Children of Dune (The Dune Chronicles)

Nine years after Paul Muad'Dib disappeared blind into the deserts of Arrakis at the conclusion of Dune Messiah, his orphaned twins, Ghanima and Leto, are quickly growing up and realizing that they are pawns in an epic struggle for the ultimate power -- control of the Imperium. No one around them can be trusted, as evidenced by Alia, the twins' aunt and official guardian, who has become the Abomination so many feared she would be. She is, in fact, possessed by ancestral voices inside her mind, and one in particular -- the Baron Vladimir Harkonnen -- is pushing her to fulfill her darkest prophecies. Conspiracies abound in this novel as the cult of Muad'Dib and the post-Paul governmental brain trust seem to be rotting from within. Sensing weakness, greedy factions -- like the Bene Gesserit Sisterhood and House Corrino -- converge on Arrakis to destroy House Atreides once and for all. Easily the most memorable character in the first sequence of Dune novels is the Preacher, a mysterious prophet introduced in Children of Dune . The blind old man (who may or may not be Paul Muad'Dib) speaks out against the policies of Alia's regency and deplores the way the Fremen culture has become twisted in so little time. Using such a wise, all-knowing character, in my opinion, enabled Herbert to be more didactic in his writing without being too obvious. Through the words of the Preacher, the ecological and evolutionary themes running throughout the first three Dune novels become crystal clear -- a wonderfully emotional conclusion to a brilliant trilogy. Paul Goat Allen Book Three in the Magnificent Dune Chronicles—the Bestselling Science Fiction Adventure of All TimeThe Children of Dune are twin siblings Leto and Ghanima Atreides, whose father, the Emperor Paul Muad’Dib, disappeared in the desert wastelands of Arrakis nine years ago. Like their father, the twins possess supernormal abilities—making them valuable to their manipulative aunt Alia, who rules the Empire in the name of House Atreides.Facing treason and rebellion on two fronts, Alia’s rule is not absolute. The displaced House Corrino is plotting to regain the throne while the fanatical Fremen are being provoked into open revolt by the enigmatic figure known only as The Preacher. Alia believes that by obtaining the secrets of the twins’ prophetic visions, she can maintain control over her dynasty.But Leto and Ghanima have their own plans for their visions—and their destinies.... The science fiction masterpiece continues in the "major event,"( Los Angeles Times) Children of Dune. With millions of copies sold worldwide, Frank Herbert's Dune novels stand among the major achievements of the human imagination and one of the most significant sagas in the history of literary science fiction. The Children of Dune are twin siblings Leto and Ghanima Atreides, whose father, the Emperor Paul Muad'Dib, disappeared in the deserts of Arrakis. Like their father, they possess supernormal abilities—making them valuable to their aunt Alia, who rules the Empire. If Alia can obtain the secrets of the twins' prophetic visions, her rule will be absolute. But the twins have their own plans for their destiny. On the planet of Arrakis, men, nature, and time attend the evolutionary growth of Leto and his twin sister Ghanima, children of the mighty Muad'Dib, as their aunt Alia plots to obtain the secrets of the twins' visions in order to secure her reign