Dune: The Machine Crusade

Authors: Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson {DAYSSINCEBIRTH(birth=2003-09-16,birthphrase=Release)}{DAYSSINCEBIRTH} I read: March 3 - March 19, 2007 Non-spoilery short description:

25-40-ish years after the previous book, the fightings continue.

Totally spoilery summary:

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|<td>Again I'll do this character by character. 
<p>'''Titans''' <br>''Agamemnon'': Finally ends up rebelling against Omnius, turning things into a 3-way battle. <br>''Juno'': When the Titans take over an Omnius planet, she convinces the human slaves to be loyal to the Titans, and increases their neo-cymek ranks. <br>''Hecate'': Returned in a bigass asteroid ship. She wanted to take on the Titans, and thus partnered up with Iblis Ginjo. She saved the day for the League at Ix, and destroyed the Bela Tegeuse Omnius, but before the League could get there the Titans took it as their new base. She saved Aurelius Venport and Zufa Cenva from a neo-cymek attack, but before she could make her allegiances clear Zufa used her abilities to fry their brains. <br>''Dante'': Didn't really do much. <br>''Xerxes'': Got himself killed by Norma Cenva. <br>''Beowulf'': Neo-cymek who was basically accepted as a new Titan, the first of the neo-cymeks to join their plans against Omnius. A bit of a Barbarossa replacement in programming talent. Got bashed up a bit by Hecate, so his brain isn't what it used to be. 
<p>'''Thinking machines''': <br>''Omnius'': Continued being Omnius. Fell prey to a sneaky trick by Vorian Atreides that essentially spread flawed programming by way of the long-lost Earth Omnius update, wreaking havoc for a while. Now with the Titans picking off many update ships, the various Omnius incarnations aren't as synchronized. <br>''Erasmus'': When the Earth Omnius update screwed things up, he took initiative in getting things back to normal, and also took advantage of the situation to make sure Omnius didn't keep so many of the Earth update's memories, such as those of how Erasmus was largely responsible for the Earth revolt. As part of a challenge from Omnius, he decided to "tame" an unruly slave, a boy named Gilbertus Albans who he eventually comes to think of as a son. <br>''Seurat'': Vorian wakes him back up after leaving him with the altered Earth Omnius update. Seurat tries to deliver it from world to world with such haste that he's gone by the time things mess up. Later meets Vorian in deep space, but neither fires on the other; he still feels a friendship. Later, in an Omnius update raid, Agamemnon takes Seurat prisoner rather than destroy him, as his knowledge of Vorian could come in useful. 
<p>'''Slaves''' <br>''Ishmael'': Still a slave, but ends up a family man and a spiritual leader. Still basically pacifist, when Aliid begins a revolt, Ishmael and the group of slaves he's currently in (without his wife and one of two daughters) steals the space-folding ship they've been working on, with Tuk Keedair to pilot it. They crash on Arrakis, and eventually the survivors get taken in by Selim's tribe. Ishmael ends up the new leader, and marrying Selim's widow. The group becomes known as the Free Men of Arrakis. <br>''Aliid'': Still a slave, but ends up a family man for a short time until separated from his wife and child. Very angry and very bitter, he eventually starts another revolt on the anniversary of Bel Moulay's. Inadvertently destroys most of Starda when he uses a laser rifle to shoot a Holtzman shield (worn by Holtzman himself). 
<p>'''League humans''' <br>''Iblis Ginjo'': Grand Patriarch of the Jihad now. Honestly wants to off the machines, but is fine with doing it through subterfuge, deals with the devil, and massive personal power for himself. Heads the Jihad Commission (until Serena wakes up and takes that task over) and controls the Jipol (Jihad Police) who tend to plant evidence and make fake scares. Works with the Tlulaxa to steal organs from minor human colonies for Jihad soldiers, while blaming the attacks on machines to increase fervor. Ends up in a sun by way of Xavier. <br>''Vorian Atreides'': A Primero second only to Xavier, he remains young in body due to the treatment given to him by Agamemnon. Though he resists getting attached for a long time, he eventually falls for Leronica Tergiet of Caladan, who ends up pregnant by him. Though he's away for many years without knowing this, the children have a loving adoptive father who ends up sacrificing himself to save them when attacked at sea by an elecran. Vorian eventually has the chance to return a time or two through the risk of space-folding ships, though