Paul of Dune
Kevin J. Anderson
 The book is divided into seven sections, which alternate between Paul Atreides's youth before the events portrayed in Dune, and the early period of his Fremen jihad between Dune and Dune Messiah. Twelve-year-old Paul resides on the planet Caladan with his parents, Duke Leto Atreides and his Bene Gesserit concubine Lady Jessica. House Ecaz of Ecaz and House Moritani of Grumman are embroiled in a generations-long feud, and an Atreides-Ecazi alliance is set to be formalized by Leto's marriage to the Archduke Armand Ecaz's daughter Illesa. At the wedding, Leto and his family escape an assassination attempt, but Armand is injured and Illesa is killed. Leto and Armand lead a retaliatory attack on Grumman, not realizing that the Moritani forces have been supplemented by troops from House Harkonnen, sworn enemies of the Atreides. The Padishah Emperor's Sardaukar warriors also arrive to prevent full-scale war. Viscount Hundro Moritani has planned this entire offensive as a means to assemble the Ecazi, Atreides, and Imperial forces and annihilate them with a doomsday device; the plot fails as Moritani's Swordmaster Hiih Resser disables the weapon. After the fall of Padishah Emperor Shaddam Corrino IV and Paul's ascension to the Imperial throne, Paul's Fremen forces are engaged on multiple fronts, fighting the Houses that refuse to recognize Atreides rule. The Fremen finally capture Kaitain, the former Imperial capital and homeplanet of House Corrino. Paul levels Shaddam's fortress, which he hopes will send a message to the other dissident Houses. He invites Whitmore Bludd, a former Swordmaster of House Ecaz and a friend to Paul's former mentor Duncan Idaho, to help him construct on Arrakis the grandest citadel the universe has ever seen. Meanwhile, Earl Thorvald, the nobleman heading the rebel forces, is being chased across the galaxy by Fremen naib Stilgar and Paul's Fedaykin commandos. Elsewhere, Shaddam's former minion the exiled Count Fenring and his Bene Gesserit wife Margot are raising their daughter Marie on Tleilax, training her as a weapon against the Atreides. The savage brutality of the Fremen pushes more noble Houses into alliances with Thorvald. Bludd is executed after trying to assassinate Paul and make his mark in history. Growing more callous and savage as the years pass, Paul ultimately orders the complete annihilation of Thorvald's home planet after he learns that the rebel is planning an attack against Caladan. Marie attempts to assassinate Paul but is killed by Paul's young sister Alia; a distraught Fenring manages to stab Paul mortally. Saved by an overdose of the drug melange, Paul arises and banishes the Fenrings to live out their days with Shaddam, whom they now loathe.