The bestselling science fiction series of all time continues! Frank Herbert's second installment explores new developments on the desert planet Arrakis, with its intricate social order and its strange threatening environment. Dune Messiah picks up the story of the man known as Maud'dib, heir to a power unimaginable, bringing to fruition an ambition of unparalleled scale: the centuries-old scheme to create a superbeing who reigns not in the heavens but among men. But the question is: Do all paths of glory lead to the grave?
Download and start listening now!
"After Dune, all the royal intrigue in Dune Messiah made me want to wander off into the desert, too. This is one of my least favorite of the Dune series, but even a relatively bad Dune book is awesome and worth reading. If anything, you need this to get to the next two books, which are amazing."
— Ethan (4 out of 5 stars)
“Unique...I know nothing comparable to it except Lord of the Rings.
— Arthur C. Clarke on DuneOne of the monuments of modern science fiction.
— Chicago Tribune on DunePowerful, convincing, and most ingenious.
— Robert A. Heinlein on DuneA portrayal of an alien society more complete and deeply detailed than any other author in the field has managed...a story absorbing equally for its action and philosophical vistas...An astonishing science fiction phenomenon.
— The Washington Post on Dune" A whole different environment where people struggle over mostly familiar issues. Supreme escapism. "
— Daveread, 2/18/2014" Wonderful follow up to "Dune". I especially love how Paul begins to realise exactly what his new position means and what he must do. "
— Kate, 2/13/2014" Overall consensus by most folks is that the first Dune book was fabulous, and the follow-on books got progressively less interesting. I totally agree, but I read them all anyway. Fascinating fictional world! "
— Judy, 2/8/2014" Only half the length of the original Dune, the second book in the series takes place 12 years after. Not as epic, this is almost like a chamber western, with political intrigue and references to great action, but little action described. The feel of the book is like a prelude to what comes next, that the third book will be the true sequel to Dune. "
— Lyn, 2/6/2014" great story, did not like the writingstyle that much "
— Susi, 2/3/2014" Not as amazing as the first, but still a blast to read. You'll love this one in particular if you like thinking about psychology, power, and persuasion. Who better to learn from than a self-made messiah? "
— Blake, 1/30/2014" Watch as all the stuff I liked about Dune is destroyed. "
— Bryan457, 1/23/2014" Not as good as the first but still an interesting read. "
— Colin, 1/19/2014" only read this if you absolutely loved the first one and have every intent of reading children of dune. "
— Wesley, 1/8/2014" Good follow up to a great story! "
— Ruth, 12/17/2013" An enjoyable science fiction novel with plots within plots, intrigues within intrigues, but not a worthy successor to the original. I agree with a coworker's opinion that this novel exists mostly to set up the much longer and meatier Dune 3. "
— Zach, 11/24/2013" The weakest in the series. Less story and more expository. "
— Harley, 7/5/2013" A lot of guys talk and talk. There's some fan service. Two things actually happen. I'm amazed this was serialized. "
— Talha, 6/26/2013" Book 4 had such a long prologue they made 2 smaller books out of it. "
— Aaron, 8/1/2012" An good book following the story from Dune, and expanding the sci fi univserse. "
— Kim, 6/21/2012" I'm can't wait to start the third book in the Dune series after reading this book. I think that this book was just as good as the first one and maybe a little more enjoyable, since it didn't seem to take as long to get going. Either way the series has been fantastic. "
— Ike, 6/5/2012" Fun and easy to read after the first. Worth getting through in order to get to the third (and, in my opinion, best) of the series. "
— Raven, 4/26/2012" just got too weird. "
— Sarah, 4/18/2012" The Dune books just got worse and worse. It saddened me because I really enjoyed the first. "
— Annette, 2/17/2012" Story gets a bit stranger in this installment. "
— Chris, 2/7/2012" Despite the slow start, I thought this one was incredibly badass. "
— Blake, 12/17/2011" I probably would have liked this novel more if I had read it when somebody gave it to me almost 40 years ago. Now I found it too much acid, too much Star Wars, which isn't really fair. "
— Mette, 5/22/2011" I started reading it once...it was too strange at first. Then I got bronchitis and started reading it at 9 AM finished at 10 PM that night! <br/>Loved it!!!! "
