Spoilers for Dune books up to God Emperor.
My “Grades” for God Emperor of Dune
Concept: A
The idea of Leto as a human-Worm composite and a preborn identity with billions of lives in his head across thousands of years, working to shepherd the human race through a possible extinction event and onto a future where humanity will be equipped to survive in perpetuity is unique and endlessly fascinating.
Character of Leto II: A-
Great concept and mostly executed well, convincingly preternaturally knowledgeable yet in a cobbled-together way that is different from the wisdom of a Buddha, who has progressed as a single identity across millions of lives. He sometimes comes off as petulant/egotistical/immature, and I can’t quite tell how much of this is intentional vs. a weakness in writing. (More behind the cut below)
Other major characters: B/B-
They’re okay. They have consistent, individual identities. They sometimes say intelligent things. They almost necessarily come off as ignorant kids next to Leto, a tricky writing problem. (More below)
Worldbuilding: A/A-
The Dune universe is one of the best created out there. This book carries that on. It feels internally consistent and plausible. The A- is for a certain lack of detail and some stuff that just sits odd, like humans are going to colonize multiple universes? Maybe a word on how?
Prose: B
Herbert’s language is functional and flows well, often with nice turns of phrase, idioms, sayings, etc. He writes omniscient POV with lots of barely announced flashbacks, like “He thought of the other day when…” and the next several pages are a few days before the scene you were just in. I find this a bit jarring, but I’m sure he had his reasons.
Plot: C-
This book has no momentum, no (effective) rising action, setbacks, turning points, moving up to a clear climax, all that stuff. If a good plot is like a symphony building to a crescendo, this plot is like the same tune played over and over with occasional higher and lower notes. I have thoughts on why below the cut. ( Read more… )
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