Dune Sequels Explained 

The lesson: If you don't know what to write, Just resurect Duncan Idaho for the 47th time

Duncan Idaho being practically immortal and gaining sex powers was definitely not what I expected for the future of this series

The fact that Duncan Idaho is pretty much the only person to be a main character in all of the original 6 Dune books is hilarious

Somehow, Duncan Idaho returned. 😂

Something happens Dune: Guess I'll resurrect Duncan Idaho

Frank Herbert’s relentless obsession with Duncan Idaho is the most bizarre part of Dune’s lore and that’s not an easy feat

When I was a kid my mum would often tell my young brother ‘you just don’t know when to stop’. I think Frank needed someone to tell him that.

Jason Momoa when his lawyer shows him the fine print in his contract: "I signed up for what!? OK. I guess I can do some flashback scenes. That's cool. I'm going to do what?!"

Me after watching the movies: wow that was great, I wonder what happens next Me after watching this video: uh maybe I’m good actually

OK. So the key point we learned here is that if the new Dune movies become a franchise, Jason Momoa is gonna be in all of them. Sick!!

Pretty damn interesting lore. Safe to say we won't be seeing the full story on screen

.......yeah I can see why Villeneuve only wants to do the first two books and leave

Me spoiling the entire saga to myself after watching Dune Part 2. I cant help myself

Herbert seems to have used lots of “spice” while writing these books.

When your friend starts telling you about their dream

"Seeing the future is a curse a trap that takes away Paul's free will" This line can be applied to Attack on Titan with Eren's ability to see into the future

So, the moral of the story is: _Duncan: "Ah shit, here we go again..."_

It is my personal belief that Frank Herbert, in his youth, fell deeply in love with a man from Idaho named Duncan, and he never got over it.

A new dune book is written: Duncan Idaho: oh god not again 😩

I've been a fan for 35 years and have read all 6 dozens of times. I always find something different each read-through. I have to say, you're one of smartest, most thorough reviewers I've ever encountered

Paul: I don't want to do this Dune Universe: Too bad.

I would never have believed that anyone could have summarized all the Dune books in just 12 minutes. Well done, well done!

I read dune once a year for about fifteen years. The other books in the series, I read about five or six times, each. The one thing I concluded, and this happened after I read Messiah, was that Herbert himself was not sure what he wanted to do with the overall story.

Man, it's going to be so interesting to see what Dennis does with Dune Messiah.

Duncan Idaho has got to be the main character of this series, or at least represent a theme.

Duncan Idaho is a giga chad, gets revived multiple times, frees humanity, and gets sex powers.

As much as I don’t want there to be more than three films, it would be really funny to see a wormy Leto resurrect Duncan Idaho countless times while the soundtrack chants along

man from a movie watcher standpoint seeing this, it's so out of the box seeing duncan getting ressurected 999 times

I love that Dune is celebrated as this visionary science fiction masterpiece with a cohesive, detailed universe and believable, iconic characters - and also includes absolutely wild, out there sci fi concepts in the sequels. Zen clones, worm men, super speed, millennia-long schemes - but it's all somehow believable and consistent. At least the Frank Herbert novels. It's tragic he passed before finishing his last.

It's interesting how so many fans think that Leto II's Golden Path will save humanity even though a huge theme in the series is that you should be wary of powerful and charismatic leaders determining the fate of entire societies. I would not be surprised if Frank would have let the Golden Path end in a huge disaster if he had been able to finish the series.

Book 4 sounds like a good place to stop since the Atreides arc finally ends with Leto II and humanity breaks out of its vicious cycle via the Scattering. Books 5 and 6 just sound like tying up loose ends involving the Bene Gesserit

Jason Momoa is about to lead this franchise

So, the first book was sane, and the next 5 were way out there. Got it.

It's insane how much Dune did for science fiction.

Thanks for summarizing the Dune sequels in such a clear and concise way.

After seeing Part 2 i had to find out what happens next and oh boy was i wrong. Seems like after Messiah the story shifts to spice overload and gets really wild. Just like the author said that even the characters are out of their control. Dune part 2 was fantastic and i would have never thought that the story would get this crazy afterwards. Still love Dune part 1&2 and after this even more.

I know that Dune is an incredibly deep story, filled with complex worldbuilding and it has inspired countless stories But I can't help but burst out laughing every time Duncan gets resurrected

If you want a story about feudalism, the nature of one's self, and family, you read the first three Dune books. If you want a story about free will and how we all must go on our own path you read the next three Dune books. And if you want to hate yourself for investing so much time into something that didn't matter you read the last two Dune books

Many years ago I read the entire series one right after another. It took me about 6 or 7 months. It gets increasingly wild, but is so engrossing. I highly recommend it even to those who think they've been spoiled by this video. There is so much that you can get out of it beyond the simple plot points. Herbert was a visionary and genius and skilled writer.

