Books

First edition, first printing. Publisher's brown boards, lettered in black; original red dust jacket with front panel illustration by Jack Gaughan, and photo on rear panel of Frank Herbert taken by George Westbeau. About fine book with very light offsetting to endpapers, and a hint of wear to spine ends; near fine unclipped dust jacket, with light rubbing to spine ends and corners of panels, and a tiny bit of soiling to rear panel. Overall, a bright and excellent copy. Dune Messiah continues the story of Paul "Muad'Dib" Atreides, who now rules as emperor of the known universe. Things have taken a dark turn, as his fanatical supporters, the Fremen, wage a devastating intergalactic religious war. Faced with mounting political threats against him, Atreides must try to save himself and the empire, all while protecting his lover and unborn child. Dune Messiah is the first of five sequels to Dune, the bestselling science fiction novel of all time. The incredibly ambitious and imaginative series explores a wide range of subjects, including environmentalism, politics, and mysticism, and has had a profound influence on the science fiction genre, perhaps most notably as a precursor to Star Wars. Frank Herbert described the first trilogy of Dune books as an "ecological fugue" - the first book, Dune, introducing a primary theme, and Dune Messiah performing an inversion of that theme, which explains the latter book's bleak tone.

In Frank Herbert's seminal science fiction novel "Dune," the intricate tale unfolds across a distant future where noble families vie for control over the desert planet Arrakis, the only source of the highly coveted spice melange. The Atreides family, led by Duke Leto Atreides and his son Paul, assumes stewardship of Arrakis, navigating a perilous political landscape rife with treachery and ambition. As Paul adapts to the harsh desert environment, he encounters the Fremen, Arrakis's indigenous people, and discovers his latent abilities tied to their prophecy of a messianic figure known as the Kwisatz Haderach. Paul grapples with his destiny, mastering the complexities of politics, religion, and warfare while confronting personal struggles and ethical dilemmas. The novel explores themes of power, ecology, religion, and the human condition, set against a richly imagined backdrop of a desert planet teeming with political intrigue and mystical intrigue.