Author | Frank Herbert |
---|---|
Audio read by |
|
Cover artist | Jack Gaughan |
Language | English |
Series | Dune |
Genre | Science fiction |
Published | 1969 |
Publisher | Putnam Publishing |
Publication place | United States |
Media type | Print (hardcover & paperback) |
Pages | 256 |
OCLC | 32595 |
813/.5/4 | |
LC Class | PZ4.H5356 Du PS3558.E63 |
Preceded by | Dune |
Followed by | Children of Dune |
Dune Messiah is a 1969 science fiction novel by American writer Frank Herbert, the second in his Dune series of six novels. A sequel to Dune (1965), it was originally serialized in Galaxy magazine in 1969, and then published by Putnam the same year. Dune Messiah and its own sequel Children of Dune (1976) were collectively adapted by the Sci-Fi Channel in 2003 into a miniseries entitled Frank Herbert's Children of Dune .
A feature film adaptation of the novel is in early development from filmmaker Denis Villeneuve to serve as a sequel to his films Dune (2021) and Dune: Part Two (2024).
Paul "Muad'Dib" Atreides has ruled as Emperor for 12 years. By accepting the role of messiah to the Fremen, he has unleashed a jihad which has conquered most of the known universe, but is powerless to stop the lethal excesses of the religious juggernaut he has created. Although 61 billion people have perished, Paul's prescient visions indicate this is far from the worst possible outcome for humanity. Motivated by this knowledge, Paul hopes to set humanity on a course that will not inevitably lead to stagnation and destruction, while at the same time acting as ruler of the empire and focal point of the Fremen religion.
The Bene Gesserit, Spacing Guild, and Tleilaxu conspire to dethrone Paul, with the Guild Navigator Edric using his prescience to shield their meetings with the Bene Gesserit Reverend Mother Mohiam and Tleilaxu Face Dancer Scytale, from Paul's visions. Mohiam enlists Princess Irulan, daughter of the deposed Padishah Emperor Shaddam IV, who is wed to Paul for political purposes. Paul has refused to father a child with Irulan, but he and his Fremen concubine Chani have also failed to produce an heir, causing tension within his monarchy. Desperate both to secure her place in the Atreides dynasty and to preserve the bloodline for the Bene Gesserit breeding program, Irulan has secretly been giving contraceptives to Chani. Paul is aware of this fact, but has foreseen that the birth of his heir will bring Chani's death, and does not want to lose her.
Edric gifts Paul a ghola named Hayt, a reanimated being of Tleilaxu-make in the image of the deceased Duncan Idaho, Paul's childhood teacher and friend. The conspirators hope the presence of the ghola will weaken Paul's ability to rule by both disconcerting him and appealing to his emotional vulnerability. Furthermore, Paul's acceptance of the gift weakens his support among the Fremen, who see the Tleilaxu and their tools as unclean. Chani, taking matters into her own hands, switches to a traditional Fremen fertility diet, preventing Irulan from tampering with her food, and soon becomes pregnant. However, Chani's extended consumption of Irulan's contraceptive has weakened her, endangering the pregnancy.
Paul learns of a Fremen conspiracy against him, but sees the strands of a Tleilaxu plot. As Paul's soldiers target the conspirators, an atomic weapon sourced from the Tleilaxu called a stone burner destroys the area. Many soldiers are maimed or killed, but crucially, Paul is blinded by the attack. By tradition, all blind Fremen exile themselves in the desert, but Paul shocks the Fremen by proving he can still see despite his condition. His oracular powers have become so developed that he can foresee everything, so by moving through his life in lockstep with his visions, he can see even the slightest details of the world around him. Posing as a dwarf servant to Paul, the Tleilaxu agent Bijaz implants a command in Hayt, compelling him to kill Paul if triggered. During childbirth, Chani's weakened body succumbs to the pain and she dies. Paul's reaction to her death triggers the command in Hayt to kill Paul, however, Hayt's ghola body resists, and the trauma forces Duncan's full consciousness to be recovered, simultaneously making him independent of Tleilaxu control.
