Children of Dune: The 10 Best Characters

It is widely acknowledged that Frank Herbert’s Dune is one of the most influential science fiction novels of all time, casting a long shadow over the genre. The success of Denis Villeneuve’s movie adaptation has boosted the book’s public profile, and some will no doubt remember that the book is but the first in a series.

After the events of Dune Messiah, in which Paul realizes how his revolution has failed, Herbert continued the story in Children of Dune, which features fascinating characters, both those from previous novels and new ones.

10 Leto II

Leto II is the son of Paul and Chani, along with his twin, Ghanima. Unfortunately for Leto, he is also afflicted with his father’s ability to foresee the future, and this creates a prison that he frequently attempts to escape from.

His character represents one of the series’ most pressing philosophical questions: whether it is in fact possible for one human being, no matter how powerful, to change the pathway of humanity’s appointed future. In Leto’s case, his eventual fate, becoming a human-sandworm hybrid, is in its way even more tragic than his father’s.

9 Ghanima

Like her brother, Ghanima has the ability to access the memories of all of her female ancestors (this happens because Chani consumes so much spice during her pregnancy). She is one of the novel’s most important and valuable characters, especially because she remains steadfastly loyal to Leto, staying with him through some truly traumatizing events, including when they are stalked by deadly tigers.

Moreover, she also plays a key role in the path that he sets out for humanity’s future, providing many of the details to its ultimate success.

8 Wensicia

Even though the Emperor Shaddam was deposed at the end of Dune, he was not killed but sentenced to exile with his daughters, including Wensicia. She is the novel’s key villain, but she is also a very compelling character, in that she schemes, quite ruthlessly, to destroy the Atreides twins and return the throne to her own family in the form of her son, Farad’n. Though she has a subtle mind and is a skilled manipulator, she ultimately doesn’t succeed in her efforts, largely because her son slips out of her control.

She was played by Susan Sarandon, in one of her better roles, in the television miniseries.

7 Alia

Paul’s sister Alia is one of the novel’s villains, but she is also something of a tragic figure. Given that she was able to access the memories of her ancestors in the womb, she is susceptible to possession by one of them, and she is in fact taken over by the malevolent power of the Baron Harkonnen (hardly surprising, since he’s one of the most powerful characters in the movie).

However, she proves herself to be a very brave character, in that she takes her own life rather than continuing to let the Baron sow chaos in the universe.

6 Stilgar

Stilgar is without a doubt one of Javier Bardem’s best roles, and he continues to play a key role in the events after Dune. As one of Paul’s most devout followers, he continues to pursue the interests of the Jihad and of Paul’s vision for the universe.

In the series, he demonstrates many of the qualities that made him such a strong character in the original novel and in the movies, staying loyal to the Atreides despite all of the conflicts and danger inherent in doing so.

5 Lady Jessica

If Alia’s story arc in Children of Dune is tragic, the same can be said of Lady Jessica, who must endure the knowledge that her daughter has been possessed and has thus become her enemy.

As she did in Dune, however, Lady Jessica demonstrates that she has a fierce mind, and that she is very flexible and able to adapt to almost any situation that arises. In fact, she proves just how subtle she is by undertaking the education of Farad’n himself, setting the stage for his later rebellion against his mother.

4 Duncan Idaho

In the movie, Duncan Idaho emerges as one of Jason Momoa’s most likable characters, and he is the same in Children of Dune, in which he is a ghola, a clone created from living tissue. He also continues to exhibit the same unshakable loyalty to the Atreides as he always has.

Even though he is Alia’s lover, he decides to sacrifice himself so that the twins can survive, demonstrating once again that this will almost always be the fate of this character and his various iterations.

3 Farad’n

Farad’n is one of the novel’s most captivating characters since he has to bear the weight of his mother’s expectations and the Imperial bloodline. However, he shows repeatedly that he doesn’t always do what others might expect of him, which ultimately leads him to rebel against his mother and her scheming so that he can chart his own path.

He has his own sense of morality and justice, and he ultimately plays a key part in the Atreides bloodline by becoming the mate of Ghanima.

2 The Preacher

At the end of Dune Messiah, Paul walks into the desert, having been blinded in an accident. He returns in this novel, however, in the form of the Preacher, who condemns the new religion that has sprung up about him.

He is arguably the most disturbing character, because he demonstrates just how empty and hollow the epic hero has become as a result of his own actions. His death at the hands of Alia’s soldiers is yet another reminder of the ultimate futility of epic heroism.

1 Gurney Halleck

In the movies, Gurney emerges as one of Josh Brolin’s best characters, and he plays a key role in Children of Dune. Having survived so many of the other crises that have affected the Atreides, he once again shows his loyalty and his value by ensuring that Leto II is kept safe.

Gurney remains one of the best characters in the novel precisely because he always does what he thinks is the best for the family that commands him, even though their actions can sometimes seem strange.

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