Dune Messiah by Frank Herbert

Dune Messiah by Frank Herbert 
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The Dune series has continued to awe me with Frank Herbert’s ability to imagine and create a future world that is not altogether an unrealistic prediction whilst currently in the twenty first century. The world is demanding, dangerous, has themes of segregation, and overall is incredibly realistic considering the Science Fiction/Fantasy aspect of these novels. Most importantly, however, Herbert has excelled at writing stories about people - people in power, people who are oppressed and marginalized, people who are lost in their power, and people who are fighting for power. 

Dune: Messiah picks up years after the first story concludes. Paul Atreides is now deep into his emperorship, and we are beginning to see the long term effects of his rule on society. Paul struggles with his morality in this story; has he helped his world or has he hurt it?

Messiah was a much shorter book than the original, which caused the story to feel a bit rushed. At first, I really did not feel inspired by the story or the events taking place. I felt as though I was missing all that took place between these two books and really would have enjoyed a deeper look into that empty history. I found myself enjoying the insights into the people and the corners of this world, that previously were not shown to us, than the actual story being told. Thankfully, however, those feelings changed once we reached the second half of the novel. 

The conflict and resolution of Dune: Messiah hooked me and left me breathless when the absolutely unexpected happens. This story left me with the impression that Frank Herbert knew exactly what he was doing and where he was taking this story and its characters. I cannot wait to read the next book in this series!