/lit/ - Literature

>>18826123
Heretics of Dune, Dune #5 - Frank Herbert (1984)

This was the first book of an unfinished trilogy. Heretics rehashes Dune and adds new elements. The characters and power dynamics take on new names, though they are still the same roles. The original Dune was published in 1965, almost 20 years prior. From 1977 to 1983, the Star Wars trilogy was released, the last of which was released the year prior to the publication of Heretics. This made for a strange read as it's clear that this was meant to be a commercial work hoping to gain from the popularity of Star Wars, though at the same time it's a rejection as well. This can be seen in-text: "Here's a three P-O," they said meaning such a person surrounded himself with cheap copies made from declassee substances. Herbert later writes that "It is built of materials that will last much longer still" which is followed by "My objections don't matter." This must've been troublesome for everyone involved. It was also a troubling time for Herbert, as his wife died the year this was published and he'd die in two years.

Heretics is much more action and adventure oriented than prior books. The philosophy is still there, though it's a different sort. Heretics is by far the harshest on religion, making a mockery of any and every sort consistently and constantly. The adversaries the characters face are disappointing caricatures, especially the Tleilaxu. Heretics happens long after the fourth book, so I wonder how much it bothers people that the entire cast changes so much so often. I didn't care much, but I know a lot of people become very attached to characters and may not be able or willing to form an emotional connection with new ones. I'd say this is an ensemble rather than a single character dominating the narrative, as there are number of viewpoints presented and they all matter.

"Unabashed" sums up the book. There are many outright assertions and blunt statements of opinion that seem out of place. I wrote in my previous Dune review that "I believe how much we enjoy anything is often a matter of how willing we are to overlook its flaws." Unfortunately, the flaws exceeded how much I was able to overlook. There was far too much reliance on handwaving about everything in general. The result was suitable, but it made it feel too arbitrary. The sex scenes are meant to show how powerful eros is, but when there's a literal female sex cult that enslaves any man after a single time, only to have another a male character unlock his true sex potential and make one of them cry out they can't possibly lose to a penis, and because he's so virile, she's immediately impregnated makes it difficult to take any of it seriously. The treatment of women by the crypto-Islamic culture is far more horrific, though far less detailed, than anything shown by The Handmaid's Tale, which was published the following year.

My expectations may now be for suitable for Chapterhouse: Dune.
Rating: 3/5