Heretics of Dune

This was my first read of 'Heretic'. A few years ago I started re-reading the series from the beginning. My favourite was 'God Emperor', as the plot was delightful. If the series had finished at that point, I would have been at peace.

The storylines in this book are set 1500 years after the events in 'God Emperor'. After being scattered for centuries, several known and new factions duke it out on Arrakis, now called Rakis. The storylines detail the multiple conflicts among (and within) the factions, a lot of scheming and killing happens and in the end, all stories come together in a grand finale (more on that later).

The structure of the book is something that appears to be either loved or loathed. There is no clear protagonist, but the perspective shifts between a number of major characters. In some cases, the motivations and goals are unclear. I have a pet theory as to why that is. Just read the rest of my rambling. The characters themselves felt a bit generic or bland, as if they were not the main character.

Compared to 'God Emperor' , the book was more intrigue and action driven and less philosophical. That did not particularly bother me. The action scenes were well written with alien technologies and interesting ways for formerly important characters to die. However, the pace of the story was odd. The plots kept meandering until the last 100 pages or so and the climax was rushed in the last 50 pages or so with some of the action being kept outside the perspective of the characters (and of the reader).

Trigger warning: sexism, sex and grooming play a big part in this story, even more so than in earlier parts of the series. In a certain scene at the end, Duncan Idaho, then physically about 16 years old, but with the full memories of his earlier lives, is being 'imprinted' for breeding with either the Bene Gesserit or the Honorable Matres. If this does feel offensive or uncomfortable, do not read this book.

I would give the book overall 3.5 out of 5 stars. I think I understand what motivated the author and I may reread the book some time with this in mind. However, the lack of a discernable main character or a main plot was confusing. Lots of things did not make sense...

...until you read the last two paragraphs of the book. I think that in those sentences, the main character reveals themselves and that explains the odd structure and motivation of the story and its characters.

... which would make it four out of five stars.