God Emperor of Dune

On my first reading of _God Emperor of Dune_, what stands out is the structure. The book begins with an action scene, and ends with an action scene. In between, there is conversation and soliloquy, with little action. Violent scenes occur off camera, as it were. We learn that the violence occurred, and who was involved. That's about it, until the last scene.The novel takes place in a very circumscribed series of locations, all of them on Dune -- Arrakis -- no longer a place of desert, where water is insufficient to sustain most life. The desert has bloomed, Pardot and Liet Kynes's ecological dream of planetary ability to nurture the preservation of water has come true. The only desert is the Sareer, a demonstration of what Arrakis once was, complete with "museum Fremen." There are no more sandworms, no more sandtrout except those encasing the God Emperor, Leto II.Leto II leads a circumscribed existence, avoiding water, free only on rare trips to his Sareer. What is it like to be him? The lack of action in this existence is nicely consistent with the lack of action in Leto's existence. The reader is invited by Herbert's sense of pacing and narrative into the unexciting world of a being, part sandtrout, part human, who has lived over 3500 years, and who, it appears at the beginning, will live another 500 years or more. The critical question is "Why does Herbert tell us about precisely *this* period in the life of Leto II?" That question in the reader's mind is a part of the way that Herbert artfully sets the reader up for a "reveal."Herbert's long, slow, reveal brings us -- at last -- the answer to the question of what dreadful prophetic vision(s) showed Leto of the alternatives to his self-chosen role as God Emperor. That reveal is also the motivation for Moneo's steadiness and loyalty to someone/something so hard to like, against whom he once rebelled.Herbert scattered philosophical gems throughout. I found his statements about religion worth marking; he also has some acute insights about leaders and followers. These statements come only from one source, the journals of the God Emperor, Leto II. That makes the oracular pronouncements seem tendentious; coupled with such little change or growth in the main character for most of the novel, this aspect of the book makes it tedious, boring, and insufferable. As tedious, boring, and insufferable as the existence of Leto II -- until love arrives.The loss of love is also its fulfillment, love for Hwi Noree, love for the rebel Siona, and love, most of all, for humanity.

“When the myth dies, the government dies.”So this one had a huge time jump and a new cast of characters... other than Leto II, but he's so different at this point he feels new. I have to say that this one might be my second favorite. I think it was incredibly different than the first three in the writing style and tone. It's less focused on the ecology and politics of Arrakis. It just all feels like a different type of book. I loved that it was more of like a history/mythology type thing in a way. I think that the writing style of this one is much easier to follow than the first three. I also enjoy that it shifts focus on the topics it finds important. I liked the gender dynamic in this one a lot. I really feel like this one was harder to put down than some of the others and I honestly am dying to see what comes next in the series because of this one.In this one Leto pretty much is a tyrant, but is determined to follow his Golden Path, that will prove him one day to be a savior. Everyone sees Leto as a God and he helps to cultivate this image. What I found incredibly interesting was how much Leto actually hated his role. It was interesting to watch how much he loathed the way he was worshipped. Leto's plan has involved him taking over the Bene Gesserit breeding plan and he seems to have created an array of citizens who have the characteristics he deems most important.The Atreides line continues on and it appears a lot of them have been rebels who he has one over to his side over the years. I also love that Leto's military is made up of women because he sees them as more able to protect society than destroy it. Siona is an amazing new character. I love her rebel spirit and that despite her connections to the God Emperor she never seems to waiver from her goal to destroy him at all costs. She is probably one of the best female characters I've seen in this series.

exelente livro, a amazon esta de parabéns, entrega antes do sia, marcado nota 10

Arrived quickly on time for birthday.

This was a great read, I liked it more than the first book. Interestingly, reading it in English in comparison to Ukrainian was much better, helped me understand it more.

Received the book in good condition.

Like a lot of my generation, David Lynch's version of Dune had a profound influence, and you just had to read the books - I remember ripping into them and in particular this particular UK NEL paperback edition of God Emperor of Dune sometime between 1985-86 - never saw the film in the cinema, came across it on video a couple of years later and was just blown away how epic the whole thing was.After the original first novel, God Emperor has always been by far my favourite - it's arguably the last really great book in the original series and certainly by far the most epic in scale: Paul Atradies son, Leto, remains the only surviving direct link and remnant between the Dune of the original trilogy - Dune, Dune Messiah and Children of Dune - and rules as absolute tyrant of the entire galaxy in the grotesque form of a human merged with a sand worm...Him and Duncan Idaho who, despite dying in the first act of the original book, has been brought back to life as a clone - in the novels something called a ghola - repeatedly throughout the three thousand of years plus of Leto's reign.From here on the story then passes on to the Bene Gesserit Sisterhood and the fallout of Leto's tyranny, but in God Emperor you have the real concluding part of the original trilogy - Children of Dune is really quite open-ended and kind of sets you up in anticipation for this, the actual final part...Assuming a trilogy in four parts actually makes any sense outside of Douglas Adams.Not going to go into it any more, only to say its possibly the maddest and trippiest of what already is a mad, trippy story - this is its pinnacle: Heretics and Chapterhouse are, of course, worth the read, but really It's just for completion - the following two books open up and expand the very Dunecentric universe of Frank Herbert's creation in a way other writers, including his own son, can pick up and run with - but Paul Atradies story and legacy ends with his son, the tyrant, who saves his family's fate from the trap his father was forced into accepting when taking on the mantle of Kwitzach Hadderach back in the original book...My particular attachment to this edition is simply the fact I actually owned this NEL1982 UK paperback edition second hand back in the day - if I hadn't had lent it out, this edition I've bought to replace it wouldn't be in any worse condition than the one I've just received today: for all I actually know it could actually be that same edition I originally owned and lost - it's clearly been read many times - as all paperbacks should be, I can't abide new books - I like them worn, well thumbed and cherished and this copy obviously has been.A tradition I plan on maintaining till it's time to pass this edition on to another generation of hands.It's a good book, I also highly recommend the seller I bought it from. Happy to buy from them again, book sold is actually the edition depicted - I can't rate anyone highly enough for making sure the version depicted actually is the edition you receive, that's so important when buying second hand books - most usually you're buying for the particular edition, not necessarily the story itself.The book you probably read decades back, it's the memories associated with the particular edition you originally read - that's why I buy old, used paperbacks.Not just the story but the story but the story that goes with it.10/10 for both book and seller.