I chose to continue the series, and feel like this, as well as the series after the first, were both mistakes. However, perhaps I enjoyed the sequel to Heretics of Dune a bit more than this book, just because it was a bit more philosophical. For she possesses the abilities of the Fremen sandriders-fulfilling a prophecy foretold by the late God Emperor. While I’ve enjoyed Duncan in previous novels, his endless reincarnation as a ghola is tiresome at this point. I recommend taking on the sequel right after you finish Heretics of Dune, or you could forget some important details.

At last, after three books of nothing but plots, within plots, within plots, wrapped in layers upon layers of intrigues, Herbert brings some much needed action back to the series. While it’s easy to ridicule these aspects of the novel as Herbert working out his kinks or sexual fantasies, the concept is interesting.I love Herbert’s world-building and his ideas, but based on Heretics, he probably should have stopped with God Emperor.

Despite bringing some much needed action back to the series, this book fails to entertain because it is written so poorly, and the plot reads like a map for a roadtrip planned out by a crack addict. Navikao sam da Herbert u jednom pasusu lomi radnju i pravi znacajne obrte ali ovoga puta kada to radi deluje da ne drzi sve konce u rukama i da po malo i nasilno stvari tera ka konkluziji. Moreover, as this novel opens some of the scattered are coming back- and they do not hold much love for the Old Empire.

There’s a sense that things are coming full circle as the reborn Duncan is trained in the arts he once taught to young Paul Atreides.

And so, this time around, all I could think of was how mediocre it was, how it wasn't as well written as Fragments, how the characters weren't as interesting as the creations of Dan Wells, how the story was so distractingly vague and didn't seem to be going anywhere. It is just as wrong either way, SO WHY IN THE HELL IS AN UNDERAGE BOY BEING RAPED BY AN OLDER WOMAN SO ACCEPTED IN FICTION IN OUR SOCIETY! As the meeting draws to a close, Taraza accidentally divines that Waff is a Zensunni, giving the Bene Gesserit a lever to understand their ancient competitor. Just because a woman is far less likely to sexually assault a teenaged boy than a man might be to assault a teenaged girl doesn't mean that it doesn't happen, and that it's not just as wrong when it does. The idea that sex can be so damn good with these women, that any man that has it is a slave for life made me grimace.These revelations leads to a big climax (no pun intended) in which the Duncan ghola and a young Honored Matre named Murbella have what I can only describe as a sex duel.