— John, 5/21/2011" Great read to start the Dune stories "
— Joe, 5/21/2011" Dune still is one of my most favorite books I have ever read. "
— Gabriel, 5/20/2011" One of my favorite sci-fi books. "
— James, 5/18/2011" This is an epic SF book that is not easily forgotten. Probably should have 4.5 stars because the characters take themselves a little too seriously but on the desert planet there is no time for frivolity. Appropriate for all ages and highly recommended. "
— Troy, 5/17/2011" A long time favorite. Just the first few lines draw you in... "
— Natalie, 5/17/2011" Anyone who as any sort of interest in Science Fiction MUST read this book. A shining example for all SCI-FI that followed. "
— Nicolas, 5/14/2011" Possibly the single most engrossing book I have ever read. It has a huge scope, great worldbuilding, and fantastic settings. The characters are so-so, motivations are strong but they rarely go past two dimensions. "
— Schwebs, 5/12/2011" My fave book since age 11!!! "
— Mab, 5/12/2011" One of the all-time great sci-fi stories. Being a PoliSci major, I particularly appreciate the complex political landscape that Herbert created. "
— Eric, 5/12/2011" I was completely enthralled by this book. I can see why it is considered the best science fiction book ever written. Even though I have read few SciFi books I can't imagine a better one. "
— Steve, 5/12/2011" still one of my favorite books. I love its epic scale and the complexity of Herbert's characters. His language is poetic and compelling. best of all the dune books. "
— Jackie, 5/11/2011" Couldn't put it down. I never considered myself a sci-fi reader before but I loved this. "
— Emily, 5/10/2011" I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would recommend it to anyone who is a fan of sci-fi and/or fantasy. It was really confusing for about the first 20 pages or so, getting familiar with the terms and whatnot, but after that it really picked up and had some really interesting story and scenery. "
— Laurel, 5/10/2011Frank Herbert (1920–1986), winner of the Hugo and Nebula awards and a #1 New York Times bestselling author, was born in Tacoma, Washington, and worked as a reporter and later as an editor for a number of West Coast newspapers before becoming a full-time writer. His first science fiction story was published in 1952, but he achieved fame more than ten years later with the publication of “Dune World” and “The Prophet of Dune” in Analog. The stories were amalgamated in the bestselling novel Dune in 1965.
Scott Brick, an acclaimed voice artist, screenwriter, and actor, has performed on film, television, and radio. He attended UCLA and spent ten years in a traveling Shakespeare company. Passionate about the spoken word, he has narrated a wide variety of audiobooks. winning won more than fifty AudioFile Earphones Awards and several of the prestigious Audie Awards. He was named a Golden Voice by AudioFile magazine and the Voice of Choice for 2016 by Booklist magazine.
Euan Morton is an Earphones Award–winning narrator. As an actor and singer, he is best known for his role as Boy George in the musical Taboo, which earned him a Laurence Olivier Award nomination. He reprised the role on Broadway, earning him the Theatre World Award for Outstanding Broadway Debut, as well as nominations for the ony, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle, and Drama League awards. His other stage performances include Leaves of Glass, Sondheim on Sondheim, and Cyrano De Bergerac.
Simon Vance (a.k.a. Robert Whitfield) is an award-winning actor and narrator. He has earned more than fifty Earphones Awards and won the prestigious Audie Award for best narration thirteen times. He was named Booklist’s very first Voice of Choice in 2008 and has been named an AudioFile Golden Voice as well as an AudioFile Best Voice of 2009. He has narrated more than eight hundred audiobooks over almost thirty years, beginning when he was a radio newsreader for the BBC in London. He is also an actor who has appeared on both stage and television.
Katherine Kellgren (1969–2018), narrator and actress, appeared onstage in London, New York, and Frankfurt, including in the role of Laura in a regional production of The Glass Menagerie and appearances on Comedy Central. In recognition of her mastery of audiobook narration, she received many honors, including the prestigious Audie Awards, with four for best female narrator; the Odyssey Award; Publishers Weekly Listen Up Award; dozens of AudioFile magazine Earphones Awards; an AudioFile Golden Voice Award; Booklist Voice of Choice award; and acclaim from press and listener reviews.