_First_edition.jpg) US first edition cover | |
| Author | Frank Herbert |
|---|---|
| Audio read by |
|
| Cover artist | John Schoenherr |
| Language | English |
| Series | Dune series |
| Genre | Science fiction |
| Published | April 1985 |
| Publisher | Putnam |
| Publication place | United States |
| Media type | Print (hardcover &paperback) |
| Pages | 464 |
| ISBN | 0-399-13027-6 (hardcover) 0-425-09214-3 (paperback) |
| OCLC | 780493996 |
| 813/.54 | |
| LC Class | PS3558.E63 C48 1985 |
| Preceded by | Heretics of Dune |
| Followed by | Hunters of Dune |
Chapterhouse: Dune is a 1985science fiction novel byFrank Herbert, the last in hisDune series of six novels. It rose to No. 2 onThe New York Times Best Seller list.
A direct follow-up toHeretics of Dune, the novel chronicles the continued struggles of theBene Gesserit sisterhood against the violentHonored Matres, who are succeeding in their bid to seize control of the universe and destroy the factions and planets that oppose them.
Chapterhouse: Dune ends with acliffhanger, and Herbert's subsequent death in 1986 left some overarching plotlines of the series unresolved.[1][2][3] Two decades later, Herbert's sonBrian Herbert, along withKevin J. Anderson, published twosequels –Hunters of Dune (2006) andSandworms of Dune (2007) – based in part on notes left behind by Frank Herbert for what he referred to asDune 7, his own planned seventh novel in theDune series.
The Bene Gesserit find themselves the target of the Honored Matres, whose conquest of the Old Empire is almost complete. The Matres are seeking to assimilate the technology and superhuman skills of the Bene Gesserit, and exterminate the Sisterhood itself. Now in command of the Bene Gesserit, Mother SuperiorDarwi Odrade continues to develop her drastic, secret plan to overcome the Honored Matres. The Bene Gesserit are alsoterraforming the planetChapterhouse to accommodate the all-importantsandworms, as the planetDune had been destroyed by the Matres.
Sheeana, in charge of the project, expects sandworms to appear soon. The Honored Matres have also destroyed the entireBene Tleilax civilization, with Tleilaxu MasterScytale the only one of his kind left alive. In Bene Gesserit captivity, Scytale possesses the Tleilaxu secret ofghola production, which he has reluctantly traded for the Sisterhood's protection. The first ghola produced is that of their recently deceased military genius,Miles Teg. The Bene Gesserit have two other prisoners on Chapterhouse: the latestDuncan Idaho ghola, and his lover, former Honored MatreMurbella, whom they have accepted as a novice despite their suspicion that she intends to escape back to the Honored Matres.
Lampadas, a center for Bene Gesserit education, is destroyed by the Honored Matres. The planet's Chancellor,Reverend MotherLucilla, manages to escape carrying the shared-minds of millions of Reverend Mothers. Lucilla is forced to land onGammu where she seeks refuge with an underground group ofJews, known as "Secret Israel". The Rabbi gives Lucilla sanctuary, but to save his people from the Matres he must deliver her to them. Before doing so, he revealsRebecca, a "wild" Reverend Mother who has gained herOther Memory without Bene Gesserit training.
Lucilla shares minds with Rebecca, who promises to take the memories of Lampadas safely back to the Sisterhood. Lucilla is then "betrayed", and taken before theGreat Honored MatreDama, who tries to persuade her to join the Honored Matres, preserving her life in exchange for Bene Gesserit secrets. The Honored Matres are particularly interested in learning to voluntarily modify their body chemistry, a skill that atrophied among the Bene Gesserit who went out into the Scattering and evolved into the Honored Matres. From this, Lucilla deduces that the greater enemy that the Matres are fleeing from is making extensive use of biological warfare. Lucilla refuses to share this knowledge with the Matres, and Dama ultimately kills her.
Back on Chapterhouse, Odrade confronts Duncan and forces him to admit that he is aMentat, proving that he retains the memories of his many ghola lives. Meanwhile, Murbella collapses under the pressure of Bene Gesserit training, and realizes that she wants to be Bene Gesserit. Odrade believes that the Sisterhood made a mistake in fearing emotion, and that in order to evolve, they must learn to accept emotions. Murbella survives thespice agony and becomes a Reverend Mother. Odrade confronts Sheeana, discovering that Duncan and Sheeana have been allies for some time. Sheeana does not reveal that they have been considering the option of reawakening Teg's memory throughimprinting, nor does Odrade discover that Sheeana has the keys to Duncan's no-ship prison.
Teg is awakened by Sheeana using imprinting techniques. Odrade appoints him again asBashar of the military forces of the Sisterhood for the assault on the Honored Matres. Odrade announces to the Bene Gesserit that Teg will lead an attack against the Honored Matres. She also makes clear her intention to share her memories with Murbella and Sheeana, making them candidates to succeed her as Mother Superior if she dies. Odrade meets with the Great Honored Matre while the Bene Gesserit forces under Teg attack Gammu, and then Junction, with tremendous force. Teg uses his secret ability to see no-ships to secure control of the system, and victory for the Bene Gesserit seems inevitable. In the midst of this battle, Rebecca and the Jews take refuge with the Bene Gesserit fleet.