Thanks for the synopsis. Heretics of Dune and Chapterhouse Dune were very difficult reads.

Learning about the whole series as a whole, it now makes sense to me why the Dune books often don't make it beyond the first book in film/series adaptations (besides the obvious fact the series was never truly finished). The first story seems like a classical hero's journey that has revenge, heroism and becoming an emperor leading a proud warrior people in the end. The perfect (marketable) hero fantasy so many people like. Then the sequels promptly deconstruct that and show it for the pathetic idea it is. Paul's story shows us how the hero's journey likely WOULD pan out for most people (answer: poorly) and that makes us uncomfortable.

I think it's important to point out that Book 2 as so miserable because Herbert sort of failed when he wrote book 1. He wanted that message to be evident, but he was sort of too good a writer to make it clear. People read it and thought that Paul was a standard fantasy hero and loved him and Herbert sort of saw that as a failure.

I really loved your summary of the books!!! Thank you!

Great videos, thanks! Can't wait for your review of Dune Part 2, but even more for your Philosophy of Dune video (still hoping you will someday publish it 😬)

Man, I loved this synopsis. Well done. I would argue against two things, however - Paul being emperor was not "a failure" so to speak, though Paul did fail. Dune (book 1) speaks of Paul's "Terrible Purpose," a Purpose that he both knows he must do but that he also fears because of the cost. The cost is to his humanity, billions of lives (through his Jihad), to the freedom of mankind, and to his legacy. Paul wanted more than anything to be a "good" leader - one who inspired others and who elevated the lives of others. He wanted to be a "good duke" like his father. He rejected that future and did everything he possibly could to prevent it from coming - to find another option. However, everything that he did just made things worse, because he was unwilling to do what must be done. Leto II's brilliance is that he saw the same future but instead of fearing and rejecting it, he embraced it. He knew what he was sacrificing - not only his humanity by becoming more Worm than man, but also his legacy. People would hate him for what he did to humanity. He effectively "broke" mankind. He also paid a price of unending restlessness via his consciousness being trapped in the proto-worm entities. It was to be like forever dreaming, never being able to awake. His consciousness continue for millennia to come. The second thing is that I would argue that the terraforming of Arrakis, leading to the death of the sandworms and the severe reduction in spice harvesting also wasn't a mistake. The Fremen certainly didn't fully understand the implications of what it was that they desired, and thus in that regard it was a "mistake" (I mean, by the time of "The God Emperor of Dune," the only remaining Fremen were known as "Museum Fremen" - basically historians that barely resembled the Fremen of Paul's day and age). The cost that the Fremen paid was to their strength as a people. I argue that this wasn't a mistake because without control of the spice, there is no way that Leto II could have held such sway over his Empire. Literally everyone had to come to him for spice and he was free to dole it out as capriciously as he saw fit. Without that one singular aspect, he would have likely still been a ruler, but would have been far less of a tyrant and would have not been able to usher in his "Golden Path." One of the most interesting revelations that I've had regarding Leto II when I reread the series as an adult was the fact that he knew exactly what he was doing and why - he chose the hardest path because it was the only right path that would lead to the salvation of mankind. Again, well done!!!

I love how Dune as a series continually overturns itself, to the point of being an entirely different beast in different eras. Messiah was a response to Dune, Children of Dune is a very, *very* different tone and then God Emperor is really like no other novel I can think of. Herbert took a lot of risks just being experimental and creative and crammed in so many ideas that I feel you benefit as a person reading and applying a lot of his ideas to real life, or at least understanding how others use conditioning and power.

This video is so good I keep coming back to it

Great summary, but you seemed to have missed a key point of the Tleilaxu master being aboard the ship at the end: he carries with him the actual key to saving humanity.

Dune Messiah is a tough read at first because it almost serves to make you stop rooting for Paul who you've been led to believe is the great hero of the series. I found it profoundly sad for the most part and difficult know who to enpathise with but man the ending hit all the right notes it completely won me over

duncan idaho, the william afton of dune 💀

So you mean to say that Duncan Idaho was the main character all along?

