Children of Dune

Originally serialized in the science fiction magazine Analog Science Fiction and Fact, Children of Dune (1976) is the third book in Frank Herbert’s classic series, The Dune Chronicles. The novel begins nine years after the abdication and self-exile of Paul Atreides, the former emperor and messiah known as Muad’Dib. His sister, Alia, rules as regent of the Imperium. Alia struggles to maintain her power in an arena rife with political intrigue while battling Abomination, an internal enemy in her psyche that threatens to possess and corrupt her. Paul’s twin offspring, Leto II and Ghanima, are also at risk of Abomination and use their extraordinary powers of prescience and ancestral memories to outmaneuver their adversaries, who seek to exploit their vital genetic material or eliminate them altogether. As the twins fight for survival, they must confront the problematic foundations of their family’s empire and decide whether their future will break from the past or reiterate the pitfalls of their family’s regime. The novel delves into the themes of The Ecological Consequences of Human Intervention, Political and Religious Corruption, and The Trappings of the Past and Prescience.

Children of Dune is considered one of the first science fiction novels to become a national bestseller, with its hardcover edition selling over 100,000 copies in the first months of publication and its paperback edition selling nearly 2 million copies in the first six months.