Dama's chief advisorLogno assassinates Dama with poison and assumes control of the Honored Matres. Too late, Odrade and Teg realize they have fallen into a trap, and the Honored Matres use a mysterious weapon, which kills without wounding, to turn defeat into victory, and capture Odrade. Murbella saves as much of the Bene Gesserit force as she can and they withdraw to Chapterhouse. Odrade, however, had planned for the possible failure of the Bene Gesserit attack and left Murbella instructions for a last desperate gamble. Murbella pilots a small craft down to the surface, announcing herself as an Honored Matre who, in the confusion, has managed to escape the Bene Gesserit with all their secrets. She arrives on the planet and is taken to the Great Honored Matre, and taunts her. Unable to control her anger, Logno attacks but is killed by Murbella.
Awed by her physical prowess, the remaining Honored Matres are forced to accept her as their new leader. Odrade is also killed in the melee and Murbella shares with Odrade to absorb her newest memories, as they had already shared prior to the battle. Murbella's ascension to leadership, and her bringing the Honored Matres to merge with the Bene Gesserit, is not accepted as victory by all the latter. Some flee Chapterhouse, notably Sheeana, who has a vision of her own, and arranges to have some of the new worms that have emerged in the Chapterhouse desert brought aboard the no-ship. Sheeana is joined by Duncan. The two escape in the giant no-ship, with Scytale, Teg and the Jews. Murbella recognizes their plan at the last minute, but is powerless to stop them. Two mysterious entities resembling an old married couple, Daniel and Marty, whom Duncan had seen in visions, wryly note the refugees' escape.
Chapterhouse: Dune debuted at No. 5 and rose to No. 2 onThe New York Times Best Seller list.[4] Gerald Jonas ofThe New York Times noted that "Against all odds, the universe ofDune keeps getting richer in texture, more challenging in its moral dilemmas."[5]
Dave Langford reviewed the novel forWhite Dwarf #65, and stated that "The hyper-acute characters are impressive, the resolution thoughtful and humane. Though initially I gave up afterChildren,Heretics andChapter House have partially Restored My Faith."[6]
Two decades after Frank Herbert's death, his sonBrian Herbert, along withKevin J. Anderson, published twosequels –Hunters of Dune (2006) andSandworms of Dune (2007) – based on notes left behind by Frank Herbert for what he referred to asDune 7, his own planned seventh novel in theDune series,[7][8][9] while also continuing plot-lines from Brian Herbert's and Kevin J. Anderson's ownDune prequel novels.
Quinn, Judy (November 17, 1997)."Bantam Pays $3M forDune Prequels by Herbert's Son".Publishers Weekly.Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. RetrievedFebruary 6, 2014.The new prequels ... will be based on notes and outlines Frank Herbert left at his death in 1986.
Anderson, Kevin J. (December 16, 2005)."Dune 7 blog: Conspiracy Theories". Archived fromthe original on October 12, 2007. RetrievedOctober 12, 2008 – via DuneNovels.com.Frank Herbert wrote a detailed outline forDune 7 and he left extensiveDune 7 notes, as well as stored boxes of his descriptions, epigraphs, chapters, character backgrounds, historical notes—over a thousand pages worth.
I got a call from an estate attorney who asked me what I wanted to do with two safety deposit boxes of my dad's ... in them were the notes toDune 7—it was a 30-page outline. So I went up in my attic and found another 1,000 pages of working notes.
"BeforeDune, After Frank Herbert".Amazon.com. 2004. Archived fromthe original on April 9, 2009. RetrievedNovember 12, 2008.Brian was cleaning out his garage to make an office space and he found all these boxes that had'Dune Notes' on the side. And we used a lot of them for ourHouse books.
"Interview with Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson". Arrakis.ru. 2004. Archived fromthe original on September 8, 2012. RetrievedNovember 12, 2008.We had already started work onHouse Atreides ... After we already had our general outline written and the proposal sent to publishers, then we found the outlines and notes. (This necessitated some changes, of course.)
... we are ready to tackle the next major challenge—writing the grand climax of the saga that Frank Herbert left in his original notes sealed in a safe deposit box ... after we'd already decided what we wanted to write ... They opened up the safe deposit box and found inside the full and complete outline forDune 7 ... Later, when Brian was cleaning out his garage, in the back he found ... over three thousand pages of Frank Herbert's other notes, background material, and character sketches.
Adams, John Joseph (August 9, 2006)."NewDune Books Resume Story". SciFi.com. Archived fromthe original on December 19, 2007. RetrievedDecember 19, 2007.Anderson said that Frank Herbert's notes included a description of the story and a great deal of character background information. 'But having a roadmap of the U.S. and actually driving across the country are two different things,' he said. 'Brian and I had a lot to work with and a lot to expand...'
Snider, John C. (August 2007)."Audiobook Review:Hunters of Dune by Brian Herbert & Kevin J. Anderson". SciFiDimensions.com. Archived fromthe original on March 24, 2008. RetrievedFebruary 15, 2009.the co-authors have expanded on Herbert's brief outline
