Doug's Sounding Board

Finally I’ve read the end of the Dune series, and unlike “Hunters of Dune”, I thought it was pretty good! The feel of it, the characters, the story, all feel like Frank Herbert and so I feel pretty comfortable in saying that this is the bulk of where his final outline and notes ended up. Hunters of Dune was the part of the story necessary for Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson to tie in their prequel novels. In “Sandworms of Dune” it seems pretty clear where the added elements tie in which allows you to almost read it as if it were Frank Herbert’s story.

The authors wrote in things that are references to books they have not yet written. I don’t plan on reading those because I don’t think the time between “Dune” and “Dune: Messiah” is a story that needs to be told.

Spoilers coming – how I see what Frank Herbert intended:

I don’t think the final enemy is meant to be a machine intelligence. In “Children of Dune” when Paul and Leto confront one another about the future it is just mentioned that the nuclear arsenal is meant for hostile intelligences. I believe the final enemy is how it appears to be set up in “Chapterhouse: Dune” which is face dancers that rule themselves. Throughout “Sandworms of Dune” the machines hardly play a role while the face dancers have infiltrated every top level of human society and are preparing to take over through sabotage and politics within.

I do believe that Duncan was meant to be the Kwisatz Haderach and that’s why he can see the old man and woman, which should be advanced face dancers. I believe part of the God-Emperor’s ghola program for Duncan was that some connection to the face dancers be put in place. The advanced face dancers have a sort of hive mind and I believe that power is what eventually is manifested in Duncan in Frank Herbert’s original outline and notes to allow the defeat or control of the face dancers.