Dune Messiah
Dune Messiah by Frank Herbertby Frank Herbert
Shares rank 135 of 179 science fiction novels by recommenders
Recommended as one of the strongest books in the first three Dune novels, with praise for its action. The main caveat is that it is hard to read.
Recommended as one of the strongest books in the first three Dune novels, with praise for its action. The main caveat is that it is hard to read.
4 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 3
- criticize it
- 1
- approval share
- 75%
Recommended in 3 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 3 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- 3 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 3 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, not met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Part of the best Dune trilogy
“I liked the first three (Dune, Dune Messiah, and Children of Dune) the best”
Comment from 26 Sep 2026 in “Ask HN: Have you read the Dune books by Frank Herbert?” “Book 1-3 of Dune are masterpieces IMO.”
Comment from 6 Apr 2026 in “Book Review: There Is No Antimemetics Division” Has lots of action
“despite being hard to read does have lots of action”
Comment from 19 Jul 2026 in “Show HN: Get alerts for good seats at 70mm IMAX showings of The Odyssey”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Hard to read and finish
“The book is terrible and I've never managed to make it through a second time.”
Comment from 18 Jul 2026 in “Show HN: Get alerts for good seats at 70mm IMAX showings of The Odyssey” “despite being hard to read does have lots of action”
Comment from 19 Jul 2026 in “Show HN: Get alerts for good seats at 70mm IMAX showings of The Odyssey”
Other science fiction novels people recommend
The four most recommended other science fiction novels, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Project Hail Maryby Andy Weir | 117 | 24 | 83% | 12 | — | Approved |
| There Is No Antimemetics Divisionby qntm | 98 | 34 | 74% | 9 | 1.5 yrs6 owners | Approved |
| Blindsightby Peter Watts | 96 | 27 | 78% | 12 | — | Approved |
| Duneby Frank Herbert | 82 | 25 | 77% | 12 | — | Approved |
| Dune Messiahby Frank HerbertThis page | 3 | 1 | 75% | 3 | — | — |
What people said
All 4 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“I liked the first three (Dune, Dune Messiah, and Children of Dune) the best”
“despite being hard to read does have lots of action”
“The book is terrible and I've never managed to make it through a second time.”
“Book 1-3 of Dune are masterpieces IMO.”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.