Children of Dune (Mini-Review)

Children of Dune is another of Frank Herbert's Dune novels. It is widely known that Paul Atreides walked into the desert and died. Yet a mysterious man known only as the Preacher seems to bear more than a passing resemblance to the deceased man. Alia, his sister, has fallen and become possessed which spells danger for everyone. The Lady Jessica finally returns to Dune in order to figure out what to do with her daughter. And in the middle of everything lies Paul's children. Everyone wants to use the children for their own advantages while the twins have their own plans.

It feels that Frank Herbert is really into incest and thinks if the relatives don't actually have sex it is okay. In the previous book there was an incestuous relationship teased between Paul and Alia that never ended up happening. In this book something similar is teased between Leto and Ghanima. It goes further than Paul and Alia but the twins never end up having sex with each other. I have no clue how I managed to forget all about the incest of the series.

This book deals with the hard concept that is best summed up with 'does the end justify the means'. Leto has this idea for achieving peace for all time that he calls the Golden Path. But it is a bloody path and is something that Paul thought was too costly to justify. I can't remember what happens in the series and I'm unsure if that would make things easier to judge. As of writing this review I think you can pay too high of a price for peace. But the thought of peace for all time is too alluring not to pursue.

The Fremen seem to get the really short end of the stick at all times. More than a couple of times characters dismiss the Fremen's beliefs. This left a bad taste in my mouth as here are a people that gets used and abused countless times. They're never able to live their own lives as others feel entitled to them. Not only their lives but resources.

I would highly recommend Children of Dune to fans of the Dune series. I would also recommend Children of Dune to science fiction fans.