Point of View

Frank Herbert narrates Children of Dune in the third person past tense. In this novel, he uses far more dialog and narration than in the earlier novels, where he relies heavily on revealing their inner thoughts (in italics). As in the earlier volumes, Herbert opens new scenes by quoting epigrams in the manner of a historian. The source of the epigrams is far more diverse than in earlier volumes, perhaps because Princess Irulan is an integral part of the story in Children of Dune. The saga picks up with the precocious Atreides twins, Leto II and Ghanima, newly born in Dune Messiah, during their ninth year. They understand that they posses the knowledge of all ages and worry that they, like Aunt Alia, the Regent, are possessed. Never one to share his thoughts on religion, politics, ecology, and various social issues, Herbert constructs a plot that...