What a fool I was, to believe that the three Dune books would worldbuild us organically to Leto's infamous transformation. Thematically, it's inevitable, but I miss the relatively-grounded ecology laid down in the first book. Still, if you've made it past Messiah, you're probably good with reading for the political philosophy first and all else second. Children is as nutritious as Messiah in that regard, following the Golden Path ideology through to one terrible, fascinating conclusion.

Characters taking a backseat to the philosophy doesn't meant they're bad either - Jessica remains uncomfortably relatable; Alia, the kind of train-wreck you can't look away from, and the twins' bond has its touching moments. You feel for their sacrificed childhood.

Paul

is the only member of the cast whose plight is tragic enough to full break me out of trying-to-absorb-a-lecture mode though. Poor guy. 

The same could be said for the plot, or at least, I think so. Sometimes, it was a thrill to get a peek behind the curtain at the vast web of political schemes interacting with the pressure of their society's momentum. Sometimes, I gave up trying to understand what everyone was doing and why.

As for the star of the show, the politics philosophy, you can look forward to include: whether the ends justify the means when those ends involve atrocities, Bene Gesserit teachings on how to keep a large populace in line, whether the symbolism and mystique of a culture helps or hinders its ability to survive, corruption, societal stagnation, and the importance of taking a wide-angle approach to important decisions. Herbert also continues to explore the price of precognition, fate, and the value of uncertainty.

Definitely a book to make you think about who's steering the ship and just how much they control the waves. I only rate it slightly lower than the previous two because I preferred the characters in those.

Really not a fan of the ending line being about how Leto was always stronger than Ghanima though. Nothing in the text suggested that and I would have thought the state of Leto at the end of the book renders the question of which twin is stronger moot. Wish I could understand why Herbert found that sentiment important enough to end on.