Some of you may have heard about the fact that the Dune series gets WEIRD. God Emperor of Dune is likely the place where this idea comes from. The book is weird, but surprisingly good. Book four is my favorite in the series, not because it has the most action, or the best plot, but because of the characters. The characters such as Siona Atreides and her father Moneo Atreides are some of my favorites. Additionally, the tradition of creating copies of Duncan Idaho is still alive and well despite the book taking place 3500 years after the events of the first Dune book.
Another character I enjoy is the God Emperor Leto II. Despite being almost immortal, Leto II does not live a happy existence. He is cured with his knowledge that stems from his ability to see the future. The concept of a Golden Path is the only thing that seems to matter to him now that he has lived far longer that any of the characters in the previous book: Children of Dune. A large portion of this book is spent with Leto II and his conversations with various other people who work for his empire. The book uses these conversations to cover various philosophical issues regarding politics. Some examples include, the role of police and prisons in society, Effective Altruism, concepts from Leviathan (The one by Hobbes… not the sea creature), and the sociology involved in rebellions. All of this is weaved into the lives of characters who’s lives are in so many ways shaped by the history made from the previous three books.
What’s the Deal with Duncan Idaho?!?! At this point in the series we have seen a ghola before. In Dune Messiah, the spacing guild gifts a clone of Duncan Idaho to Paul. This ghola is grown from cells taken from his corpse on Arrakis and is used in the plot against Paul. 3500 years after the third book, the gholas are now made on masse for the God Emperor by the Tleilaxu. These gholas all eventually rebel against Leto II, but despite this he keeps making them. It is in some ways the book implies that this is because of Duncan’s connection with Paul.