Rating: 
Summary: Not as good as the first book
Review: Dune Messiah was a bit of a boring and wordy book. It mostly has to do with the rule of Paul Mau'dib and his reign as Emperor over Dune and the universe. Plots to remove him from his position as a godhead are formulated and carried out by people all around. Basically, it was a good story, but dry and boring in comparison to Dune. Read the book if you plan to continue with the Dune Chronicles like I have.
Rating: 
Summary: Not Bad
Review: I finished this book in two days, and it wasn't that bad. Dune is still the best so far, but I still got several books to go. It's about how Paul acts as an Emperor and what all happens the time during his rule. This book make me bawl and I mean bawl. Heck, read it and then put an opinion on it. It was boring at the begining but it really did get better.
Rating: 
Summary: Good SF novel
Review: I realize that many people find Dune to be one of the greatest SF novels of all time, but I found it odd and a bit boring. This, on the other hand, is extremely well-developed and portrays Paul as human. The only critisim I have is with the ending. Overall, a book worth reading.
Rating:
Summary: Think of it as Part 4 of the first book.
Review: The first time a read Dune: Messiah I was more than a little disappointed. By when I re-read Dune I also re-read Dune: Messiah. This was the first time I'd read them back-to-back, and I realized that Dune: Messiah was actually the conclusion to Dune and not a seperate book. As a stand alone book it's barely passable, as a sequal it's worth 3-stars, but as the fourth part of the first book it's a perfect conclusion. Dune was divided into 3 parts (called books) and the last ends with a nice Hollywood ending. Dune: Messiah shows the real conclusion to Paul's Life and the real consequences of his actions in the rest of the book. I think Herbert had to end the first book with Paul on top of the Universe because that is what reader's want, but Messsiah is a more somber look at what it means to have power. After I had re-read Dune and Dune: Messiah, I came across used cliff notes for Dune, and I noticed that it had an essay which treated to two books as one and compared them to a Greek epic pointing out that Greek epics didn't end when the hero was on top, but continued to the end of the hero's life. With the inclusion of Dune: Messiah, Dune now tells us the complete story of Paul's life, and what an incredible story it is. Do not read this book, rather read Dune and this book together.
Rating:
Summary: Highly recommended...
Review: I would NOT recommend this UNLESS you've read the the first book in the series. In my mind this book is not as great as the original "Dune," but is extremely well-written, imaginative, inventive, and does a good job expanding the Dune universe and its mythology. If you're into great sci-fi that intelligently deals with politics, religion, philosophy, ecology (and other -ologies too numerous to mention), you can't go wrong with the Dune books...
Rating:
Summary: First in the Line of Dissapointing Dune Sequels
Review: When I first read Dune, I became obsessed. what a great storyline! It had just about everything I've been looking for in Science-Fiction, such as a really complex plot and an almost complete lack of cliches, among other things.Then I picked up all the other Dune books (Including Dune: House Atreides) to see if it could accomplish the other impossible: Surviving through about six sequels. You know what? It couldn't. Instead, I get what is the second worst of the Dune books (the worst being God Emperor). So WHY is it so bad? First, its the shortest of the series. Its only got like 300 pages while the others have at least 450. Second, Herbert seems to of lost it. Rather than having a complex story with alot of subtleties like the first one, we have a bunch of unconnected events, most of which are trhere for no apparent reason. For example: Alia fighting a training machine naked, Paul losing his eyes, etc. The Bene Gesserit come up with a plan to get another Kwisatz Haderach... and drop the plan almost immediately, it seems. there is also supposed to be some conspiracy, but that part is breifly wrapped up in the ending. One problem with Dune as a whole is that the characters never really have definate personality traits. One minute Paul is a hero type, another minute he's a tyrant, and then next he's confused. No consistency at all. Then we have Alia. She was an extremely wise little girl in the first one, but you wouldn't know from Messiah or Children of Dune, in which she seemingly lost all her intellect and now is simply a stock character with emotional problems. If I wanted that, I'd play a Final Fantasy game. These, my friends, are why I do not like Dune Messiah. As of writng, I've read through God Emperor and started on Heretic (I might as well finish) and can say: read the first Dune, which was GREAT, but ignore the sequels unless you're obsessed.
Rating:
Summary: Not Just a Sequel
Review: I think the most recent reveiws of Dune Messiah miss the point by calling it a sequel. The trilogy should be taken as a whole. Dune Messiah sets up the action that will climax in the third book. Read the trilogy as a whole, have some patience. The Dune trilogy is still one of the greatest science fiction stories ever written. P.S. - Skip the movie.
Rating:
Summary: Short in length, but deep in thought.
Review: This is the shortest book in the series, but at the same time it is the most complex. What a fascinating insight into the mind is offered in this story! Paul is torn between what is right for himself, and what is right for humanity. Saving humanity requires his own demise at the hands of others...saving himself requires the suffering of others. How does one make such a choice? There are times while you are reading that it may seem a bit much to absorb, but stick with it until the end. This work can be only judged as a whole. It is difficult reading because it makes you think, but then, what's wrong with that?
Rating: 
Summary: Sci-Fi As It Should Be
Review: Unfortunately, this story, like most sequels, did not live up to the book before it. However, this is still a really good book and fans of DUNE should deffinetely read it!
Rating:
Summary: Herbert did it again.
Review: The epic story of the Atreides line is continued with Frank Herbert's Dune Messiah. Although the origional Dune was far better, this book still stands out as one of the greatest science fiction works of all time. Herbert creates a world so far advanced in the future that it boggles the mind. Dune Messiah places a slightly larger emphasis on the vast abilities of the mind, especially with Paul's ability to see through oracular vision after he was blinded by the stone burner. Herbert appears to become estranged from the action adventure themes of Dune and more involved with philosophy. This makes it harder to read, as opposed to the effortless flow of Dune. However this book is nessecary for anyone who read Dune, to satisfy their craving for the rest of the story. This is where most of Herbert's acclaims origionated. I beleive he saw this as an immediate reacction to the work, and decided to leave the reader in just as much suspense as before at the end of the book. This ending makes up for any of the flaws contained in this book when compared to Dune, and I am now on the third book in the series, Children of Dune. It's looking about the same.
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