Before her death, Chani gives birth to twins who, like Paul, have full access to both their male and female ancestral memories. The son is a total surprise for Paul, who had only foreseen the birth of their daughter. Scytale offers to revive Chani as a ghola, revealing the full purpose behind Hayt's presence and the restoration of his memories. Paul refuses, considering the possibility that the Tleilaxu might program a Chani ghola in some diabolical way. Scytale threatens the infants with a knife, demanding all of Paul's CHOAM holdings in return for his children's lives. By successfully escaping the oracular trap and setting the universe on a new path, Paul has been rendered completely blind, yet he is able to kill Scytale with a dagger to the eye due to a psychic vision from his son's perspective. Now prophetically and physically blind, Paul chooses to embrace the Fremen tradition and walks alone into the desert, winning the fealty of the Fremen for his children, who will inherit his empire.
Paul leaves his sister Alia, herself worshipped by the Fremen and now romantically involved with Duncan, as regent for the twins, whom he has named Leto and Ghanima. Alia orders Stilgar to execute Edric, Mohiam, and others involved in the plot against her brother, going against his wish that none of them should be harmed. Alia spares Irulan, who in grief for Paul has renounced her loyalty to the Bene Gesserit and vowed to dedicate her life as a teacher to Paul's children. Duncan notes the irony that Chani's death and Paul's nullification have enabled them to triumph against their enemies: the Spacing Guild and the Bene Tleilaxu have been discredited, Irulan's defection from the Bene Gesserit removes the sisterhood's last lever against the Atreides, and Paul has escaped deification by walking into the desert as a man, while guaranteeing Fremen support for the Atreides line.
Parts of Dune Messiah (and its sequel Children of Dune ) were written prior to the completion of Dune itself. [1] The novel appeared initially as a five part serial in Galaxy Science Fiction magazine published from June (cover dated July) to October (cover dated November) 1969 with illustrations by Jack Gaughan. A Putnam hardback edition also appeared in October 1969. The American and British editions contain different prologues which summarized the events of Dune. Dune Messiah and Children of Dune were published in a single volume by the Science Fiction Book Club in 2002, [2] and in 1979 by Gollancz with Dune as The Great Dune Trilogy.
Herbert likened the initial trilogy of novels (Dune, Dune Messiah, and Children of Dune) to a fugue, and while Dune was a heroic melody, Dune Messiah was its inversion. Paul rises to power in Dune by seizing control of the single critical resource in the universe, melange. His enemies are dead or overthrown, and he is set to take the reins of power and bring a hard but enlightened peace to the universe. Herbert chose in the books that followed to undermine Paul's triumph with a string of failures and philosophical paradoxes. [3]
Galaxy Science Fiction called Dune Messiah "Brilliant ... It was all that Dune was, and maybe a little more." [4] Spider Robinson enjoyed the book "even as [he] was driving a truck through the holes in its logic, because it had the same majestic rolling grandeur of the previous book." [5] Challenging Destiny called the novel "The perfect companion piece to Dune ... Fascinating." [4]
David Lynch had planned to adapt sequels to Dune during the film's production in 1983–1984, with a script tentatively-titled Dune II. Based on Dune Messiah, the film had some differences from the novel's story, much like the first film had. After the critical and commercial failure of Dune, the sequel did not proceed. The partial script developed by Lynch with notes by Frank Herbert was discovered in summer 2023 at Herbert's archives at California State University, Fullerton. [6] [7]
Dune Messiah and its sequel Children of Dune (1976) were collectively adapted by the Sci-Fi Channel in 2003 into a miniseries entitled Frank Herbert's Children of Dune . [8] The first installment of the three part, six-hour miniseries covers the bulk of the plot of Dune Messiah. The second and third installments adapt Children of Dune. [9]
Prior to the release of his 2021 theatrical adaptation Dune , director Denis Villeneuve confirmed at the 2021 Venice Film Festival that a film based on Dune Messiah was planned, and it would serve as the third film in a trilogy. [10] After Dune: Part Two (covering the second half of the first novel) was officially greenlit in October 2021, Villeneuve reiterated his hope to continue the series with a third film focusing on Dune Messiah. [11] [12] Screenwriter Jon Spaihts confirmed in March 2022 that Villeneuve still planned on a third film, and TV series spin-offs to continue the Dune saga. [13] Villeneuve began writing a script for a Dune Messiah film in 2023. [14] In February 2024, Villeneuve said the script was "almost finished" but also wanted to take time to ensure his satisfaction, citing Hollywood's tendency of focusing on release dates over a film's overall quality. [15] Composer Hans Zimmer had already begun working on the film's score to assist Villeneuve in creating the film. [16] In April 2024, following the critical and commercial success of Dune: Part Two, Legendary Pictures confirmed that Dune Messiah was in development with Villeneuve returning as director. [17]
Baron Vladimir Harkonnen is a fictional character in the Dune franchise created by Frank Herbert. He is primarily featured in the 1965 novel Dune and is also a prominent character in the Prelude to Dune prequel trilogy (1999–2001) by Herbert's son Brian and Kevin J. Anderson. The character is brought back as a ghola in the Herbert/Anderson sequels which conclude the original series, Hunters of Dune (2006) and Sandworms of Dune (2007).
