First published in 1969, Dune Messiah is set a dozen years after the events of the first book in which Paul Atreides ascended to the role of Emperor of the known universe, the seat of his power base being the sand blown world of Arraxis, the Dune of the title. As leader of the Fremen, the holy desert warriors of that world, he oversees a jihad which spreads across the galaxy, a purge of those who came before, the sympathisers of the previous regime, or simply those who do not share their faith. By this reckoning more than six billion people have perished in the resistance to the Fremen's holy war. It is not even the worst possible outcome, given the scale and population of the known universe. Yet, Paul Atreides knows worse will follow as he is gifted with the ability to see, to perceive future events.
Paul, "Muad' Dib" had to overcome many obstacles to get to where he is and yet had no wish to see his new found leadership after so few years, in relative terms, descend into stagnation or the degeneracy that can come under the conquering boot. His enemies and those who set out to wipe his lineage from existence were many and very powerful. The Harkonens, The Bene Gessirrit Sisterhood and the mysterious Guild Navigators were prime movers in the conspiracy to bring down House Atreides. Those that survived his climb to the throne are more determined than ever to bring him down and have woven a complex web of deceit and betrayal to bring this about, to bring their plans to fruition. Once before House Atreides was undo by betrayal from within, only time will truly tell if the lesson has been learnt.
Despite his unquestionable status as a visionary an sense of impending tragedy builds and builds throughout this book. The well covered and adapted events of the first book hardly prepare one for this almost overwhelming sense of melancholy which pervades this sequel. The use of power on such a vast scale reduces the personal to the almost microscopic. The bright sharply focused vision that drove the Fremen rebellion becomes fogged, out of focus, obscured by the seismic upheaval of galaxy wide change.
And to think I thought the first novel was writ large on a vast canvas, this one reveals that canvas to be stretched in every direction. Ambition, politics and religion make for strange bed fellows. Ah, twas ever the way. Mind you, society in general has undergone much change since the book was first published in nineteen sixty nine. The word jihad almost certainly seemed so much more exotic for the western tongue, conjuring vague notions of an honor based war in the stars. Its wider use through the main stream media has diluted that idea somewhat.
Always intriguing, almost messianic It is the stuff of myths and religions.Is there room for anymore in this troubled old world of ours.
I would say ; YES.
