Dune Messiah is a Masterpiece: Change My Mind

Listening to the latest Author Update today after returning home from travels I was surprised to hear about the “weakness” of Messiah and the “tonal shift” between books, so I’ve decided to set up my soap box and make a case for why it’s not only a masterpiece, but also congruent with the first book.

By the end of Dune, Paul feels like a man who has taken hold of pride and vengeance. The ending left a sickness in my stomach, and I no longer viewed Paul as the hero I hoped he was being shaped into. Perhaps one of the shortest and most impactful exchanges at the end is between Paul and the Reverend Mother…

The old Truthsayer, the Reverend Mother Gaius Helen Mohaim, had her own view of the hidden meaning in Paul’s words now. She glimpsed the jihad and said: “You cannot loose these people upon the universe!”

“You will think back to the gentle ways of the Sardaukar!” Paul snapped.

“You cannot,” she whispered.

“You’re a Truthsayer,” Paul said. “Review your words.”

At the end of the book, we know Paul will unleash a jihad against the known universe, and the reference to the “kindness” of the Sardaukar means this jihad will be incredibly cruel. When I watched the second movie, I personally felt the director did an excellent job at bringing this to the forefront. Although most people balked at it, I felt it quite congruent with the original text. Sure, it was adapted to film and drove the point home extra hard… But that point was still solidly made at the end of the book.

I also believe Dune Messiah to be a masterpiece in its own right, and here’s why…

In Messiah, we get to see Paul decades after starting down the path he treads at the end of book one. But what I find incredible about Messiah is that it so perfectly depicts a fully human “messiah” and the problematic nature of that very premise.

Paul has one truly God-like power throughout the first two books: the ability to see into the future, and to shape it. And yet, being fully human, we see how this single aspect of a God brings him and the universe to near ruin. Does he change by the end? Yes. But at what cost?

Paul was not able to navigate the possible futures in a way that brought true peace or stability. The society we see is fractured, fragile, and decaying. Essentially, he is a failed messiah in the way that any messiah who is merely a man must be.

And when I think the corruptive nature of just that one facet of God-like power, I find a greater appreciation for the love, grace, forgiveness, and forbearance of Christ. Moreover, it also dismisses the possibility of Christ having the power of God without being God himself. What he had at his disposal was infinitely more terrifying in destructive potential than what Paul had - and yet he used it only for good.

Messiah paints a masterfully vivid picture of a human messiah. Broken, full of regret, who hopefully did a few things right. It leaves the reader (at least in my case), longing for something more.

And also, it’s a really fun read.