Dune Messiah by Herbert, Frank - 1969

New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1969 First edition, first printing. Publisher's brown boards with title in black; red dust jacket with front panel illustration by Jack Gaughan, and photo on rear panel of Frank Herbert taken by George Westbeau. Fine book with wrinkle to foot of spine; about near fine price-clipped dust jacket with some wear to spine ends and corners, and some tiny spots to rear panel. Overall, a beautiful copy. Dune Messiah continues the story of Paul "Muad'Dib" Atreides, who now rules as emperor of the known universe. Things have taken a dark turn, as his fanatical supporters, the Fremen, wage a devastating intergalactic religious war. Faced with mounting political threats against him, Atreides must try to save himself and the empire, all while protecting his lover and unborn child. Dune Messiah is the first of five sequels to Dune, the bestselling science fiction novel of all time. The incredibly ambitious and imaginative series explores a wide range of subjects, including environmentalism, politics, and mysticism, and has had a profound influence on the science fiction genre, perhaps most notably as a precursor to Star Wars. Frank Herbert described the first trilogy of Dune books as an "ecological fugue" - the first book, Dune, introducing a primary theme, and Dune Messiah performing an inversion of that theme, which explains the latter book's bleak tone. . First Edition. Hard Cover. Near Fine/Dust Jacket Included.