 dune messiah is a science fiction novel by frank herbert, the second in a series of six novels. it was originally serialized in galaxy magazine in 1969. the american and british editions have different prologues summarizing events in the previous novel. the novels dune messiah and children of dune were adapted by the sci-fi channel in 2003 into a mini-series entitled frank herbert's children of dune. in 2002, the science fiction book club also published the two novels in one volume.herbert, frank. dune messiah and children of dune. 1st sfbc printing edition (2002), 592 pages. isbn 0-7394-2399-1. ==plot summary== twelve years after the events described in dune (1965), paul "muad'dib" atreides rules as emperor. by accepting the role of messiah to the fremen, paul had unleashed a jihad which conquered most of the known universe. while paul is the most powerful emperor ever known, he is powerless to stop the lethal excesses of the religious juggernaut he has created. although sixty-one billion people have perished, paul's prescient visions indicate that this is far from the worst possible outcome for humanity. motivated by this knowledge, paul hopes to set humanity on a course that will not inevitably lead to stagnation and destruction, while at the same time acting as ruler of the empire and focal point of the fremen religion. the bene gesserit, spacing guild and tleilaxu enter into a conspiracy to dethrone paul, the bene gesserit reverend mother gaius helen mohiam enlisting paul's own consort princess irulan, daughter of the deposed padishah emperor shaddam corrino iv. paul has refused to father a child with irulan (or even touch her), but his fremen concubine [[chani]
1970_novels Dune_novels Novels_by_Frank_Herbert Novels_first_published_in_serial_form Works_originally_published_in_Galaxy_Science_Fiction