Children of Dune

Frank Herbert’s Dune Chronicles consists of six books published between 1965 and 1985. After Herbert’s death, his son Brian and writer Kevin J. Anderson continued the saga. Together, they authored two subsequent novels based on Herbert’s notes and published several prequels. Herbert’s extensive world-building, often referred to as the Duniverse, features a galactic cast that includes the Kwisatz Haderach, who can access the past present, and future; gholas, replicants made from the tissue of the deceased; mentats, who have the calculating abilities of computers; and Reverend Mothers, members of the Bene Gesserit sisterhood who can access genetic memories, command others with the power of Voice, and control the intricate nerves and muscles in their bodies. The saga takes place thousands of years in the future, with the primary setting on the planet Arrakis, also known as Dune. The central plot revolves around control over the planet’s natural resource, a spice known as melange that the giant sandworms produce. It has the properties to extend life, heighten cognition, and enable space travel. Herbert uses this premise to explore the ways religion, politics, economics, the environment, and family become corrupted and exploited by prized commodities.

Children of Dune is the third book in the series and concludes the life of Paul Muad’Dib, the main protagonist of the first two books, Dune and Dune Messiah. Paul represents the dangers of charismatic leadership and religious idolatry. Viewed as a messiah by the Fremen people who inhabit the desert planet, Paul discovers that his authority is based on a religious myth planted centuries earlier in the Fremen’s culture by the Bene Gesserit. Exploiting the narrative to his advantage, Paul rallies the Fremen to defeat their oppressors, the Harkonnens, who are also responsible for murdering his father, Duke Leto I. Paul’s rise to power and subsequent deification leads to a holy war where he commands armies responsible for the death of billions. Paul ultimately rejects his position as emperor and spends most of his time in Children of Dune faintly disguised as The Preacher, a figure who blasphemes the very religion that idolizes him.

Children of Dune focuses less on Paul’s past as a charismatic leader and more on the paradox of his prescient powers as the Kwisatz Haderach. Paul has seen visions of devastating futures and becomes trapped by the decisions he makes and their consequences. The crusade inspired by his godhead was, in his judgment, the lesser of possible evils. Burdened with the knowledge of humanity’s future suffering, Paul attempts to make the right choices but never overcomes the personal sacrifices he makes for the greater good. Children of Dune closes the chapter on Paul’s life with his ironic death at the hands of a Muad’Dib devotee, an ending that proves Paul’s point about the fanaticism of the religion created in his name.

The novel opens a new chapter on the dynamic life of Leto II. Leto magnifies his father’s reign, yet his intentions are not unlike The Preacher’s. Leto’s long-term goal is to undermine absolute authority and hero worship. Understanding Leto’s choices in the context of Paul’s struggles as the Kwisatz Haderach offers a sympathetic portrayal of the nine-year-old Abomination who becomes the second Kwisatz Haderach and ultimately the imposing man-worm tyrant. The full scope of Leto’s Golden Path and political leadership are explored further in the next novel, God Emperor of Dune, which begins 3,500 years after the events of Children of Dune.