Children of Dune - REVIEW 

*Spoilers for Children of Dune* I understand you didn't talk about it but I just wanna say that Alia might have been one of the most tragic characters I've ever read and the revelation of what is wrong with her in this book left me astonished. Being considered by all to be a aberration, including by her mother who left her, and altough having the prescience just like Paul she always lived in his shadows. This book shows how the whole empire falls on her shoulder after Paul leaves and it just BREAKS her, making her susceptible to being taking over by the Baron in her mind and in her last momments she makes what is to be believed her actual last act of self control and kills herself, taking control over her life again by ending it on her on terms and not Leto's, her mother's or the Baron's.

i agree with your sentiments and thoughts. the dune series is definitely a series that seems to change with every book and that's so great

"There's not a family in fantasy that puts up with more shit than the Atreides". Hurin's family says hi.

My favorite thing about this review was having already read God Emperor and chuckling at all the little guesses. God Emperor is going to throw you for a loop, and I am genuinely interested in your opinions on Leto II and his character progression.

God emperor of Dune is just a masterpiece definitely continue

I loved this series, read it too many times to enjoy now. I just loved the way humanity was going to be subdued no matter what and the children were going ahead with the vision.

I agree that the series matures as it progresses, which is crazy, considering it’s severity right out of the gate with book 1; Children definitely broadened my view of what sci-fic could be, and into God Emperor?… sheeit man, by the time book 4 rolls by, I’m thinking: if Herbert was born 2500 years ago, today we’d have both a Homer, AND a Herbert LOL

"God Emperor" is my favorite of the series. I'm told I'm odd for that. In any even, "Children" is a definite, solid second, so I'm glad to hear you're going to keep reading through at least "God Emperor". (At least it sounds that way.) I've always viewed "Children", though as "the chickens coming home to roost." Because Paul wasn't strong enough to make the tough choices, to do what he could see was needed to secure the future of the human race, the price came due on his sister and children. It's a lot more complex than that, but I think that still covers things.

I think a better analogy for the lack of "good guys" in the Dune universe is that it's something like Sophocles' tragic world, exemplified by Oedipus but deeply woven throughout his surviving plays. Paul is a shining example of Oedipus in that he personifies human achievement (partially constructed to be so by the Bene Gesserit breeding program). He represents the "ideal human" or the idealized human (dare I say "hero"?). And that's the rub. In Oedipus Tyrannos, the hero is constrained by fate, but his situation has been extrapolated (appropriated?) be existential philosophy and in that light, Paul is an extension of this existential "hero." However great their powers and good (in an existential world where "good" is not an absolute), they find themselves thrust into positions and "choices" that serve only to ensnare or trap them. There is no "right choice" for Paul to make, all the way back to the moment he and Jessica chose to flee and strive to live. There is no way to divest himself of the power structures he has created (and at the same time created him). Now he's the emperor of the known galaxy(?), and his mother is a traumatize wreck (substitute that for Oedipus' "crime" with his mother). He cannot save his wife Chaney, but to deny her the one thing she most wants (children). What's interesting is that Paul "won" in Messiah by losing his sight (literally and the oracular sight). He broke away from the chains that bound him to his throne. All it cost him was everyone he loved. Oedipus, meanwhile, is likewise blinded and wandering alone in banishment. The reality, institutions, power structures, etc. that constituted his world proved to be illusory. All of the "good" Oedipus did turned out to be something very different from what he thought it was. Sightless, he no longer acts with the bold confidence of a "good man" bolstered by his confidence is power structures and truths that only "seemed" absolute. Both Messiah figures, saviors of their respective peoples (Thebans, Fremen) are exposed as products human delusion. Gawd, I love this stuff.

I'll tell you what I tell everyone else who ever mentioned to me they started reading Dune. And that is: Don't even try to guess where the next Dune book is going just based on the one you've just finished. Whatever you're thinking, ol' Frank will surprise you.

