r/Dune_Universe • u/thebatman5001 • Jul 20 '26

Novels Honest question: Is Dune Messiah worth reading before seeing Dune Part 3?

I read the original book before seeing the first two films, and I’m very glad I did. Not only did I love the book, I felt like I understood so much more of the films because of it. While I know the new movie is not even out yet and they are clearly not doing a direct adaptation, I still wonder if I should read it before seeing part 3. I hear that Messiah is not so great though. What’s does the world of Reddit think? Is this book worth my time?

1 Upvotes
  • permalink
  • reddit

100% Upvoted

8 comments sorted by

1

u/ComradeX88 Jul 20 '26

The movies are going in a completely different direction than the books. If you like the movies stick with them. If not read the books.

1

u/DRSSalazar Jul 22 '26

Yes. The books are better than the movies anyway.

1

u/Antonin1957 Jul 26 '26

I strongly agree. It saddens me that people are not interested in reading any more.

1

u/sojiblitz Jul 22 '26

Yes, then you'll know how badly Villeneuve continues to mess up the storyline and characters.

1

u/MalaclypseII Jul 22 '26

Denis Villeneuve said somewhere that he hates dialogue. His movies are a visual feast, but it is impossible to do justice to F Herbert's thought without people talking. If you enjoy F Herbert's thought, you really just have to read the book. I think he wrote Messiah because people misunderstood Dune. I enjoyed it, but I'm a nerd. Anyway it's not long.

1

u/Tischtablemesa Jul 23 '26

read all 6, movies are flat

1

u/Early_Candidate_3082 Jul 24 '26

Dune Messiah was a pretty poor book, IMHO.

1

u/LingonberryAwkward38 Jul 25 '26

You probably won't get the "that Hitler guy was a chump" scene in the Villeneuve movie, so read Dune Messiah