You would think that everyone in the Duniverse would have had their fill of ancient prophecies by now, but alarmingly this is not the case, and so the juggernaut of history rolls on. From burning desert to green and fertile land and on again to burning desert … the cycle is complete. Delivered in good time, showing the expected signs of age but perfectly intact and with a cover matching the rest of the series editions I have. He had promised himself that he would not flinch before the fire of her gaze, and once more he broke his promise.

Well, now Herbert has gone full circle just like poor old Leto II, and gives us a supremely seductive Sisterhood that counts its sexual wiles as a key weapon in its feminine arsenal, as dangerous even as the Voice. He unleashes himself upon the complex, and finds that his prescient powers allow him to 'see' shielded no-ships; he captures one and locates Duncan and Lucilla.My understanding is that Herbert originally meant for Heretics of Dune to be the first part of a trilogy. This is a double standard that has both baffled and angered me for just about as long as I can remember. Yet, the trailer came out for the new Dune movie, and I had a choice, reread the first Dune novel or continue the series. Heretics’ begins with a rather queasy scene on Gammu, the former Giedi Prime, where the Reverend Mothers Schwangyu and Lucilla debate the potential sexual awakening of the latest Duncan ghola, who is on the cusp of manhood, as it were.

By crushing the aspirations of humans for over three thousand years, Leto caused the Scattering, an explosion of humanity into the rest of the universe upon his death. Also, it's more likely than not to be incomprehensible if you haven't plodded through Messiah, Children and God Emperor.In this context, the general confusion amongst characters as to whether anyone really knows what is going on makes perfect sense. Even with his weaker Dune sequels, like this one, Herbert introduced new ideas and at least tried to do some things different. That he was able to concieve of a story spanning so great a time, and account for the passage of time, like the names of planets changing, and show the long term effects of decisions made in the distant past by long dead characters, speaks to his prouesse as a storyteller. Fifteen hundred years have passed since the 3,500-year reign of the God Emperor Leto II Atreides ended with his assassination; humanity is firmly on the Golden Path, Leto's plan to save humanity from destruction.