Dune is what brought me back to reading a couple of years ago, and is how I first found your channel! I'm glad you got around to reading more of the series and am especially glad you've been enjoying the sequels! Can't wait to see what you think of God Emperor. Keep up the good work man! BTW you should check out Rendezvous with Rama if you haven't yet, It's awesome and apparently is going to be Denis' next film after his Dune stuff!

Great set of reviews. I've always thought you couldn't get the full tragic character arc of Paul Atreides without getting through "Children of Dune". If "Messiah" showed us the tragedy of Paul's feet of clay after having caused much evil through something resembling good intentions, "Children" fully reveals him as having also lacked the courage to himself do his duty in following the (necessary but horrendous) "Golden Path" that he himself saw - and instead passing that burden on to the next generation. With something of a reconciliation with his son near the end, there's something that in other stories might have been depicted as resigned acceptance and a kind of redemption, but here can only be taken as an even further abasement of the reader's opinion of Paul's character. Truly a modern Greek tragedy worthy of its predecessor(s) from Greek mythology - where the Atreides' literal namesakes (the descendents of Atreus) really do suffer under a multi-generational curse of the gods.

This entire series is honestly a masterpiece. I needed a book to read for school, and had seen the movie not to long before so I figured I'd try and read it. At first the language and the way of words had me stuck and it took me some time to begin to understand it, but once I did I was hooked. I've been reading these books non-stop since, and its amazing to find out how much enthusiasm is behind the community these books have created. I am extremely excited to read the last three, and being able to share my excitement with everyone over a book series has got to be one of the best feelings ever. The way the book causes introspective thought is probably my favorite part, and I think its easy to say that you can learn a lot about life from just reading this amazing story. So glad I still have new Dune material left to read, and I am already dreading the sadness I will feel once I finish the series.

I'm so glad you are continuing the series. I didn't connect with Dune, books 1 & 2, as much as I connected with the later books in the series, so I love when people decide to keep going! I'm curious to hear what you think about the next one.

This is where Dune became something "beyond" just a Sci fi series for me. And I think Herbert is at the top of his game here.

Glad to see you're liking these books! I can't wait to see what you think of book 4! This series gets truly weirder and weirder with each book!

I’m really enjoying seeing you review the books in the rest of the series, please keep at it

Goddamn I love your dune videos man, the series is so unique especially for it’s time, so atmospheric and purposeful.

I think Frank Herbert's greatest gift as an author was his ability to put us in the heads of his characters, in their voice. I know who Paul is. I know who Jessica is. And, he created a pretty amazing universe as the backdrop for his characters.

I'm so excited to see your thoughts on God Emperor of Dune, when you get there. I had many similar thoughts about just ending the series with Messiah, but continued on and God Emperor became my favorite book in the series.

I love your word painting in this video! Very nice writing

Children of Dune’s last few chapters have been some of my favorites in the entire series, but the book is a bit inconsistent, however, Alia is absolute God Tier. Arguably one of my favorite characters ever(I’ve only read Dune, Messiah and Children)

Yes!! So happy you are enjoying it! I love your thoughts on this series

Very glad to hear that you are enjoying the series! I went through all six books in 2020 having no idea past the 1984 movie what was going to happen. Things get real weird in the last two books but overall it is a delightful read with great philosophical and existential conversation fodder.

Another great review! I'm also eagerly awaiting to see your review for the second Eisenhorn novel: Malleus. Love to see if it continues to impress you and increase your appreciation for (some) Warhammer 40k stories.

I'm glad you've continued on with Dune past the first book, and that you've enjoyed the subsequent entries. I'm particularly interested to hear your take on Book 4, as I tend to imagine it as the most polarizing (and in my opinion, the best) in the series. I also hope one day to hear your impressions of some of Terry Brooks' work. especially the first trilogy and possibly the follow-up tetralogy. Assuming that you haven't read his work before, I wonder if how you would rate it overall.

Just finished Messiah, and I didn’t want to go further for the exact reason you didn’t, but you’ve convinced me to read further... at some point. I still think I’ll stop now to read some other stuff, and maybe even go back and start again from the beginning when I dive back in, since there are so many layers to Herbert’s masterpiece to dig through.

