Heretics of Dune (Dune #5)
Author: Frank Herbert
Published: 1984
On Goodreads
My Rating: 
Rated P for the outpour of political pollution and penultimate prophecy, because there’s always a prophecy.
“Most discipline is hidden discipline, designed not to liberate but to limit…”
In the fifteen hundred years since Leto II’s death, the Empire has fallen to ruin. Millions have scattered to the corners of the known universe. Rakis-formerly known as Arrakis-has reverted back to its desert wasteland climate.
Those known as the Lost Ones are returning to the planet with hopes of grasping whatever power the planet holds. Amid factions, a girl named Sheeana rises up, gaining favor, when she reveals her Fremen sandrider abilities that fall under a prophecy given long ago by the God Emperor.
Dune Reviews
We’ve got another prophecy folks! This series has been good about dolling them out. The God Emperor, Leto II, has been gone for a long time and Rakis is hardly the planet it used to be. So many fight over the spice and the sandworms on the verge of extinction after Leto II used his seed to try to recreate them. Yet, a girl came from beyond to try to strike life into a dying world. It’s a small and trying spark of hope.
Recreation was a major theme. So much so that it also repeated history. I struggled with this one because of that. Though this book gave more depth behind the world of Dune and the people of the known universe, it felt like I’d read this before previously in the series.
To see the Bene Gesserit start to rise up in power was intriguing. They’ve always been a servant to the people. Like, a balance keeper. A bit of a cruel one, but still. Now, as the universe was coming apart and people wanted the spice for themselves, these witchy ladies were coming into the spotlight in a way they never have before.
Though this book was more ugh than delight, I still found the endless discovery of the Dune Universe to be magnificent. Herbert leaves nothing to be unimagined. He’s an unbelievable visionary. I still love that somehow Duncan Idaho lives on. However, if I didn’t have this weird peeve about leaving a series unfinished, I would be done with Dune after this one.
Overall
This series has slowly been dying out for me. I’m going to finish it, but this one just felt dry. I also have trouble with political reads and this one leaned more toward political struggle than life among the universe and it turned me off.
Quotables:
“Daydreaming is the first awakening of what we call simuflow It is an essential tool of rational thought…” (p.24)
“It’s the not knowing that conjures up the greatest terrors.” (Odrade, p. 30)
“Some days it’s malange; some days it’s bitter dirt.” (p. 75)
“The basic rule is this: Never support weakness; always support strength.” (p. 211)
More to come soon…
-K.
Song Today? Dead on Arrival by FallOut Boy.
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The Scarlet Reader 
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