What happened at the end of the last DUNE book?

Question

I've read A LOT of sci-fi books (and dense ones) but I am STILL not really sure what happened at the end of Chapterhouse DUNE. Can someone explain it? I feel like it was all a dream? Damn that Herbert for dying on us!

BTW, I loved the Dosadi Experiment and Whipping Star. I HIGHLY recommend those!

Answer 1

One of the controversies of Chapterhouse Dune concerns Daniel and Marty, the elderly couple whom Duncan 'sees' in the net. They are Face Dancers who have somehow become able to break away from — or at least live independent of — a Tleilaxu Master; it also appears that they are the final model of Face Dancers that Waff mentioned in passing- Face Dancers who can not only take on the appearance of a person, but their very identity, memories, and skills. Little else is described about them, but much is speculated.

* At one level the old couple could be Frank Herbert and Beverly his wife. This is a provocative suggestion when it is remembered that Idaho saw them and their "net" and managed to evade them by dumping the memory banks of the no-ship. In this interpretation, on the very cusp of Frank Herbert's death his own creations "escaped" even the controlling prescience of the author to carve out new lives in the imaginations of readers.
* At another level, they reveal the true insignificance of the Old Empire, by revealing two "godlike" powers who seem beyond human concerns.
* It has also been speculated that they were members of the 'unmovable piece' that Duncan had visions of, and that they were using a new application of Holtzmann's equations to trap people in no-ships, like Duncan and co. or the Bene Gesserit sisters dispatched.
* Speculation: the enemy that drove the Honored Matres out are the face dancers, who have evolved into these 'godlike' figures.

The Honored Matres call the enemy who drove them back to the Old Empire/ Million Worlds the Ones With Many Faces making it seem almost certain that the enemies are Face Dancers. This is in contradiction to the theory that the thinking machines are the enemy. However that theory is suggested by Brian Herbert and Kevin J Anderson making it appear they may decide to include them despite what the original intentions of Frank Herbert may have been

For more info...follow the link at the bottom...and scrolldown to the Chapter marked...Analysis: Concluding the Dune Saga...

Second link explores the concept of what would have been the third book in the "Heretics of Dune" and "Chapterhouse of Dune" trilogy...very, very interesting reading.


This year comes...
HUNTERS OF DUNE and SANDWORMS OF DUNE
This is the two-volume grand climax of the DUNE saga,
based on Frank Herbert's outline for "Dune 7." Brian and Kevin
have written both manuscripts -- a total of nearly 1300 pages.
Hunters is due out in August and Sandworms is being edited.


...history is written...on the sands of Arrakis...the story of Dune...is far from over...

Answer 2

Chapterhouse Dune leaves one with a lot a questions. The Bene Gesserit and Honored Matres unite, ending the war. However, some of the Bene Gesserit don't care for this arrangement and flee along with Duncan Idaho, Scytale, and Teg. What happens to all these people is left to the reader. We also don't really learn who the god-like characters are or who was chasing the Honored Matres.

Apparently, Frank Herbert did have notes for a Dune 7. His son Brian Herbert and Kevin Anderson have been writing the prequels and have plans to do a two-part ending picking up where Chapterhouse left of. The tentative titles are Hunters of Dune and Sandworms of Dune.

Answer 3

Chapterhouse Dune