This is the best and simple explanation i have seen

Dune, even in its heroic first novel, has tinges of something sinister on the horizon. Paul can see the war in his name, and willingly believes he can avoid it but every move he makes pushes it closer, not further. Frank was never a fan of the conquering hero so he wrote within that framework but always hinted that this course of action was wrong. From it being known they were exploiting a set up religious prophecy, that was deliberately set up for the soul purpose of being exploited, to Paul's arrogance that he can subvert the coming storm. The book even ends on a sort of down note. Paul is Emperor but no one is rejoicing. He took the throne out of petty revenge afterall.

The Dune sequels get more and more bizarre as they go.

I don't fully agree with your interpretation of Messiah. It is clearly explained in the books that in all possible futures there would be a monumental bloodshed throughout the galaxy... all the elements for the Holy War to start were already in place and it would have started with or without him. So likely the path he chose resulted in the least bloodshed (as messed up as that sounds).

Dude what an incredibly concise video, thank you

I don't know if you're aware, but the picture of the plant you used when you describe the vegetation of Arakis is Portulacaria afra - a South African plant that's used to rehabilitate overgrazed arid areas and exceptionally good at carbon storage and promoting rainwater infiltration. A coincidence or a nice nuanced touch.

It's been over 20 years since I read the Dune sequels, and I only remember three things: 1) that time Leto II covered himself in fish 2) God Emperor was secretly the best out of the series 3) The sentence "It could order him to blink, fart, gasp, shit, piss-anything" was in Heretics of Dune. I distinctly remember reading that, taking a moment, putting the book down, and thinking to myself "huh, well... that was quite the sentence I just read."

Book 1: Paul become the savior of the Fremen, and becomes the emperor of the universe 😁 Book 2: ...This is a bad thing. 😢

I'm so glad I dropped the series after Children of Dune. The 1000 year time skip seemed like a good stopping point.

I love that it ends with the tribute to his wife. Because for me, the Dune series is a story of love and how love is one, if not THE, thing that makes us humans.

The latest dune movie got me interested in the books. Read the first one and just watched the 2000 miniseries. Your videos couldn’t have come at a better time

This video is so well done...

Aside from the very successful marketing campaign for it's potatoes, the state of Idaho owes most of it's name recognition/fame to 3 things: Frank Herbert, and his bizarre choice of name for his weaponmaster/ghola/mentat character; Gus Van Sant, who made the 90s visionary movie "My Own Private Idaho" - Keanu Reeves' break into actual serious acting (and one of the more famous roles for the late River Phoenix); The B-52s band, who named one of the very popular early 80s songs "Private Idaho" - inspired by the movie.

Did not know dune lore went so deep. I watched the movie without knowing anything about it and it is one of my favorite movies.

I've been mystified by this and the last Dune video. I was never interested in the movie, and didn't know much about the book, but these summaries have been truly enthralling. Fantastical stories, mortifying concepts, thank you for making them so much more accessible.

This was a great video man

You had me at dominatrix space invasion 🛐

The first Dune book is a wonderful masterpiece. I was a huge fan of the second book, personally. While not quite as flawless as book 1, I really enjoyed how you found yourself empathizing with both Paul and the conspiracy organized against him. I also thought there is some delightful trickiness to the question “how do you even conspire against someone who can see the future?” I also read book 3. (It was fine.) I couldn’t get into the fourth book at all, and never finished the series. TLDR: Thanks for summarizing the rest of the series. I can’t believe I almost got through my life without ever learning Duncan Idaho gets a magic penis.

Hey man I just wanted to tell you I really appreciate all your work. I've been seeing your videos since 2013 and the new Dune stuff is amazing. Don't know if you'll revisit ASoIF for House of The Dragon but I'll watch anything you put out.

0:44 Chairdogs?! That took the term "Dogsitter" in an entirely new direction...

Nothing gives me greater joy than coming across someone who never read past the first book and assume Paul is the main character.

i remember the worm-emperor Leto II had a butler who was freaked out of him but also kinda his friend. That was a super cool dynamic to me cause i felt like it was a unique relationship in literature. a couple other characters stood out to me as novel in a similar way: Liet-Kynes and Duncan Idaho v.132 lol

I recently finished the 6 original novels and I just have to say, wow the art in this video is fantastic. I loved seeing the different interpretations of characters. Nayla, the Duncan ghola, Hwi, and Siona were especially great. Cudos the the artist(s). I also just have to say that going through the major plot points make these books seem a lot more readable and exciting than they actually are haha.. but again as you said, its about the ideas not the plot.

hey ho, how is it looking with the philosophy of dune video? is this still gonna come out? i think you have summarized the content of the books so well and your final words that it is more about the ideasd and less about the plot is crucial to understanding the books and i feel like a lot more people could appreciate the saga more when realizing that and not be so frustrated about the unconventional story developments within the dune universe

I've read all the Frank Herbert Dune books but I've resisted reading the 2 Brian Herbert sequels that attempt to conclude the arc. I've heard mixed reviews on them and I know that it's literally impossible for them to match the depth of Frank Herbert's work but I'd love experience those amazing universe again and get some form of closure. Any recommendations from other passionate readers out there who took the plunge?