Paul Atreides is a fictional character in the Dune universe created by Frank Herbert. He is a main character in the first two novels in the series, Dune (1965) and Dune Messiah (1969), and returns in Children of Dune (1976). The character is brought back as two different gholas in the Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson novels which conclude the original series, Hunters of Dune (2006) and Sandworms of Dune (2007), and appears in the prequels Paul of Dune (2008) and The Winds of Dune (2009). According to Brian Herbert, Frank Herbert's son and biographer, House Atreides was based on the heroic but ill-fated Greek mythological house of Atreus.
The Bene Gesserit are a group in Frank Herbert's fictional Dune universe. A powerful social, religious, and political force, the Bene Gesserit is described as an exclusive sisterhood whose members train their bodies and minds through years of physical and mental conditioning to obtain superhuman powers and abilities that seem magical to outsiders. The group seeks to acquire power and influence to direct humanity on an enlightened path, a concerted effort planned and executed over millennia.
Gurney Halleck is a fictional character in the Dune universe created by Frank Herbert. He is a major character in Herbert's Dune (1965) and Children of Dune (1976) as the War Master of House Atreides, acting as mentor, friend, and advisor to Paul Atreides. He also appears in some of the prequel/sequel novels by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson.
Duncan Idaho is a fictional character in the Dune universe created by Frank Herbert. He was introduced in the first novel of the series, 1965's Dune, and became a breakout character. He was revived in 1969's Dune Messiah. He is the only character to feature in all six of Herbert's original Dune novels.
The Fremen are a group of people in the fictional Dune universe created by Frank Herbert. First appearing in the 1965 novel Dune, the Fremen inhabit the desert planet Arrakis, which is the sole known source in the universe of the all-important spice melange. Long overlooked by the rest of the Imperium and considered backward savages, they are an extremely hardy people and exist in large numbers. The Fremen had come to the planet thousands of years before the events of the novel as the Zensunni Wanderers, a religious sect in retreat. As humans in extremis, over time they adapted their culture and way of life to survive and thrive in the incredibly harsh conditions of Arrakis. The Fremen are distinguished by their fierce fighting abilities and adeptness at survival in these conditions. With water being a rare commodity on the planet, their culture revolves around its preservation and conservation. Herbert based Fremen culture, in part, on the desert-dwelling Bedouin and San People.
The Spacing Guild is an organization in Frank Herbert's science fiction Dune universe that possesses a monopoly on interstellar travel and banking. Guild Navigators use the drug melange to achieve limited prescience, a form of precognition that allows them to successfully navigate "folded space" and safely guide enormous starships called heighliners across interstellar space instantaneously.
Leto II Atreides is a fictional character from the Dune universe created by Frank Herbert. Born at the end of Dune Messiah (1969), Leto is a central character in Children of Dune (1976) and is the title character of God Emperor of Dune (1981). The character is brought back as a ghola in the Brian Herbert/Kevin J. Anderson sequels which conclude the original series, Hunters of Dune (2006) and Sandworms of Dune (2007). Leto also appears as a child in the prequel The Winds of Dune (2009).
Lady Jessica is a fictional character in the Dune universe created by Frank Herbert. A main character in the 1963–65 novel Dune, Jessica also plays an important role in the later installment Children of Dune (1976). The events surrounding Jessica's conception, her birth and her early years with Leto are chronicled in the prequel trilogies Prelude to Dune (1999–2001) and Caladan (2020–2022) by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson. The character is brought back as a ghola in the Herbert/Anderson sequels which conclude the original series, Hunters of Dune (2006) and Sandworms of Dune (2007).
Alia Atreides is a fictional character in the Dune universe created by Frank Herbert. She was introduced in the first novel of the series, 1965's Dune, and was originally killed in Herbert's first version of the manuscript. At the suggestion of Analog magazine editor John Campbell, Herbert kept her alive in the final draft. Alia would next appear as a main character in both Dune Messiah (1969) and Children of Dune (1976). The character is brought back as a ghola in the Brian Herbert/Kevin J. Anderson conclusion to the original series, Sandworms of Dune (2007).
