As is the case with all of Herbert's Dune books, Heretics is a slow-mover. The balance is upset when a young girl who can commune with the worms arrives from the desert. The factions of the Duniverse (mostly the Bene Gesserit, the Tleilaxu, the priests of the God Emperor and the newly arrived Honoured Matres) are maneuvering for control of the all important spice.

It is 1500 years since the death of Leto II, the God Emperor (a/k/a the Tyrant), and the planet Arrakis/Dune is now called Rakis and is desert once more.

First off, this is the fifth in Frank Herbert's Dune series they won't make much sense if you don't experience them in order. More happens in Heretics of Dune than in the last few books, but most of the activity occurs off-stage, as it were. That's the Dune series.lots of machinations over long periods of time, interrupted by brief spates of action. This reminded me of Indiana Jones trying to escape the mines in the claustrophobic 'Temple of Doom.' Obviously, I have mixed feelings about the book but I enjoyed it overall and consider it a worthwhile read, if only to complete the series. Frank Herbert managed to hold my attention through the end despite the tedium of Miles Teg and Duncan Idaho spending 3/4 of the book trying to get off the planet Gammu. The subtle complexities of political maneuvers by the major characters provide the most intrigue of this book. They could have been done with a bit more finesse and I have no doubt that there are people who would be offended by them. I am not a prude and was not disturbed by these descriptions but in retrospect, I don't see how these sequences advanced the storyline. It also needs to be said that there are graphic descriptions of a sexual nature that border on the pornographic.

The main issues posed by the storyline are not resolved and this is the first book in the series that ends in a way that is incomplete without the next book in the series. That said, this is not a stand alone story. Especially since with the exception of Duncan Idaho, there is not one character from the last book remaining and keeping track of who is who and how they fit into the overall plot, is a daunting task. It is difficult to reign in the concept of thousands of years passing from one book to the next. This series is addictive despite how disjointed the stories are as a whole.

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