rarely can stay long. After hearing of the death of Xavier, he asks Leronica and the twins to come have a life with him in the League. <br>''Xavier Harkonnen'': Primero, head of the Jihad military, happily married with Octa and several daughters. Is quite upset when cymeks capture his brother Vergyl Tantor never to be seen again (though we know he was tortured to death). He doesn't completely trust Ginjo, but sees them as working to the same end, so doesn't make waves about it, even after Serena ends up dead. When he learns of Ginjo's work with the Tlulaxa, though, that's just too much. He realizes the Jipol probably won't let him survive anyway, so he makes it his duty to get rid of Ginjo by aiming their ship toward a sun and destroying the controls. He is quite successful in this. <br>''Serena Butler'': Priestess of the Jihad now. For a long time she acts as a figurehead while essentially letting Ginjo run the show, until Cogitor Kwyna and her mother convince her to not let Iblis do so much harm. She takes a larger role in things, to Iblis's dismay. Through some trickery of hers and Iblis's, they convince the Ivory Tower Cogitors to help in their cause... sort of. The plan is for a peace agreement between Omnius and the League, which neither Iblis nor Serena thinks will work. Their solution: sacrifice Serena. She ends up killed by one of her guards when Omnius is taking them captive, but faked footage indeed enrages the people, allowing the Jihad to continue stronger than before. <br>''Aurelius Venport'': Now very successful in business with Tuk Keedair primarily due to melange, he helps Norma break away from Holtzman so she can work on her space-folding ideas. Eventually he marries Norma, and they produce a son. Shortly after their space-folding shipyards are temporarily given to/taken over by the League, he's killed when Zufa fries brains. <br>''Norma Cenva'': Her space-folding work comes to success, though Holtzman makes an attempt to steal it shortly before the slave uprising. She's sent away from Poritrin as part of that conflict, and Xerxes takes her prisoner. However, paining her up unleashes her psychic potential, and she fries them while remaining a consciousness herself since she's so powerful. She recreates a newer, healthier, sexier body for herself based on her female ancestors, and goes on. Though the space-folding ships work, navigation problems mean the loss rate is high. She hopes to find a way to make it safer. <br>''Zufa Cenva'': Realizing Iblis Ginjo's psychic abilities of persuasion, she beds him hoping for a succesful offspring, which does occur. Though previously not pleased by her first daughter, she's impressed by the new Norma, and they have a reconciliation... until she ends up frying her brain while killing Hecate. <br>''Tio Holtzman'': After attempting to steal the space-folding idea from Norma, he ends up killed by the interaction of a laser with his personal Holtzman shield. Oops. 
<p>'''Others''' <br>''Tuk Keedair'': Partnered with Aurelius Vennport, he's not in the slave trade anymore. He ends up forced to use the prototype space-folder to help Ishmael's group get to Arrakis, where they crash. When he ends up lost in the desert, he tells Selim's tribe to rescue them, so Ishmael says he is free to live. <br>''Naib Dhartha'': With increased spice trade, his tribe becomes weaker. His hatred for Selim grows when his grandson is eaten by a worm in an attempt to ride it. Ends up eaten by worms in a mercenary attack on Selim's hideout. <br>''Selim'': As more and more joined him, he ends up with a tribe who regularly raid the spice harvests, guided by Selim's visions of aiding Shai-halud. Marries Marha and has a son. Presciently knows when their hideout will be attacked, and stays alone to meet the attackers. He summons large worms to eat the attackers and he alike. With Marha watching from the distance, he truly moves into the territory of legend. <br>''Jool Noret'': A Ginaz warrior who trains with one of the few reprogrammed thinking machines, Chirox. He altered it to be even more powerful, and forgetting to switch it back to normal mode his father is killed. He feels he now must be even better to compensate for the loss he caused. Is intrumental in many fights, particularly the destruction of the Ix Omnius. He becomes the greatest warrior, with many wanting to emulate him. Though he doesn't teach, others watch and are taught by and practice with Chirox. Ends up killed along with many others when Hecate's asteroid ship plunges into the water causing a great tsunami.</td></tr>

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Followed by Dune: The Battle of Corrin.