Children of Dune

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Summary: Redemption of the Dune Books
Review: I was nervous about reading "Children of Dune," because I was not overly fond of "Dune Messiah." However, once I began reading it, I found it to be an exciting, compelling story, filled with many surprises.

The story takes place about ten years after the events in "Dune Messiah." Paul Muad'Dib's sister, Alia, sits as regent over the Empire, until Paul's children Leto II and Ghanima grow up. However the children, like Alia were pre-born with the souls of all their ancestors living inside of them. The story chronicles the corruption of Alia and the struggle between her, and children for control of the empire.

This novel contains a more balanced mix of philosophy and adventure, mixed with very vivid, interesting characters. It is very well worth reading -- though no book can compare with the original "Dune."

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Summary: Two adorable kids with powerful minds. Imagine it.
Review: After reading God Emperor of Dune, I am quite glad to readandlearn more about the Dune universe created by Frank Herberthimself. One of the most recent Dune novel I've read is Children of Dune which tells the story of Paul's royal twins, Leto and Ghanima. Both of them have supernatural powers like their father's but one of them is destined to change the history of the universe forever, attempting to save the sandworms from extinction as well as the lost of his humanity. Like other Dune novels, Children of Dune is simply brilliant, packed with politics, religions and a few action sequences. Some of the memorable characters make their appearance as well like Duncan Idaho and Lady Jessica. However, the only catch is that it's too wordy at times. Some people think that it's also too prophetic due to its complexity but readers will later learn that Children of Dune is remarkably beautiful and enchanting. As a conclusion, Children of Dune is one of the greatest achievements ever made by Frank Herbert.

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Summary: Child of Dune might have been a better title
Review: This book is way better than the second book, but it still does not fulfill the expectations left from the first book. Leto and his sister "spoils of war" are growing up and dealing with all the political intrigue and double crossing that Dune readers are familiar with. I really liked Alia befor this book, but Herbert ruined her here. This whole book screams "man strong, woman weak!" It almost seems as if Herbert writes himself into a hole and has to dig himself out. This book like the second lacks the vision of the original. It was interesting though and is not a waste of time. Recommended to those whom really want more Dune.

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Summary: Don't give up on Dune
Review: I can see how someone can get confused reading some of the reviews here. Some people love the politics and discussion of religion that dominates this book. Others are simply galled at the trudgingly slow plotline. I'll admit that after watching the plot grind slower and slower in the last book, Dune Messiah, I was looking for something that resembled Dune (book 1) in pacing. I didn't find it. After a few hundred pages I was so disenheartened with the book that I put it down and stopped reading it.
But wait, there's more. After more than a year, I picked the book up again and resumed reading it. At first, I was a little lost in all the names and foreign sounding words I hadn't bothered to remember. After a while, without the expectation of the action from the first book, I came to appreciate that this is a richly written, if slow at times, great story.
My advice is to read this book even if you get bored with it. It has a great ending that segues nicely into the next books. This is the main reason I am glad I finished Children of Dune, the next installments of the Dune series were fantastic (good action too), more than rivalling the original one. Read Children of Dune (even if you don't like it) for the rest of the series which you will like no matter whether you like this or not.

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Summary: A decent effort... but subpar for the Dune series as a whole
Review: This isn't a bad book- just a bit too confusing (always a bit of a problem with the later Dune books).

I loved Dune, and was satisfied by Dune Messiah. At this time however, I noticed that Herbert's language was becoming more and more opaque and hard to understand. This trend continues in this book. Herberts language isboth frustrating and delightful; I took pleasure in the clever use of words, but was frustrated and the complexity and mystical quality of half the book. You really have to work to understand some curcial plot elements.

Frank Herbert's universe and style are, if nothing else, unique. Unfortunately he begins making them both a bit beyond our reach.

The next book is at least equal to Dune, once again (like DPaul in Dune) because of a fascintaing main character, which this book lacks. Leto is not that interesting here, neither is Ghanima; nor Jessica, or Alia, or especially the Preacher who is a mysterious but rather flat figure.

Heretics of Dune and Chapterhouse Dune, in my opinion, are hardly worth reading.

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Summary: Next to Dune, the best of the lot
Review: Children of Dune, the third book of the Dune chronicles, tells the story of the Atreides destiny after the disappearance of Muad'dib. The children of Muad'dib, Leto and Ghanima, now must take up the heavy burden left by their father. Old faces pop up, and there are many plot twists (but do we expect any less from Herbert's grand work?). The scope of this book is much broader than in Dune Messiah, which makes it a more enjoyable read. How can a series of books continue to produce, particularly under such heavy expectations? Who knows, but Children of Dune continues the rich tradition of the series

Rating:
Summary: Better than 2, not than the original
Review: This one was alright...By this time, you must be a fan to sit through Dune Messiah as it was kinda slow.

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Summary: Fantastic story unlike the sci-fi of today!
Review: If you're used to the science fiction pumped out by no-name hacks today, feast you eyes upon the Dune series. It is a blend of sci-fi and fantasy that is almost unique in its field (the only other of such caliber being Piers Anthony's Apprentice Adept series). A must read series.

Rating:
Summary: Ok but not great
Review: This the third book in the Dune series I felt was kind of a depressing end to the story line of Paul and his imediate family. The first book in the series really does outshine the next two in its scope and thoroughness. You can really tell Frank Herbert was trying to extend his Arrakis roots with the way he hints to previous events before the time of the first novel and so forth.
All in all, its an ok read. It is worth it just to finish out the plotline established in the first book.

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Summary: A wonderful book
Review: This series is the best in all scifi. It puts Tolkien to shame a hundred times over. The plots are complicated, but actually MAKE SENSE!!!!!! Tolkien on the other hand seemed convinced to only write one series, so he wrote LOTR, but put in mindless information about everyones lineage that should have been turned into a prequel, and not included. But this tells us what we need to know, and that's it.