Gaius Helen Mohiam is a fictional character in the Dune universe created by Frank Herbert. She is a Bene Gesserit Reverend Mother, and initially appears in the 1963–65 novel Dune and its 1969 sequel, Dune Messiah. Mohiam also has a major role in the Prelude to Dune prequel trilogy (1999–2001) and the Caladan Trilogy (2020–2022) by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson.
Chani is a fictional character featured in Frank Herbert's novels Dune (1965) and Dune Messiah (1969). Known mainly as the Fremen wife and legal concubine of protagonist Paul Atreides, Chani is the daughter of Imperial Planetologist Liet-Kynes and his Fremen wife Faroula, and later the mother of the twins Ghanima and Leto II Atreides. The character is later resurrected as a ghola, appearing in Hunters of Dune (2006) and Sandworms of Dune (2007), Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson's novels which complete the original series.
Princess Irulan is a fictional character in the Dune universe created by Frank Herbert. She first appears in Dune (1965), and is later featured in Dune Messiah (1969) and Children of Dune (1976). The character's birth and early childhood are touched upon in the Prelude to Dune prequel trilogy (1999–2001) by Herbert's son Brian, and Kevin J. Anderson, and she is a principal character in the Herbert/Anderson series Heroes of Dune (2008–2009).
Count Hasimir Fenring is a fictional character in the Dune universe created by Frank Herbert. He is featured in the 1965 science fiction novel Dune by Frank Herbert, and is also a key character in the Prelude to Dune trilogy by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson. He later appears in the 2008 novel Paul of Dune, and the Caladan Trilogy (2020–2022).
Dune is an American science fiction media franchise that originated with the 1965 novel Dune by Frank Herbert and has continued to add new publications. Dune is frequently described as the best-selling science fiction novel in history. It won the inaugural Nebula Award for Best Novel and the Hugo Award in 1966 and was later adapted into a 1984 film, a 2000 television miniseries, and a two-part film series with the first film in 2021 and a sequel in 2024. Herbert wrote five sequels, the first two of which were concomitantly adapted as a 2003 miniseries. Dune has also inspired tabletop games and a series of video games. Since 2009, the names of planets from the Dune novels have been adopted for the real-world nomenclature of plains and other features on Saturn's moon Titan.
Frank Herbert's Children of Dune is a three-part science fiction television miniseries written by John Harrison and directed by Greg Yaitanes, based on Frank Herbert's novels Dune Messiah (1969) and Children of Dune (1976). First broadcast in the United States on March 16, 2003, Children of Dune is the sequel to the 2000 miniseries Frank Herbert's Dune, and was produced by the Sci Fi Channel. Children of Dune and its predecessor are among the highest-rated programs ever to be broadcast on the Sci-Fi Channel. In 2003, Children of Dune won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Special Visual Effects, and was nominated for three additional Emmys.
Margot, Lady Fenring is a fictional character from the Dune universe created by Frank Herbert. She is featured in Herbert's Dune (1965), and is a major character in the Prelude to Dune prequel trilogy (1999–2001) and the 2008 novel Paul of Dune by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson. She later appears in the Caladan Trilogy (2020–2022). Margot is the Bene Gesserit wife of Count Hasimir Fenring, a close friend of the Padishah Emperor Shaddam IV, but is loyal to the Sisterhood.
Multiple organizations of the Dune universe dominate the political, religious, and social arena of the setting of Frank Herbert's Dune series of science fiction novels, and derivative works. Set tens of thousands of years in the future, the saga chronicles a civilization which has banned computers but has also developed advanced technology and mental and physical abilities through physical training, eugenics and the use of the drug melange. Specialized groups of individuals have aligned themselves in organizations focusing on specific abilities, technology and goals. Herbert's concepts of human evolution and technology have been analyzed and deconstructed in at least one book, The Science of Dune (2008). His originating 1965 novel Dune is popularly considered one of the greatest science fiction novels of all time, and is frequently cited as the best-selling science fiction novel in history. Dune and its five sequels by Herbert explore the complex and multilayered interactions of politics, religion, ecology and technology, among other themes.
We've a three-point civilization: the Imperial Household balanced against the Federated Great Houses of the Landsraad, and between them, the Guild with its damnable monopoly on interstellar transport.
Of course there are other themes and fugal interplays in Dune and throughout the trilogy. Dune Messiah performs a classic inversion of the theme. Children of Dune expands the number of themes interplaying ... That fits the pattern of the fugue.
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