God Emperor of Dune

More than three thousand years have passed since the events recorded in "Dune" and its sequels. Arrakis - once a barren desert planet - is now a green and hospitable world. The giant sandworms which formerly roamed its surface are gone.<br/><br/>There is only one link between the world and its epic past: the grotesque figure of Leto Atreides, son of the prophet Paul-Muad'Dib, and now the virtually immortal God Emperor of the galaxy. As a child Leto formed a symbiotic relationship with a group of sandtrout (the small larval stage of the sandworm). Over the millenia the symbiosis has brought about a gradual metamorphosis into a creature half-human, half-sandworm: seven metres long, weighing five tons, Leto's only recognisably human features are his face and arms.<br/><br/>Leto is a tyrannical ruler, secure in his fortress on Arrakis because he holds the only store of the spice melange, which confers longevity and is vital for deep-space navigation. Melange was a by-product of the sandworms life-cycle, and no method of synthesis has been discovered. The dwindling supply is of incalculable value. But Leto is an autocrat with a stange purpose. Like his father, he has prescient vision, and foresees an end to human evolution unless he can breed new qualities into the species. The ultimate test of those qualities will be the ability to outwit Leto despite his clairvoyance and overthrow him. He can only achieve his final victory by bringing about his own downfall.<br/><br/>"God Emperor of Dune" is a triumphantly unexpected addition to the world-famous "Dune" saga. Frank Herbert once again reveals his tremendous powers of imagination in a colourful and gripping novel which will delight his millions of admirers.<br/><br/>Cover illustration by Bruce Pennington.