“The emperor commands that you stop reading after children of dune” I remember having my mind absolutely blown away upon discovering that Dune had sequels when i was younger. I seriously thought it was only one book! So glad i read them all, despite some being better than others. I absolutely believe that, if brian hadn’t have taken over due to his death, that frank would’ve made dune have a sad or tragic ending if he was still alive. Good vid as always shift

Just have to give a quick shout-out to my boy Stilgar... could've killed Leto as a baby but didn't... couldn't help but feel deeply melancholic and sad everytime the "museum fremen" came up in god emperor... my thoughts always went to stilgar and how he would've cursed them! Often overlooked character imo

6 dense books with wildly fluctuating philosophies and characters summarized in 12 minutes. Nicely done!

Oh boy can't wait to see what they do with Dune Pt.3. In some way I wished it ended with Pt2 on a high, but as well, I'm very curious what Denis Villeneuve will come up with to finish the trilogy.

I feel very strongly that if frank Herbert had more of an interest in honing the plot of his work into a more consistent and cohesive narrative it would have done a lot to bolster and flesh out his philosophical and existential ideas

I thought the ending with Daniel and Marty was "just" a massive cliffhanger. "Aaah, now I'll never find out". But the fourth wall explanation presented by you makes perfect sense. Thank you!

Frank's son wrote the conclusion to the saga based on his Dad's notes. It ties up everything in a decent fashion and makes sense and also explains Frank's obsession with Duncan.

I can hear Duncan screaming “alright”

The dune storyline sounds incredibly convoluted

Indeed a wonderful video. Is “The philosophy of Dune” still in the making, or is it off the table?

Duncan Idaho is the true main character at this rate. I just imagine if Denis would make all the dune books into a movie, Jason momoa would be having a blast. 😂

One thing I am learning is that Paul's story is not of an epic TRIUMPHANT rise to power and glory- it is an absolutely tragic and heartbreaking WARNING of what we think of as a hero. Once I learned about Chani and Paul's fates, my heart was broken. But it is a lesson learnt.

If you don't mind me making a suggestion: How about you look into Hyperion and Fall of Hyperion by Dan Simmons. Everyone who talks about it tends to focus on the Shrike and the Time Tombs and while the Shrike is undeniably a great monster, there is so much more delicious worldbuilding in these books. There are tree ships! Spaceships that are real living trees! How's no one talking about that? Also for being first published in the early 90s, there is a very interesting depiction of the virtual world and AI. Not to mention the politics and the time travel and the poetry and so on.

I love the ambiguous ending with Daniel and Marty. An almost irreverent wink to the reader from a man staring finality in the face.

I am someone who likes the journey more than the surprises, so I came here knowing full well I'd be spoiled since I don't mind, I am all about the execussion. This video plus the hype of just having watched the second movie (which will conclude with Messiah as said by Denis in an interview) have sold me into reading the whole 6 book series. I will steer away, though, from the rest of the series beyond the 6 books regardless. Edit: the constant resurrection of Duncan is very odd to me (yes, considering everything else), but it's earned the benefit of doubt

Rewatching and hoping we get that philosophy video soon. It'll be a great watch.

I can see parallel with Paul and the character of Eren Jager. The power of seeing the future but no power to change any of the outcomes.

I love all these books immensely and this was a great video! But hearing the story summarized sounds like I’m on the most terrifyingly vivid acid trip I could ever wish or not wish to encounter lol

Thanks sir fit additional insights to Dune

I personally think that the 4th book would have been a good ending to the series I feel like the last 2 books and the other 30 are just continuing a story that doesn’t need to be

YES, read them all years ago. You captured the essence of the entire story line. Wonderful presentation!!!

Great narration, far superior to just about anything I have ever heard on RU-vid, including reading style, voicing, pacing, and of course excellent command of vocabulary and composition such that we get the message briefly but thoroughly. 12 minutes holy cow brilliant.

A very good summery. Having read all six Dune books, I've tried to explain to some people just how weird it gets. I believe that most people think I'm making it up. 😅

Could you make a video on the Dune Encyclopedia, please?