God Emperor of Dune

Thirty-five hundred years after Children of Dune, Leto Atreides II still rules the galaxy — but he is no longer entirely human. His long metamorphosis has transformed him into a vast sandworm-human hybrid, a near-immortal tyrant known as the God Emperor. From his stronghold on a now-green Arrakis, he enforces a rigid peace across a stagnant empire, guided by the ruthless logic of his Golden Path.

His absolute control has bred both worship and rebellion. A new Duncan Idaho ghola, the descendants of old bloodlines, and a fierce young woman named Siona test the limits of Leto's design, while the God Emperor pursues a plan for humanity's ultimate survival that only he can see and that requires his own tyranny as its instrument.

The fourth Dune novel is Frank Herbert's most philosophical, a meditation on power, freedom, evolution, and the long arc of history. It marks a dramatic leap forward in the saga's timeline and its ideas.