Great review! I have read the first 3 and agree that Herberts writing does evolve beautifully. Will you do a read-a long for the God Emperor of Dune (Book #4)? If I'd love to join in. I have not continued to the series past book 3...I'm kind of nervous about it. Anyhoo, love ya channel!

You’re timing! You’re review for Dune Messiah came a day before I got the book and today I’ve got Children of Dune!

I love how I was able to predict what this review whould be more or less after listening your "I don't think I should continue this saga after book 2" xD Now to wait for the God Emperor review. I need to see your reaction to that unit of a book.

I love how the more the story progres in later books Atreides become more and more rebel . They always have been the wild cards that changed the game and shape humanity destiny but we get more wild descendants in later books 😊 . Honestly I highly recommend all books . They are delicious

Oh wait, he's only reading through these all now? I can't wait to see... *sigh* you know it's a great series when you can't even _allude_ to the spoiler-y things without spoiling them on some level. They are so good. I'm - I think I had a stroke of luck when reading the books when I was younger; I'd bought the first one because 'giant worms seem cool', and then found Children, [edit: this one exists, doesn't it] Heretics and Chapter House in libraries; had to go back from Chapter House to read God Emperor, but getting to see that part of the story early on meant that the last two books became basically my favourites. What is there to say about them without spoling everything? Hrm - well, put it this way, Herbert had not come _close_ to running out of tricks to pull with the story, nor observations to make about people, by the end of book 3. The last two are great, and worth reading; they add to the books that came before in a lot of ways, without detracting from the ability of those earlier books to form a self-contained narrative. I _could_ talk for a very long time about those last [edit] three books. But I won't, because it's much better just to read them and see for yourself the range the guy managed to squeeze out of this one series. Edit: Though apparently I didn't love them _enough_ to remember that Heretics and Chapter House are in fact two separate books; probably because I read both back-to-back. So the last _three_ books are all worth reading.

Loving the dune reviews

I’m glad that you are giving the series a serious shot, should be higher on your tier list now

This review is really making me want to reread the Dune books now that I am an adult. Thanks for your perspective on the series!

God Emperor of Dune is going to be a trip! 😅 I'm glad you're continuing the series 👐

Ooooh are you going to do the later books too? GEOD is great for a sense of scope but is basically just a giant monologue from Leto II. Frank’s last two books are endlessly fun though. Miles Teg is just a fantastic character and so much fun to read.

I need to get back to reading this series, it is on my re-read TBR

Really enjoyed your review Daniel I’ve read the Dune series twice through and I’ve not heard Paul be called a failed Prophet before, I imagined Paul saw his saviour story as including not only himself but his son too... and other Atredies Get ready for God Emperor Of Dune!

A very nice review. I hope you enjoy the rest of the journey!

I think you'd love Made In Abyss, it features on of my favourite ever fantasy concepts ( the Abyss, an unexplored cascm containing numerous varied biomes with diverse ecosystems and unique yet terrifying monsters) also the relationship between the two leads is adorable. The anime is 13 episodes and a movie but there is a manga from which the show was adapted I haven't read it only watched but I assume given the quality of the series the books are amazing as well

God Emperor of Dune is my favorite. Not many have been able to move past that one. Can’t wait to see your review 🤯

Love the Dune series and these reviews have been great. Also I see that Twilight Imperium reference. If you like that game you should definitely play the Dune board game

Can't wait to hear your impression of God Emperor of Dune. It is my favorite Dune book, one that I've reread the most, and that had a huge influence on my worldview.

Lady Jessica is the real villain of the Dune universe. It's all her fault.

Would you consider reading and reviewing magical realism books like One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez or Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie

I’m hyped for you to make a review of god emperor. Keep up the content!

Looking forward to the Boxed Water review

The god emporer of dune will be fun.

I am gonna need to start reading dune. Its never been a franchise that's really grabbed me when I was younger but I do feel maybe now I might like it more the more I hear about it

Aside from Discworld, this is my favourite book series of all time and it is indescribably delightful watching you get more and more drawn in, more and more excited with each read. Cannot wait to see what you think of God Emperor, which is a real turning point in the series, and is full of profound revelations.

