“Chapterhouse: Dune”, by Frank Herbert

464 pages, Berkley Books, ISBN-13: 978-0425086537

Okay, folks, here we are: Chapterhouse: Dune and the end of the original Dune series (and the last that I will be reading/reviewing; I had begun reading the prequels, but as of this writing, there are now something like 15 books that Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson have written. No thank you very much indeed sirs). A direct follow-up to Heretics of Dune, the situation is desperate for the Bene Gesserit as they find themselves the targets of the Honored Matres, whose conquest of the Old Empire is almost complete. The Matres are seeking to assimilate the technology and developed methods of the Bene Gesserit and exterminate the Sisterhood itself. Now in command of the Bene Gesserit, Mother Superior Darwi Odrade continues to develop her drastic, secret plan to overcome the Honored Matres. The Bene Gesserit are also terraforming the planet Chapterhouse to accommodate the all-important sandworms, whose native planet Dune had been destroyed by the Matres. As with every other Dune book, there’s a lot going on with characters and plot and storylines and this and that and whatnot and…oh, and Jews in space. Well, why the hell not?

I felt like Chapterhouse was a return to the feel of the original trilogy in terms of verve and interest; I mean, there are characters that I really gave a damn about, after years of so-so people in the preceding couple of books. What I especially liked was the fact that the Bene Gesserit are finally shown to be – wait for it – HUMAN! For most of the series all the reader saw was a very manipulative religious sect that did whatever it could as long as it benefited the Bene Gesserit, who always came out on top; if it didn’t benefit humanity too then that was just too bad. Chapterhouse gives the Sisterhood a very human side as their new Mother Superior, Odrade, struggles against the time honored traditions and rules of the Bene Gesserit in her attempt to adapt them into the modern universe and, for once, saving humanity, as well. Oh, and in this book they sometimes screw up.

Herbert intended to follow this sixth book up with a seventh before his death – which eventually became Hunters of Dune and Sandworms of Dune in Brian Herbert’s and Keven J. Anderson’s hands – and so Chapterhouse ends with a cliffhanger; I said I was done with this series, but…well, we’ll see. For now, though, I look back on this series with warmth and awe: I mean, it has it all: Atreides vs. Harkonnens vs the Bene Gesserit vs the Spacing Guild vs the Fremen…these factions comprise a fascinating opera of competing interests, all focused on a planet that houses the Spice. Maybe Herbert and Anderson deserve credit for keeping the crazy train running, after all.