God Emperor of Dune by Frank Herbert is the fourth novel in the acclaimed Dune series and takes place more than 3,000 years after the events of the original Dune. Leto Atreides II, son of Paul Muad’Dib, has transformed himself into a human-sandworm hybrid and has ruled the universe as an almost immortal God Emperor for 3,500 years. His authoritarian rule is intended to secure humanity’s long-term survival through a future he calls the “Golden Path.” As rebellion grows against Leto, particularly through Siona Atreides, the novel explores the enormous cost of preserving civilization and the conflict between freedom and security. Combining political intrigue, ecology, religion, philosophy, power, prophecy, and questions about humanity’s future, the book is one of the most philosophically focused entries in the Dune saga.