Paul of Dune

Let me begin by saying Frank Herbert's beloved sci-fi novel `Dune' was one of the most unique, mind-boggling books I've ever read. I was entranced by Paul's visions, the prophetic utterances, the mind control powers of the Bene Gesserit, the properties for expanding consciousness provided by the digestion of the spice and the awesome, almost God-like presence of the legendary sandworms. If ever there was a readers heaven this was it! In stark contrast to the elation and wonder experienced while reading `Dune' I must sadly admit to undergoing profound dismay and disillusionment upon reading his follow-up `Dune Messiah'. The deeply prophetic and mystical aspects permeating the first installment were gone, now replaced by political intrigue and the power of corruption. But what bothered me the most was the missing years between book one and book two.

Those missing years have finally become available, unfortunately not from the master wordsmith and storyteller himself, but from his son Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson in 'Paul of Dune'. I've read many of the highly negative reviews already posted on this new release and it's easy to tell who the Dune purists are. Not being among their number, it's been over 35 years since I've read `Dune', I'm not in a position to compare composition styles, attention to detail and plot inconsistencies with the original storyline. Hence I'm left to judge the worthiness of `Paul of Dune' on it's own merits, along with a faint memory of the mood and flavor of the original classic as remembered all these years.

With that in mind I will now say that I thoroughly enjoyed this apocryphal account covering the intergalactic Jihad, Paul's rise to power and the reconstructionist history of Muad'Dib as played out by his closest confidants and recorded by his wife Princess Irulan. It was this latter aspect of the novel that I found most intriguing. The authors did an admirable job of examining how myths and legends are born, structured and cleverly maintained with half-truths and embellishments to fool the faithful, thus maintaining power and control.

As I write this review I'm reminded of the burial of Duke Leto Atreides in the deep desert in the presence of Paul, Lady Jessica, Chani and Alia. I found the scene surprisingly moving and had the feeling that this opening chapter was meant to serve as Brian Herbert's tribute to his Father, and his "canon" of work. Paul's internal dialogue during this solemn ritual at Duke Letos' gravesite were thoughts and feelings that could just as well been thought at Frank Herbert's services. Was Brian Herbert symbolically burying his Father along with the Duke in a bittersweet but glorious goodbye as he places the wondrous wordsmith beneath the sands of the fictitious planet he has forever immortalized?

I continue to be disappointed by this endless series that will examine every nook and cranny of Dune world as long as readers continue to plop down thirty bucks. Not one of these post-Frank words match the originals in creativity, literary quality or plot intrigue. It's like watching people learning to dance - they make all the right moves and on the surface it appears to be the real thing, but a closer look reveals a simple rote progression of memorized actions without the artistry of a professional.

Scenario: Paul has won - although whether as Duke of Atriedes, Muad'Dib of the Fremens or the Quizat Haderach of the Bene Gesserit is unclear since he switches roles depending on the situation. And despite his triumph, he must lead the holy jihad, massacring billions although he knows it is wrong. What doesn't make sense is his prescience and his own actions...surely he could envision that a religion based on his divinity and a holy war of extermination for no real reason will not play out in the end. In a way, the authors correctly analyzed the problem of mixing the State with Religion, Prophet with Official and Family with Business.

Paul has become another person in this novel, a dictator surrounded by sycophants. He acts worse than Shaddam IV, the man he replaced. en, surrounding himself with yes men and acting no better than those he replaced. Irulan, the titular wife, is the best realized character as she balances past and current allegiances. Others are mere window dressing: Duke Leto and the Baron Harkonnen return in a flashback, the (in)famous Tleilaxu show up with a couple and their extraordinary daughter, Duncan fights, Jessica assures the faithful, Gurney follows his master, Stilgar continues the Crusade and poor Channi pops up only to mutter support for Paul and whimper about his destiny. Even Alia, one of my favorites, does Alia things and talks Alia talk.

The real question: In the world of Dune, is there any aspect that has yet to be explored? From the last few backs, it appears doubtful.

Dune fans around the world have had mixed reactions to "Paul of Dune". Continued by Brian Herbert and Kevin J Anderson, "Paul" answers the questions that were left behind by Frank Herbert.

1. what happened between Dune and Dune Messiah?
2. Who exactly is Paul Muad'Dib?
3. What happened to make Paul the Messiah?

Herbert and Anderson give us a novel that Mr Herbert the elder would be pleased with. As Jihad roars with intensity, the dangers of victory are sometimes more threatening than loss. Who controls the victorious if blood thirst becomes more important than religous principles? Who can call Paul to responsibility when he begins to question his own sanity?

Power is its' own reward, and absolute power can corrupt absolutely. As this is a prequel, we know the result, and while the devil can be in the details, beauty is also in a well crafted novel. With any derivative work, the problem of continuity and conisistancy with the previous original works can be problematic. There are small errors, and perhaps the book could have used one more going over by another editor, but this is Dune, and it deserves better.

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Tim Lasiuta

As I expected from these authors, the book was extremely enjoyable. They have pushed the original Dune universe to extremes, beyond where Frank Herbert had taken it in his six books. This book felt a little forced; to me it didn't flow quite as well as the other Dune books these two wrote. It may just be caused by their knowledge that this is half of a longer book (the other half will be called "Jessica of Dune"), and the forced feeling may be due to their closing the book where they did. In general, though, they put a lot of action into their books (compared to Frank Herbert's originals), and I think they tried to put just a bit too much into this one.

I feel it gave a lot of food for thought with Paul's ties to his home world, the people of Dune and all of mankind. It showed how something could grow out of one's control. When I read Messiah of Dune, I just accepted Frank's assumption that anyone with that power would naturally grow to be a tyrant. But it was nice to be able to see how everything contributed to this actually happening. Thanks again.