I have just started listening to the Heretics of Dune Audiobook, and I have come to the crashing conclusion of why have been avoiding it. It is not anything to do with the quality of the audiobook Simon Vance is as always on top form, and portrays the characters with the gravitas they deserve. Neither is it to do with the fact that the last 2 books are my least faviourite (..cause they aren't and having listened to about a third of Heretics I've got to admit its so far only 2nd to Dune(and Messiah) at the moment.) It is because this is the point where the depth of the Frank Herberts work comes to startling clarity. Why is that a bad thing? As this clarity is brought by comparison to the non-Frank Herbert written Sequels. As most who have got this far in this rant will know Frank never finished his great work. He tragically died leaving one book un-written and seemingly few notes on how he planned to continue and finish the narrative.
....before I get into trashing the sequel let's get things straight I enjoyed them. They were never going to be up to scratch. Herbert (senior) was a master of the art and dune was his masterpiece, while Kevin J Anderson is not. Don't get me wrong his work is enjoyable but he is not the literary genius the Frank Herbert was. The sequel(s) give me
a conclusion to the story it just wasn't
the conclusion to the story.
Over the years I have come to feel that the story may not have needed a conclusion, Daniel and Marty representing Herbert himself and his wife and the passage representing the narrative breaking free of his or any control. Dune always had the feel of a window into another universe and this ending is fitting for such a story. Maybe that's why the sequels angry my blood so, they cast dune as just a story through their inconsistencies, convenience and logical gaps. While Herbert's dune is filled with genius philosophers, deep motivations and abilities based in the existing mythos of the series. The sequels are filled with dim witted action heros, villains of the mustache twirling cape wearing variety and magic powers (both
Duncan's energy less super speed and Paul's telekinetic healing.). In handing over the dune universe to a super human saviour they miss the entire point of the dune universe, that to put ones faith in messiahs is dangerous, its Leto II's most important lesson.
But let's talk my specific reason for this rant and this is just from the first third of heretics
The drastic reduction in scope of human space. Let's give them that dune's definition of the known universe may well be ignored as a label rather than descriptive. That aside in god emperor of dune. Leto explicitly states he rules a multi galactic empire and that the intentions of his pressing ix to make no tech and his breeding program was to ensure that the scattering that would be the inevitable consequence of his death would allow humans to spread so far and so wide as to never again be vulnerable to a single threat. The no-ships and Siona's inheritance making sure that not even presience could find them all.
Let's now move to heretics were so far almost every single character has described the scattering as entering universes beyond measure. One (or was it 2)even described humanity as now being infinite and occupying infinite space. Let's skip ahead to the end of chapter house were to escape Duncan explicitly jumps his no ship to another universe devoid of the hunters.
Now let's look at the sequel. Human space (old empire and scattering) is compressed into a small part of our galaxy. So small that a well placed gamma ray burst or other large scale astronomical event could wipe all of humanity out (bit of a flaw in your golden path there Leto call yourself a God Emperor.) So small in fact a probe carrying an Ominus(?) clone has managed to beat the instantaneously traveling ships of humanity in such a way that we are now enclosed by its machines (despite space folding drives that could pass any barrier and out run any ship. See logic flaws.)
This downsizing is fact and was done to allow a threat to effect all humanity (a threat that leto would have seen easily.) From a foe that was only introduced in the prequels. It robs the life of leto of its meaning and therefore trashed 2 of the 6 original books. I'm not qualified to speak for frank but it seems to me the final trilogy is about the peril to the old empire of those returning from the scattering (chapter house shows that the Honoured Matre's are just the first and not even the worst,) the threat to the gold path (or the threat to the old empire's branch of the golden path, but not necessarily the whole golden path) of the wild talents to see no ships. Dune 7 being the resolution to these threats and the continuation of the golden path in to the infinite future.
Rant over.....for now.
