I think this is my favorite Dune book so far. I have to listen all these again to be sure. This was the one I wanted to listen. It is much like Dune Messiah except it is good. Like Dune Messiah God Emperor of Dune shows giving someone ultimate power might not be such a good for the subjects. Dune books are good at showing how each character think they have good reasons doing what they are doing. I don’t know if later books show God Emperor was actually correct doing what he did. Frank Herbert’s books might not get there.
I criticized Dune Messiah for having very little religion in it. I can’t say same about this book. Children of Dune added more religion. God Emperor of Dune feels like being in religious cult. Cult that controls the world thanks to it stockpile of important resource. Earlier Dune was only source of spice. Now there are no sandworms and no new spice. God Emperor having remining spice have control.
Travel to other planets is restricted but it won’t play as big part as I expected. They don’t travel but it feels like people come and go from Arrakis. Normal people can’t do that but it doesn’t seem to be problem for important people. If there is no new spice I would expect space travel to be more restricted than it seems to be. Alternative ways to travel are investigated but there is no alternative during the events of the book.
I knew something about second, third and fourth book before listening them. Not much but little. Next will be one don’t know nothing about before listening it. Same with the sixth book.