"Chapterhouse Dune" by Frank Herbert

Okay, Dune fans, this is it, last Dune book written by Frank Herbert. Published in 1985, "Chapterhouse Dune" left more questions than answers. Frank Herbert died in 1986 and left a legacy of some of the greatest Science Fiction and Literature, but many fans want to know if "Chapterhouse Dune" was how he wanted to leave things or not.

Before we talk about the questions left unanswered, I'll give you a synopsis of this book.

Ten years after the events in "Heretics of Dune" have left the planet Rakis/Arrakis/Dune completely destroyed by the Honored Matres the mysterious enemy from the scattering. Mother Superior Odrade has grown a ghola from the cells of her Father, Miles Teg, the greatest bashar the Bene Gesserit have ever known, to combat the Honored Matres. The ghola of Teg is now 10 years old and his memories are about to be awakened by the ghola of Duncan Idaho. This quite fitting in that the "original" Miles Teg is the one that awakened the memories of the ghola Duncan Idaho.

Also on the Chapterhouse planet the Bene Gesserit are planning to create a new Dune. Thanks to Sheeana they smuggled to Chapterhouse from Dune a sandworm. The sandworm was used to creat sandtrout which are slowly converting Chapterhouse to a desert planet.

Also smuggled back to Chapterhouse on the "no-ship" is the last remaining Tleilaxu, Scytale. Scytale, unbeknownst to anyone (except the reader), has implanted in his chest a nullentropy tube containing the cells for many Tleilaxu masters and many of the past famous persons from the Dune novels, including Paul Maud'dib. For his safety Scytale has given the Bene Gesserit the secret of axolotl tanks, the tanks used by the Tleilaxu to creat gholas and the genetic equivalent of spice.

Duncan Idaho is "haunted" by 2 mysterious figures throughout the book that seem to be observing him through a net. These could be Tleilaxu face dancers. They are revealed at the end of the book to be Daniel and Marty, and that face dancers were never ruled by Tleilaxu masters. Daniel and Marty were supposed to guide Duncan, and the others to some sort of path. But at the end of this book Duncan escapes in the no-ship with some rebel Bene Gesserit, some sandworms, Scytale, Sheeanna, and Miles Teg.

So as you can see there are many questions that end the Dune series, as written by Frank Herbert, such as:
1. How are Daniel and Marty to affect the future? (Many fans believe these two characters to be Frank Herbert and his wife, Eileen written into the series)
2. What is to come of the "Renegades" in the no ship?
3. What will happen now that the Bene Gesserit and the Honored Matres are merging.
4. What is the mysterious force that forced the Honored Matres to return in fear from the scattering.

Now the good news is that Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson have teamed up and have been and are writing "Book 7" based on an outline and writings left behind by Frank Herbert. However due to the massive amount of information left behind Book 7 has been written into 2 books: "Hunters of Dune" and "Sandworms of Dune." Hunters of Dune was published last year and Sandworms of Dune is due out this August (2007). So the next book I'll have reviewed for you will be "Hunters of Dune" while anxiously await the release of the series closer "Sandworms of Dune"