Paul is gone, at the end of the last novel he was expelled to the desert and presumably dead. His twin children grew up as Fremen, while the planet undergones still quick transformation away from desert, as Fremen wanted for a long time. It changes lifestyles and some Fremens live in new ways, as soldiers in imperial army, priests of official religion, dandy, they don’t use properly stillsuits and are not careful about water.
Meanwhile there’s new intrigue going on and little precocious twins with their wisdom and memory of ancestors cook up the plan to escape their aunt Alia, who completely succumbed to bad influence in her own mind and wants to eliminate her nephews, which are under her formal care. At the desert, there are rumors of new prophet that challenges new status quo.
I read with heavy heart how Alia changed for worse and worse. When I read “Dune” for the first time I loved Alia and I always wondered what will be her future fate. I didn’t expect it will be like that. It isn’t really issue with the storyline, just personally I had sympathy for the character.
I don’t really feel it is a spoiler, because the novel was almost clear from the beginning, but wandering blind prophet is indeed Paul himself. His grand entry to Arrakin city is one of highlights of the novel.
The biggest strong point generally is unraveling of the plan of the twins and all the challenges they are facing. I couldn’t predict what plan they cooked and that part of is smearing himself with sandtrout by young Leto. It is funny to look back at it.
The novel brings back to the storyline Jessica, Gurney Halleck and in some roundabout way Harkonnens too. Stilgars tirelessly hang around too, although tired with how things changed. Duncan Idaho (or his ghola) get even more importance. Getting those reunions and the fact how it end up, this novel really feels like ultimate goodbye to the old, everything we met at the first novel.