This week on Book Series Wednesday I’m covering the third book in the Dune series. It’s Children of Dune by Frank Herbert.

Plot Synopsis: Nine years after Emperor Paul Muad’Dib walked into the desert, blind, the ecological transformation of Dune has reached the point where some Fremen are living without stillsuits in the less arid climate and have started to move out of the Sietches and into the villages and cities. As the old ways erode, more and more pilgrims arrive to experience the planet of Muad’Dib. The Imperial high council has lost the political initiative and is powerless to control the Jihad.

Plot: While the plot is darker thematically, while listening to the book it felt less gloomy than the Dune Messiah did. It is a much better story I think than the prequel and more in line with the original novel. That being said some of what happens in the book may be distasteful to some.

Characters: Stilgar and Duncan war for my favorite character in this entry, but Duncan wins out by a hair by being Duncan. The new characters in this book, Leto and Ghanima are great and while I like Leto quite a bit he may be distasteful to others.

Overall: A worthy entry into the series, almost as good as the first, definitely better than the second.