Thanks for including spoiler section! Hope to see it in the following books

So I’m wondering cense it was not so subtle, is box water better?

For me, the story really takes off once Leto II experiences the vision of the Golden path, and hermetically seals himself with his destiny.

Daniel I need to know your thoughts on Leto II's transformation. I had to re-read that chapter 3 times before my mind could comprehend what was happening. After reading God Emperor it brings that 7 year old's decision to a whole new light

Great review Daniel, Children of Dune was my favorite of the 4 or 5 Dune books I read before I quit the series. I do however need to ask the important questions, like WTF is boxed water?

God Emperor of Dune will blow your mind... The best book in the series

Very Interested to see Mr. Greene's thought on book 4 which transpires millennia later, and solely focuses on Leto II.

Don't even know much about Dune other than watching the first Dune movie and seeing comments about Children of Dune on the new trailer. I liked watching this video and how you explained your thoughts so well. And, yes, are we really worth saving at this point? 😅

I have taken a break after children of dune but I definitely need to get back into that world!

I've been slowly going through this book for like 6 months and I just happened to finish it the day before this review came out lool

REALLY curious what you're going to make of God Emperor, because that book seems to either make or break the series for readers (it broke it for me, personally).

I think you would love Goodnight punpun.

Last thing-Daniel’s thoughts on Messiah being a fair stopping point exactly match my own on God Emperor. By the end of book 4, ngl I was a bit fatigued with the series and needed a break, but also, without spoiling, the conclusion felt like a natural end to the story of the characters we’ve grown to know up to that point.

I absolutely was hooked into children of dune I'm glad I decided to give the series a try 👍

Just finished Children of Dune!!

I loved Children of Dune. I would say it’s a good stopping point for the series but I myself want to pick up God-Emperor of Dune to finish off Leto’s story.

I really hope you continue on in the Dune series. It is one of my favorite series. The next book God Emperor is not my favorite but the 2nd Trilogy is fantastic and has amazing characters and plot devices.

Yeah I have loved all 3 books. So many unexpected twists and turns. Love them

Really looking forward to seeing what you think of God Emperor of Dune. It has some really interesting choices...including, for some reason....let's say..."sexy rock climbing."

Very excited to hear what you think of God Emperor!

Might have to read these again. Perhaps the third time I might actually like GEoD. But the first three are just amazing for the scope and where things go.

Herbert drops you in the world. And the icy personalities, personal interests, and depth of thought are a testament to his intellect

Children of Dune was by far my favorite alongside the original Dune. God Emperor brings everything to a very satisfying conclusion, but I found it hard to read after Children. For reasons I can’t state cause spoilers. Lol. Hope you enjoy it though! Look forward to your thoughts on God Emperor.

Reading Dune (on book 4 now) has been life-changing.

I don't think anyone can really understand the story of Dune until you get to "God Emperor of Dune". It's also my favorite.

I just finished messiah and narratively I see what you mean, but oh boy does it hint that there's so much more to see outside of Paul. I'm taking a break from Dune for a little while and let Dune messiah sit with me for a bit. Because it hasn't latched onto me the way the first book did, but, the first had a way of growing in my mind as I ruminated on it and I sense messiah is doing the same as I write this. Leaving me prepped for Children of Dune. Which in some respects I think is almost how they're structured considering the time leaps.

“Paul’s shadow…” BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! Just wait.

You will see how big the story of Dune is, how bad Paul was, how much you have to look forward to in God Emperor. The 4th book is what the golden path is about.......

is that boxed water there on purpose?

I just finished this again and can anyone inform me what that speech from Leto to his cousin mean? Is he threatening him to defend Ghanis honor or?

for a millennial, you fill me with a sense of optimism for the future. well spoken and concise with also a hint of humour makes your videos appealing for this gen x'er.

really excited to see your thoughts on God Emperor of Dune

Curious. Has anyone read the last three books in the series written by. Rain Herbert? I keep reading a lot about the books after this one-but all ending with Frank’s last book-which isn’t the end of the story. I read this series as a kid and once I got to read the end of the story, it was just awesome. Cleared up a lot of the confusion of the otherwise abrupt ending.

