Product Description

The desert planet Arrakis, called Dune, has been destroyed. Now the Bene Gesserit, heirs to Dune's powers, have colonized a green world and are turning it into a desert, mile by scorched mile. In this, the final book in the Dune Chronicles, Herbert again creates a world of breathtakingly evolved characters and the contexts in which to appreciate them. The richness of detail and perspective fascinates, while the multi-layered plot evolves as pages turn. Riveting from end to end, the legend lives on in the greatest science fiction epic of all time.

" Impressive...the whole saga will be one of the monuments of modern science fiction." (Chicago Sun Times)

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #5199 in Books
• Published on: 1987-07-01
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 435 pages

From Publishers Weekly
Now that the planet Arrakis (Dune) has been annihilated, the Bene Gesserit order turns its stronghold Chapterhouse into another desert world, and from this base, the sisterhood plans its moves against ruthless rivals. Drawing on a vast store of history and religion, the book is "so rich in this one area that others suffer and the narrative crawls," PW observed.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From the Publisher
13 1.5-hour cassettes

Customer Reviews

American Gothic, Face Dancers, or What?
It appears at God Emperor Leto II's Golden Path has brought the destruction of not only Dune, but humanity itself. The Bene Gesserit are, slowly, turning their beloved planet Chapterhouse into a haven for sandworms, but the whorish Honored Matre's are breathing down their neck and the ax is raised. The last of the Atredies must find a way to escape into the Scattering or be trapped forever beneath the thumb of a chaos worse than any that has come before...

This book is slow, tedious, confusing, and utterly captivating. From someone who finishes 2 or 3 books a day if they're good enough, this one took me 2 weeks to finish and, circa page 275, helped me towards a nice hour-long nap. The last chapter only adds to the confusion, one in which I've yet to decide the old couple the most recent ghola-Idaho sees throughout this novel are emancipated Face Dancers, the elderly couple from American Gothic, aliens from the Scattering, or what-not.

Still, if you're a fan of the series, you'll want to read this last work of F. Herbert's before his death.

Interesting "Sort of" Ending
I just finished re-reading my copy of this. I like it because I am a huge Dune fan. But I didn't necessarily like it as much as I did the other books in this original Dune saga. What was most interesting to mewas the transition of power and the technical aspects. But I think many things didn't have a complete wrap-up and this didn't provide an ending I had hoped for for the masterpiece that is the original Dune story. I haven't read enough about Frank Herbert to know whether he planned anything else, and since his son went on to write a lengthy multi-book prequel, I don't know if any notes existed for a book to follow this. I guess I felt a little unsettled and like I had just read a long mystery that didn't explain itself in the end. I don't think this type of ending takes away from the greatness of the series but I think it does leave it slightly unfinished.

Acceptable, but not worthy of its predecessors.
The problem with this book isn't so much about the book. It is pretty much standard sci-fi fare, with a bit of intrigue thrown in for good measure. The problem is, it gets progressively worse, page by page. The break where the children finished the book is stunningly obvious; it is fairly clear that they didn't inherit their fathers talent. If it were on its own, it would be decent, hence the third star. However, when placed at the end of a line of excellent books, it is at best overshadowed, at worst an insult to its predecessors.

Starts good, gets bad, has a kiddy break somewhere after that and goes downhill fast. Simply put, if you have never read a Dune book, or if you are a hardcore fan who simply has to know how it ends, then this is a maybe. If you are a softcore fan who just read them because they were interesting at the time, don't waste your energy.