Dune Messiah

Article written by Joshua Ehiosun

C2 certified writer.

After the success of ‘Dune,’ a sequel to Frank Herbert’s masterpiece was released in 1969. ‘Dune Messiah’ is the second novel in a series of six books, and the story concludes the tale of Paul Atreides.

Key Facts About Dune Messiah

• Book Title: ‘Dune Messiah.’
• Author: Frank Herbert.
• Book Inspiration: ‘Dune Messiah’ has the same inspiration as its prequel, ‘Dune.’ The book was inspired by Frank Herbert’s extensive investigation of dunes caused by the desert encroachment in Florence, Oregon, in the late 1950s.
• Publication Date: 1969.
• Literary Period: Contemporary Period.
• Point of View: Third-person point of view.
• Number of Pages: 256.
• Genre: Science-fiction.
• Setting: Arrakis.
• Climax: The novel’s climax occurs when Scytale threatens to harm Paul’s children to make him accept reviving Chani as a ghola.
• Antagonists: Scytale, Edric, Reverend Mother Gaius Helen Mohiam.
• Protagonists: Paul Atreides, Chani, Alia.
• Preceded By: ‘Dune.’
• Sequel: ‘Children of Dune.’

Frank Herbert and Dune Messiah

As the second book in the ‘Dune’ series, the story of ‘Dune Messiah’ is crucial as it concludes the adventurous tale of Paul Atreides, Muad’Dib and emperor of the known universe. Frank Herbert admitted that he wrote ‘Dune Messiah’ to be a cautionary tale about heroes. In his view, heroes get clouded by their achievements and become worse than the foes they conquer.

Books Related to Dune Messiah

Directly related to The Stranger is Camus’ best-known philosophical essay, The Myth of Sisyphus. It was published the same year as The Stranger was finished and outlines his beliefs about absurdism and the nature of life. The essay is regarded as one of Camus’ finest works and often ranks alongside The Stranger on lists of his most important literary achievements. Although Camus is best known for absurdism, there are other writers who also engaged with this philosophical idea. For example, The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka in which Kafka presents an absurd scenario without explanation or reason–because there isn’t one. Kafka’s The Castle and The Trail are also good examples.

The Lasting Impact of Dune Messiah

‘Dune Messiah’ was initially serialized in Galaxy magazine before getting published in 1969. The second novel in Frank Herbert’s ‘Dune’ series represented a critical point that propelled the entire story of ‘Dune’ forward. The book brought closure to the adventure of Paul Atreides, who rose from being the heir of the House of Atreides to being the emperor of the known universe.

Frank Herbert used the story of ‘Dune Messiah’ to show that the immortalization of heroes leads to over-dependency and could spell doom for humanity. In the novel, Frank shows how heroes crumble under their success.