Heretics of Dune

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Heretics of Dune
LC Class
PS3558.E63 H4 1984
Preceded byGod Emperor of Dune 
Followed byChapterhouse: Dune 

Heretics of Dune is a 1984 science fiction novel by Frank Herbert, the fifth in his Dune series of six novels.

Set 1,500 years after the events of

Honored Matres, a brutal matriarchy
from beyond the known universe whose only goals are conquest and destruction.

Heretics of Dune was ranked as the No. 13 hardcover fiction best seller of 1984 by The New York Times.

Plot summary

Fifteen hundred years after the 3,500-year reign of the God Emperor

the Scattering
, an explosion of humanity into the rest of the universe upon his death.

Honored Matres
, a violent society of women bred and trained for combat and the sexual control of men.

The Bene Gesserit leader, Mother Superior

Sheeana
, a girl who can control the giant sandworms, and hope to gain control of her and the religion that will inevitably form around her. Soon the Bene Gesserit thwart an attack on Sheeana, and Odrade begins training her in the ways of the Sisterhood.

An assassination attempt is made on Duncan, Lucilla and Teg flee with him into the countryside. Teg awakens Duncan's original memories, but does so before Lucilla can imprint Duncan and thus tie him to the Sisterhood. Teg is captured by the Honored Matres while Lucilla and Duncan escape. Teg is tortured by a

Murbella
, who attempts to enslave him sexually. However, hidden Tleilaxu conditioning kicks in, and Duncan responds with an equal technique that overwhelms Murbella. The experience restores in him the entire memories of all of the hundreds of previous Duncan gholas.

Taraza meets with the

Waff
and compels him to tell her what he knows about the Honored Matres. He also reveals that the Bene Tleilax have conditioned their own agenda into Duncan. Taraza gleans the Tleilaxu's secret religious beliefs from their conversation, and uses them to manipulate an alliance with the Bene Tleilax that better serves the Bene Gesserit. Odrade realizes that Taraza's plan is to destroy Rakis just as the Honored Matres invade, killing Taraza. Odrade becomes temporary leader of the Bene Gesserit and escapes with Sheeana into the desert on a worm.

Teg finds that his prescient powers allow him to "see" shielded no-ships, enabling him to locate Duncan and Lucilla. They flee to Rakis with a captive Murbella, intercepting Odrade and Sheeana and their giant worm. Teg leads his troops in a suicidal defense of Rakis designed to enrage the Honored Matres and goad them into using their planet-destroying

Chapterhouse
.

Publication history

Frank Herbert wrote much of the initial draft of Heretics of Dune in Hawaii, using a Compaq word processor. According to his son Brian, Herbert's time spent writing the draft would be "exceedingly arduous and much slower for him [Herbert] than usual, because of all the time he had to spend out of his study tending to the medical crises of my mother, Beverly Herbert."[1]

Reception

Kirkus Reviews described this fifth installment of the Dune series as "another uneven entry, slow to start and hastily, rather abruptly concluded—but more exciting and adventurous than any since the original Dune, with a gratifying influx of new ideas."[2]

Heretics of Dune was ranked as the No. 13 hardcover fiction best seller of 1984 by The New York Times.[3]

References

  1. ISBN 9781440619649
    .
  2. ^ Kirkus Staff (April 16, 1984). "Review: Heretics of Dune". Kirkus Reviews. Retrieved May 19, 2024.
  3. ^ McDowell, Edwin (January 18, 1985). "Publishing: Top Sellers Among Books of 1984". The New York Times. Retrieved January 5, 2010 – via NYTimes.com.
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