I often caught myself thinking, as I read this book, that this series is beginning to get a little long in the tooth now, after three books.

In the first book, the plot was to assassinate Duke Leto Atreides. In the second book, it was to assassinate his son, Paul "Maud'Dib" Atreides. Now, in the third book, it is to assassinate his twin children, Ghanima and Leto II. But like the other three, there is way more to it than an assassination plot! There are plots within plots within plots. It's long, convoluted, frustrating and difficult to read at times. But in true Frank Herbert style, just when you think of abandoning the book, some new twist leaps off the pages at you, and you can't put it down until you find out how the new hook will turn out.

By the third book, the planet of Arrakis has changed so much that it's very difficult to think of it as the same place you encounter in the first book. But still, many things are still the same, and one of the sub-plots is a struggle to return the planet to the way it once was.

I was planning to give this book two stars, and remove the rest of the series from my to-read list. The ending changed my mind; it shocked me so much that I simply cannot wait to see what happens next!