is introduced at the end of Dune and sort of appears in Dune Messiah with Paul’s sister, Alia. But Children of Dune is where the concept really gets a thorough and rigorous examination. Through Alia, Herbert examines the pitfalls, and through Leto and Ghanima, the possible solutions to avoiding those pitfalls. It’s really very fascinating - especially as it gets incredibly strange towards the end. The plot is highly engaging and enjoyable. As expected of Dune at this point, there’s a lot of intricate political manoeuvring and court intrigue - unique assassination plots, and feints within feints within feints. We see Alia’s slow descent into madness, and the utter chaos that ensues as she almost destroys her brother’s empire from within. We also see Leto and Ghanima constantly underestimated, since they’re bodily nine-year-olds with minds that reach back tens of thousands of years. And we see a lot about the corruption of religion and dilution of core doctrines. And it’s all set against a backdrop of the misguided ecological rejuvenation of Arrakis. I actually felt a deep aching sadness about this, because it was something of Liet Kynes’s legacy from the first book, and to see it turn out to be a huge problem is somewhat upsetting. But alas, Arrakis must remain Dune if humanity is to continue traversing the galaxy. There’s not a great many new characters this time around (technically). With the exception of side characters, and the Corrino heirs, most of the others are present in the previous two books, like Alia, Stilgar, Jessica, Leto and Ghanima (though they were only mentioned briefly at the end of Messiah), Duncan Idaho and Gurney Halleck. Each one’s continued development is excellent, in particular, Stilgar. In my review of Messiah, I bemoaned the way that Stilgar transformed from intimidating, commanding Fremen leader into Paul’s lapdog, but here in Children of Dune we see him reclaim his former mojo and it’s great. I loved the storyline of the enigmatic Preacher as well; so much uncertainty and mystery surrounding him, and it was very satisfying to find out his true identity. Leto and Ghanima were fantastic characters, but I did feel that Ghanima got the short shrift in favour of her brother. There was more that could have been done with her, as she turns almost passive in the latter half of the book. Farad’n Corrino was pretty refreshing in his earnestness - I really liked his arc and how it concluded. I think generally all the characters were on top form throughout.The pacing is good. Chapters vary in length quite a bit, and there’s a lot of places in which Herbert takes substantial space going through the intricate philosophies at play, but it never felt like it dragged too much. I think this might be more because I’m used to the writing style at this point, because it can be incredibly dense at times. Now, the ending. Without going into spoiler territory, it was a bit mind-blowing in its weirdness. I really enjoyed the blend of action with novel usages of concepts Herbert primed us for in the previous books, like the Bene Gesserit ability to manipulate the chemical makeup of their bodies to become Reverend Mothers, or to nullify poisons etc… Let’s just say it got turned up to eleven here! And I am very intrigued to see where this goes with the next book, God Emperor of Dune. I know a little bit about that one already, and I’m told it’s the peak of weirdness for the series. I’m thoroughly looking forward to it.So, I highly recommend going ahead and picking up Herbert’s original Dune Saga at this point. It’s a wild ride, and well deserves the veneration it receives in my opinion.

Author: FictionFan

Rating: 3

Review: (This is the third book in the Dune series and therefore the review will contain spoilers for the first two, Dune and Dune Messiah. And maybe even some for this one. You have been warned!) It is 9 years since the blinded and heartbroken Paul Muad'dib walked off into the desert of Dune to die. His weird little children, Leto and Ghanima, take after their Auntie Alia in so many ways – prescient, gifted or cursed with the memories of all their ancestors, nuts. Until now I thought the horrid little kids who sing the duet in Polar Express were the creepiest children ever, but Leto and Ghani have them beat hands down! Alia, meantime, has overindulged so much in the spice drug melange that she has become what the Bene Gesserit feared – an Abomination! No longer able to control all the voices of her ancestors inside her head, she has fallen under the influence of the strongest of them – the evil Baron Harkonen. Leto and Ghani look on this as a warning and are assiduously avoiding doing the spice drug conversion thingy that Rev Mothers do, as they think this is what caused Alia to become Abominable. Meantime Jessica has returned to the folds of the Bene Gesserit and has now been sent back to Arrakis (Dune) for reasons that remain somewhat hazy. Basically she appears to be trying to protect the genetic line by persuading Leto and Ghani (9-year-old twins, remember) to mate and breed. It's always good to have a supportive granny, isn't it? And has Paul really died in the desert? Who is the mysterious Preacher who keeps popping up and calling Alia names? If he is Paul, why is he trying to undermine his family's rule? Why do Leto and Ghani want to get to Jacurutu? How come Leto is having prescient dreams if he's not taking spice? What is the Golden Path that Leto keeps banging on about as the way to save something? Save what? Or who? Seriously – if you know the answers, do tell – personally I'm baffled! The book starts off well, getting straight into the story. I was about to say that it's important to read these in order or you wouldn't have a clue what was going on but... I did read them in order and I still found this one almost completely incomprehensible! I can only assume that Mr Herbert too may have been sampling the delights of mind-altering substances while writing, and I wondered if perhaps it's necessary to be doped up to the eyeballs to follow the 'plot'. Unfortunately, having no illicit drugs to hand, I was forced to attempt it on wine only and that clearly wasn't strong enough. (I also tried sobriety – but that was so much worse!) The thing is it seems as if it's going to be good. The writing is as good as usual and Herbert creates a nicely chilling atmosphere. The description of all the personalities within Alia trying to take control of her mind is brilliantly done, and Leto and Ghani channelling the thoughts of their dead parents is incredibly creepy. Herbert uses Leto's mullings on what he should do as a vehicle to indulge in a bit of philosophising about the Cold War concerns of his own time, concluding unsurprisingly that the American Way of Life is best. There are loads of conspiracies going on with everyone scheming against everyone else, and Herbert makes this a fascinating look at the loneliness and ultimate fragility of power. But... Herbert forgets to tell us what's actually going on! Having a rotten memory, I usually jot down brief notes for review purposes – here's one of my notes... “About 2/3 now – haven't a clue what's going on, don't like anybody, don't care who wins (wins what?) and thoroughly bored with the psychedelic drugs, man! Lots of pseudo profundity that's supposed to be taken seriously and sooooo repetitive. Just want it to be over now.” You can tell I was really enjoying it! The last third shows some brilliant imagination even if it's frankly weird to the point of laughable. I have to mention the sandtrouts... (Spoiler!!! Spoiler!!! Spoiler!!!) The bit where Leto and the sandtrouts merge is without a doubt one of the most inspired pieces of lunacy I've ever read, made beautifully squirmily disgusting by the quality of the writing. But when the process turns Leto into some kind of pint-sized superhero who can leap tall buildings in a single bound and destroy hardened warriors with one punch, I began to giggle. And, during the big dramatic finale, that giggling turned into uncontrollable, tears-running-down-the-face, hysteria when he picked up his Abominable Auntie Alia and swung her around his head! I'm not altogether convinced that was the effect Herbert was aiming for... Great start, incomprehensible middle, unintentionally hysterical end. The last sentence of my notes reads “Right load of old tosh!” and I stand by that! Will I be reading more of the Dune books? Not for the foreseeable future... see? I'm prescient too... 2½ stars for me, so rounded up.