I started reading the book a week ago and it's amazing!!!!

I was not expecting you to enjoy any of these books, but I’m glad your finding some enjoyment in the series. God Emperor to me is Frank really feeling himself and his pen. Let me ask you this Daniel…. What is it that makes someone human? 😉😎

I have not watched this yet, but this book is my favorite fictional book, period. So I am excited to hear your thoughts. However, I only arrived at that conclusion once I was well into God Emperor.

From watching your reviews, it seems you like book 2 and 3 more than the original. Most people would disagree with that, but I actually think it’s pretty interesting.

9:41 SPOILER ALERT: As someone who didn’t have it spoiled, the “is it / isn’t it” thing - i think meant to be very clear that it is him from the beginning, I always knew for certain that it was him. I think it was meant to be situational irony where we know but the characters dont, and that gives those of us who are invested in Paul as the main character reason to read on and care about the other characters and what’s happening outside of him because we want to see how they will react to him when they find out. I don’t think it was ever a mystery for the readers, in fact Herbert pretty much gives it away as soon as he introduces the preacher. He’s missing his eyes (not just blind), he acts as if he can see, he uses voice, he wears an older still suit, and everyone who sees him says he looks like Paul.

Good video mate! I think you’ll enjoy the politics and philosophy in God Emperor of Dune, it dives deep into the themes and story of Dune overall and Fleshes out the “Golden Path”. Keep it up and enjoy the series! :D

Keep up the good work👍👍

Leto II is one of my favourite characters. No spoilers for future. Just that statement alone.

I was a little lost thinking how could liet-kyens and Paul not see how introducing that much water to dune would of course kill off the worms and how this was some how a surprise? Also if alia/the barron wanted to destroy the spice trade in order to control it?? Don't they already control the spice trade??

I forgot about the golden path. as a young man that concept got me to actually plan out my life and start making the changes (small and great) that would get me there... so yah, book changed my life

Oooh, are you gonna do God Emperor next? That one's my favorite

damn, daniel getting poetic!

I hate to say this but I really struggled with Children of Dune it’s taken me nearly a year to try and get through it and I have still not finished it, maybe the long internal monologues where to much for me. I loved the first book but the third one I found to be really hard work. I want carry on because God Emperor sounds fascinating.

Little late to the Dune party, but I finally picked up the first book after years of putting it off. I couldn’t stop reading. I’ve now just finished Children of Dune and I feel your sentiments on a few of your opinions. I was very attached to Paul and I did have that feeling after Messiah where I almost didn’t get Children, glad I read it. Was awesome! Took me a bit to get attached to Leto II and Ghanima but some old characters returns really smoothed the transition for me. Once I had gotten more accustomed to the new Atreides twins, I was hooked like I was for the first one. So far though, surprisingly, I enjoyed Messiah the most. The ending just hit me hard and I re-read a bunch of chapters just to relive it right away haha Paul was my favorite character but like you and other reviewers stated, there really isn’t a good guy to the story and I find that fascinating. Or the idea of a charismatic leader who gets followers to want to give their everything for them. Even Frank gotten us readers duped, rooting for characters whose intentions and goals are on a morally grey level, riding the fine line between that good and evil is what I find so interesting. At a random point, you realize the character you have been rooting for, has been pushing for something you don’t quite understand is crazy. Cheers Edit: didn’t know who the preacher was. Was pumped when I read that plot so I truly think you should try to stay away from spoilers in the future my man! I saw through it and had my hunch, but after the end of Messiah, I was holding my breath!

Why is there a bathroom sign in the hallway? Is that your house? I have been wondering about this for months.

I sort of view the first three as their own trilogy, sort of like how Red Rising's diad of trilogies feel separated. The second half of the Dune novels is a huge departure from the first. I haven't read past the fourth, it has been years so maybe it is time I finish up the series..