The Spectacular Failure of Frank Herbert's Dune Series

Dune is a science fiction masterpiece.

Spanning nearly 800 pages and requiring an appendix to comprehend, the book is a modern epic with few rivals. Not only does Dune have captivating storyline, but also impressive world building and an incredible breadth of thematic intersectionality, making it a rare literary gem. Paul Atreides is a compelling main character with very human origins and desires, despite the fact that he eventually becomes something akin to a god. The desert planet of Arrakis, home to giant sand worms and a hostile climate, is both terrifying and enchanting. Though the book is set in a distant and futuristic galaxy, it feels strangely familiar, reflecting the current realities of our world.

(Click here to read my full review of this captivating novel)

Herbert could've just ended the series there. But of course he didn't, and what follows is a collection of stories that are increasingly abysmal. 

With the exception of Dune Messiah, I strongly disliked or otherwise hated every other book in this series (and unfortunately there's six of them in total). 

Herbert's quality of writing and hallmark philosophical ramblings remained the same throughout the following five books, but his adeptness at story telling shockingly declined. As someone who adored the first book in the series, I found myself sorely disappointed by the fragmented hodgepodge of half-baked plots filled with far too much dialogue. Quite frankly they were sorry excuses for stories. And this doesn't even touch on Herbert's odd obsession in later books with sexual power and "imprinting" (a tangent I will spare you all from). 

The finale of the series, Chapterhouse: Dune, is woefully underwhelming, though the storyline was apparently cut short due to Herbert's passing. It essentially continues the story of the ongoing rivalry and power-struggle between the Bene Gesserit and their sexual cult-y duplicates, the Honored Matres (who they repeatedly refer to as "the Whores"). As mentioned earlier, 99% of the book is pointless dialogue and random pondering that do nothing to advance the plot, and the other 1% is a random and poorly-described battle scene where pretty much every character you're introduced to dies. 

In short, the sixth and final book is a whole lot of nothing, conveniently packaged in a 600+ page novel.

Spoiler alert: Following the death of Paul Atreides and the destruction of Arrakis (yep, they randomly blow up the whole planet in book five, Heretics of Dune) the entire series honestly feels really pointless. And that's not to say that the removal of a particular character or setting makes a series obsolete (thinking of C.S. Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia here, which does an excellent job at being enjoyable while having a variety of storylines and protagonists). In the case of Dune however everything that made the original story so intriguing was more or less gone by the end of book three, and Herbert unfortunately just didn't seem to know when to call it quits. 

There's an argument to be had that I should've just stopped after book two, but I felt obligated to see the storyline out, and part of me hoped Herbert would somehow redeem the plot (misplaced trust on my part). Tragically the entire series took me about a year to read, and while I hated 2/3 of that experience I still don't regret it. Now, I get to feel better about myself because I can explain everything about Dune to my confused friends and family, and pretentiously point out the adaptation flaws in Denis Villeneuve's upcoming adaption of Dune Messiah. That's reason enough to suffer through six books.