God Emperor of the Dune.

HERBERT, Frank.

Item Number: 124561

New York : G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1981.

First edition of the fourth book in Herbert’s acclaimed Dune Series. Octavo, original cloth. Presentation copy, inscribed by the author on the title page, “For Marshal Phillips Frank Herbert.” Near fine in a very good dust jacket. Jacket illustration by Brad Holland.

In God Emperor of Dune, Frank Herbert analyzes the cyclical patterns of human society, as well as humanity's evolutionary drives. Using his ancestral memories, Leto II has knowledge of the entirety of human history and is able to recall the effects and patterns of tyrannical institutions, from the Babylonian Empire through the Jesuits on ancient Earth, and thus builds an empire existing as a complete nexus encompassing all these methods. This galactic empire differs from the historical tyrants in that it is deliberately designed to end in destruction, and is only instituted in the first place as part of a plan to rescue humanity from an absolute destruction which Leto II has foreseen through his oracular visions. Leto II personally explores the emergent effects of civilization, noting that most hierarchical structures are remnants of evolutionary urges toward safety. Thus, by forming a perfectly safe and stable empire, Leto II delivers a message to be felt throughout history. The Los Angeles Times wrote that the novel was "Rich fare ... heavy stuff", and Time called it "a fourth visit to distant Arrakis that is every bit as fascinating as the other three—every bit as timely."