Twelve years after the events of Dune, Paul Atreides rules as Emperor of the Known Universe - but the jihad fought in his name has killed sixty-one billion people across hundreds of planets. Dune Messiah is the bitter second act that Dune's triumph demanded: a story about the terrible cost of fulfilling a messianic destiny. Paul is trapped between his prescient knowledge of the future, the conspiracies of enemies who want him destroyed, and the growing realisation that the religious fervour he unleashed cannot be controlled. Shorter and more introspective than its predecessor, Dune Messiah dismantles the hero it spent the first novel building, challenging readers who wanted Paul to simply be a saviour.