The final (eighth) book of the main Dune septology. Set directly after Hunters of Dune, this book covers the conclusion of a war between humanity and the thinking machines that began over fifteen thousand years ago.

I think it’s not bad, but neither is it great. Way too many characters from previous books are brought back simply to be put away again before doing anything meaningful. One thing I really liked was the Khrone subplot with the new face dancers. Towards the end, I had high hopes for a lot of the setups, but the way the ending actually played out was quite a let-down.

Some examples: Spoilers for this bookWhen good Paul was stabbed, I had hoped they would actually let him die and evil Paul with his returned memories take his place. That would have made for a much more interesting story in my opinion. Chani and Jessica having to come to terms with another good Paul who also killed their previous good Paul. Spoilers for books 4, 6.5 and this oneDuncan being the ultimate Kwisatz Haderach seems quite arbitrary. The “evolution through rebirth” also doesn’t make sense, as during the reign of Leto II, he was always reborn from the same cells. Spoilers for this bookLeto II simply going back to sleep with his sandworms is pretty boring. I would have much preferred him to finish what he started with his Golden Path instead of Duncan