synopsis
The forecast is for rain. Freman tradition has turned to religious fanaticism. Desert stillsuits are becoming fashion trends. The old ways are being drowned out as water threatens the desert, the sandworms, and production of everyone’s favorite food additive: melange.
It is nine years after the events of Dune Messiah and the interplanetary jihad unleashed in Paul “Muad’Dib” Atredies’ name has continued unabated. His sister, Alia, rules the empire with an iron fist. Paul’s twins, Leto and Ghanima, are now orphans. Something is rotten on planet Arrakis.
Sure, it sounds pretty cool to have Paul Atreides as your dad. He was the Kwisatz Haderach, Emperor, and controller of spice. But in the realm of family dynamics, being an Atreides twin has to be one of the most challenging roles in the Universe. It means not only dealing with the usual psychic phenomenon and Bene Gesserit mind games, but also having a necessary awareness of plots within plots, all while containing the knowledge and experiences of past ancestors in your memory banks. So, the kids aren’t alright. These are kids aren’t they? Not really! They constantly have to remind everyone of this. In addition to their pre born memories, the genetic makeup has given them prescience, the enhanced ability of seeing hidden threads between past, present and future. They are ancient souls trapped in the form of nine year olds.
Over on planet Salusa Secundus, Princess Wensicia is plotting to kill the twins and return House Corrino to power. Meanwhile on Arrakis, a mysterious preacher from the desert keeps turning up in the Imperial city to issue curses and dire warnings. Lady Jessica and Gurney Halleck have returned from Caladan amidst rumors of Alia’s increasingly erratic behavior and possible possession by a certain sleazeball relative everyone hoped was gone for good.
Both Leto and Ghanima may have to contend with a fate similar to Alia’s. But they have a plan. A vision of sorts, with more than one possible result. Turns out prescience can be a curse. No outcome is certain. And if it were, is knowing that outcome the same as knowing what it is to be a god? What constitutes free will? How to maintain one’s own personality when the personalities of previous generations are all living inside the same mind? These are the theoretical and philosophical conundrums presented by Frank Herbert. A few things, however, are for certain: someone in the twins’ ancestry studied Kierkegaard, read Nietzsche, and watched Jacob Bronowski’s BBC series The Ascent of Man.
As increasing amounts of melange are added, the stakes for humanity’s future are raised and the weirdness factor for all involved goes into the red. Children of Dune is the finale to the original Dune trilogy, a story that accelerates down the elusive “Golden Path” toward a shocking resolution that will affect the next four millenia. A path that crosses through danger, betrayal, intrigue, and an unprecedented level of intimacy with sandworm DNA.
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