Are the Dune sequels worth reading?

[Psionicist]

So over christmas I finally got the time to read Dune. It's, of course, an epic masterpiece, and I fully enjoyed reading every single page of it.

I wonder if you think the sequels in the original Frank Herbert series are worth reading? The second book is, apperantly, "Dune Messiah".

Cheers,

 

[SkidAce]

I feel the first four are worth reading.

Dune
Dune Messiah
Children of Dune
God Emperor of Dune

After that it began to feel a little stretched out. And too weird.

Heritics of Dune
Chapterhouse Dune

...meh.

 

[Mallus]

I feel the first four are worth reading.

Absolutely.

(Also, the 2nd SyFy --oh how it hurts to type that-- miniseries, which combines Dune Messiah with Children, is really good. Far better than their Dune).

 

[SSquirrel]

Maybe one of these days I'll have to give it another try. I got 100 pages into the first book and couldn't take it. My understanding is that if you mix the David Lynch version with the Sci Fi version you get most of the book of Dune covered pretty well. The 2nd mini series did feel very well done.

A buddy of mine who was a Dune fanboy whined at the first one saying "Dune. Arakis. Fashion planet.". That and calling Sci Fi the Bowflex Channel, which it really was back then

 

[Pbartender]

I feel the first four are worth reading.

Dune
Dune Messiah
Children of Dune
God Emperor of Dune

After that it began to feel a little stretched out. And too weird.

Heritics of Dune
Chapterhouse Dune

...meh.

And while we're at it...

At all costs, avoid any of the pastiches co-written by Kevin J Anderson and Brian Herbert.

Stinky. Winky.

 

[SSquirrel]

Or just any novel by Kevin J Anderson, regardless of series heh. His were some of the worst Star Wars novels too. Crystal Star and some of the New Jedi Order were the only ones worse

 

[Plane Sailing]

I still think the first one is great.

I still find all the subsequent ones unsatisfying in terms of story, plot and characterisation, personally. That might just be down to the different viewpoints taken up in the other books though.

For me, it jumped the shark (jumped the sandworm?) with God emperor of Dune.

 

[Baron Opal]

I feel the first four are worth reading.

Dune
Dune Messiah
Children of Dune
God Emperor of Dune

After that it began to feel a little stretched out. And too weird.

Heritics of Dune
Chapterhouse Dune

...meh.

Yeah, the first one is fascinating but you have to be into political struggles. I struggled through Dune Messiah and bored to tears with Children of Dune. I've read Chapterhouse Dune but it feels incomplete. Which is appropriate since the story was going to be finished, or at least continued, in the next book. Having the author die complicated that situation.

The prequels? I enjoyed the presentation of the Machine Times, but I kept thinking "No, that's not how it goes. No, that's not right." The presentation didn't hold up to the expectations that I had from the hints in Herbert's work.

 

[Remus Lupin]

I would rank them thusly:

MUST READ:
Dune
Dune Messiah
Children of Dune

WORTH READING
God Emperor of Dune

NOT NECESSARY, BUT HARMLESS
Heretics of Dune
Chapterhouse Dune

INTERESTING, BUT WORTHLESS
House Atreides
House Harkonin
House Corino

AVOID AT ALL COSTS:
Everything else.

 

[El Mahdi]

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