I actually find that God Emperor of Dune was my favorite, not Dune itself. I don't recall whether it was Chapterhouse or Heretics, but the scene with the Bene Gesserit in the cave has stood out in my mind for years.
Really, the writing style is the same, and there's a lot of "idea" content in the sequels, especially God Emperor. I really don't feel the Dune universe is any different - but the events of Dune did change the (known) universe, and thousands of years have passed by the time of Chapterhouse.
I would agree that nobody should touch the Brian Herbert books, though.
_God Emperor of Dune_ has the best opening sequence of any book I have read (the wolves chasing the raiders in the forbidden forest), love it!
You really have to read that far to get a sense of how important the Duncan Idaho character is in the Dune universe: in the first book he is just a bit player, but later he becomes central.
I've read the first six. Rereading, I stopped at God Emperor.
I tell people who are thinking about reading it that if they found Dune to be slow and difficult that they should just stop at the first one. It's a lot of world building and politics as it goes on.
I agree. The best part of the series in my opinion, is the political machination. God Emperor probably has the most of that. Messiah is probably the weakest novel in the set in my opinion.
I really liked God Emperor of Dune, and consider it to be the logical ending point of the series. Heretics and Chapterhouse are a very interesting continuation, but feel more like the beginning of a new series based in the same universe (and an incomplete one, at that).
Really, the writing style is the same, and there's a lot of "idea" content in the sequels, especially God Emperor. I really don't feel the Dune universe is any different - but the events of Dune did change the (known) universe, and thousands of years have passed by the time of Chapterhouse.
I would agree that nobody should touch the Brian Herbert books, though.