God Emperor of Dune
by Frank Herbert · first published 1981
39% recommend53% neutral8% critical
Why HN recommends it
Reframes the Dune saga as an aeon-spanning meditation on power, religion and governance, centered on the nonhuman Leto II. Suits readers who liked Dune's politics and will work up to a more philosophical sequel.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
Fourth book in the Dune series. Takes place 3500 years after the events of the original trilogy. Tells the story of Leto, the son of Paul Atreides, who has traded his humanity to become an immortal sandworm of Dune.
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Mentions per year
What Hacker News says
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I actually find that God Emperor of Dune was my favorite, not Dune itself. I don't recall whether it was Chapterhouse or Heretics, but the scene with the Bene Gesserit in the cave has stood out in my mind for years. Really, the writing style…
on “Dune Genesis (1980)” ↗"The machines themselves condition the users to employ each other the way they employ machines." - God Emperor of Dune, Frank Herbert (a prescient book on social feedback loops, my favourite in the series)
on “Uber Founder Travis Kalanick Resigns as C.E.O.” ↗The 'Dune' series by F.Herbert, and continuation by his son. God emperor of dune is definitely worth reading up to.
on “Ask HN: Which book(s) did you read this summer?” ↗The best Dune novel, IMO, is God Emperor of Dune. And it's completely unfilmable. The primary character is conspicuously nonhuman. Much of the exposition, as well as a number of important plot developments, are only delivered through his internal narrative.…
on “Controlling the Spice, Part 1: Dune on Page and Screen” ↗On a related note, Herbert's "God Emperor of Dune" is an amazing book. Best in the series, in my opinion. Pretty much every scene/dialogue in it is a worthwhile quote: on leadership, duty, love, humanity... Check out some of the quotes here (but go…
on “What are common mistakes that new or inexperienced managers make?” ↗Read Dune and Dune Messiah together, and then skip the rest and read God Emperor of Dune. That more-or-less provides what you need.
on “Dune, 50 years on” ↗Worse! "The machines themselves condition the users to employ each other the way they employ machines." - God Emperor of Dune Frank Herbert was a genius.
on “Facebook’s war on free will” ↗"Personally I found 2nd and 3rd books the worst." I absolutely agree. Children of Dune and Dune Messiah are by far the worst. The series picks up with God Emperor of Dune, and my favorites are the last two: Heretics of Dune and Chapterhouse Dune. The original Dune book was also good, but overrated compared to the last two in the series.
on “Frank Herbert's seventh Dune novel (2005)” ↗God Emperor of Dune is my 2nd favourite of the series after Dune - I regret reading the novels after that though.
on “The Secret History of Dune” ↗…Messiah and Children of Dune. You'll probably like these books as well. (If you didn't like Dune, it's okay to stop here.) Watch the Sci-Fi Channel's Children of Dune. If you happened to like those, try God Emperor of Dune. Be warned it is extremely different from the previous books. It's become my favorite book in the series after multiple re-readings of the entire series (previously was Dune Messiah), but it is certainly…
on “Mentat Wiki: exploring ways to become a better thinker” ↗God Emperor of Dune The 4th book of Frank Hurbert's dune saga. Or I personally think it's THE ending of the actual dune story line. Not only it completes the cycle started in Book 1 titled "dune". The 2 later books are…
on “Ask HN: What is one book you would recommend everyone to read?” ↗> Dune and sequels by Frank Herbert are the next logical option, with similarly large scope. Not worth reading past God Emperor of Dune, the best book in the series.
on “Ask HN: Science Fiction Starter List” ↗1984, Animal farm by George Orwell God Emperor of Dune by Frank Herbert. They fit very good to present time.
on “Ask HN: What 3 Books Would You Recommend to Anyone?” ↗That is absolutely not true. Books 1-6 are great, especially God Emperor of Dune.
on “Dune Official Trailer” ↗Two of my favorite books - God Emperor of Dune and Anathem - did not hook me until 2-300 pages. I don’t like this advice as it would make me miss these amazing books. The challenge with the advice is that is I want ok experiences, it works. But if…
on “Treat your to-read pile like a river, not a bucket” ↗