Set thousands of years after the earlier books, God Emperor of Dune presents a universe ruled by a single immortal-seeming tyrant, Leto II. His long reign has brought peace of a kind, but at a heavy price in freedom and human initiative.
The novel is slow, philosophical and strange, built around his thoughts and his dealings with those who serve or resist him. It asks whether security is worth stagnation, and what a ruler owes to the people he governs. It is one of the most debated books in the series.