“Tolerate love but guard against it, that was the rule.”

We have people returning from the Scattering and they are vastly different from those who remained. The biggest threat at this point seems to be a group who refers to themselves as the Honored Matres and are attempting to amass power. The Bene Gesserit naturally see these women as a threat as they seem to be a more advanced version of themselves. The Bene Gesserit have some ultimate goal in mind and have been using a specific ghola to attempt this. Sheeana is just a young girl who becomes wrapped up in a world she doesn't understand. However, she quickly learns to manipulate the religious power that has been granted to her and use it to her advantage. Naturally the Sisterhood has their sights set on her. Plans and schemes abound. Religion becomes a huge focus; especially the ways it can be twisted.
So after we just adjusted to the last major time jump and narrative with new characters... we get yet another round of it. I have to say that I really didn't start to enjoy this one until closer to the end. We get a completely different focus in this one. Everything has changed dramatically. I wanted to like it because different powerful women were the focus for once. However, it took a bit to adjust to a whole new cast of characters yet again. I also found all the moving parts to be hard to follow at times and I think this is because so much in the narrative had already changed. We have alliances that never existed before and groups meshing together that never did. I think the Honored Matres storyline was more fascinating but it got less focus than the Sheeana storyline. It's also difficult because it takes so long to realize what the plan is for Sheeana. I would have enjoyed more about the Lost Ones and the Honored Matres honestly. ( )

non so perchè gli estimatore dell'intero ciclo di Dune apprezzino questo 5° volume meno degli altri,(anzi, non so perchè ci sia qualche dissenso su qualcuno di questi libri) a me sembra una perfetta chiusura (aperta) e infatti mi sto chiedendo se davvero voglio leggere il sesto.

Dopo aver dato una scorsa alle recensioni vedo che i nomi più frequenti sono Odrade, Teg, Sheeana, Duncan Idaho e persino Lucilla. (Lucilla più di Taraza?)
Mi chiedo quindi anche un'altra cosa: questo libro trabocca e trasuda di Leto II o sono io che ossessivamente cerco l'imperatore-dio in ogni punto e in ogni virgola? ( )

I liked Heretics of Dune on my second reread. I had forgotten how much action there is in this novel. Not as good as Dune but better than Dune Messiah, Children of Dune, and God Emperor of Dune. My sense is that FH struck gold with the first Dune and then Dune Messiah slipped a little bit then each subsequent novel got better. I enjoyed spending time with the Bene Gesserit in Heretics of Dune and really enjoyed the Miles Teg character. ( )

10,000 years of political maneuvering and interstellar conflict peaks in a man vs woman proxy war where each side’s ultimate weapon is mindblowing sex? Heinlein said Strangers in a Strange Land, Herbert said hold my beer. ( )

To be fair to this, I think it suffers more from being read after reading some of the Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson prequels than it does on its own merits (or lack thereof). Unfortunately I can't turn back the clock and unread those books, so what I imagine would have been fascinating reveals and fun POVs back when this was only the fifth novel in the series are kind of uninteresting, leaving the characters, worlds, and plots to stand on their own. And they do not stand well at all.

For instance, I imagine a reincarnated Duke Leto POV would be more interesting if there wasn't at least one prequel already from the ACTUAL Duke Leto's POV, before and after he became the duke. That's not to say Miles Teg is boring... but he kind of is. And a reincarnated Lady Jessica would be more interesting if, well... same reasons. Duncan is honestly just a barebones Paul - he even admits it to himself - crossed with "God Emperor of Dune" Duncan. But he's not Paul, fighting a revolution and preparing for jihad. He's just a whiny baby who's typically trapped in a room practicing things or trying to sneak past his guards. And that's hardly interesting.

The rest of the cast are boring plotters who simultaneously don't care but also do care greatly about things that mostly happen off-page. This leaves you in a general disinterested state, wondering why you're meant to care about literally anyone or anything happening. And then there's Sheanna. Who is... there. And another whiny kid. But good on her for tearing down the patriarchal establishment, I suppose.

The big reveals were also ruined if you've read any stories about how the Tleilaxu came about, because you know that reveal before it happens. It was honestly just as gross as in the prequel, and here it's like... well. Other reveals are characters being like "and now we shall enact the secret plan to change the universe that we never discussed until now because secret" and then screen wipe. It's... it's not great.

This book also contains some of the creepiest and most unimaginative descriptions of sex that I've seen, even from Herbert. I honestly wish the man could come back from the dead to read a good erotica story. Seriously. Get some imagination in there. We're meant to believe we're seeing something impressive, but it's never described, and the most we get is vague references to characters experiencing an orgasm and losing control of their bodies, which is... basically just how sex works.

All in all, it was better than "God Emperor of Dune", mostly because things actually happened and the cast was at least slightly more compelling, and its aping of both "Dune" and "Children of Dune" in terms of plot and writing style gets you through more of it, but that's a low bar. It was largely a joyless slog of a book with a meh cast of characters, uninteresting politics, a weird obsession with joyless orgasms and the power of the orgasm (which, in the hands of a better writer, I wouldn't be averse to, but Herbert can't write erotica, so), societal sexism, and people calling women whores. Unless you're really invested in the story universe, skip this. ( )