Heretics of Dune by Frank Herbert is the fifth novel in the Dune Chronicles, set approximately 1,500 years after the death of God Emperor Leto II. Humanity has spread across the universe during the great Scattering, while the planet Arrakis—now known as Rakis—has returned to a harsh desert environment and its sandworms are beginning to die. As people from the Scattering return, new powers and threats emerge, particularly the mysterious and violent Honored Matres. Meanwhile, the Bene Gesserit, Bene Tleilax, and other factions struggle for control of the future, while a young girl named Sheeana gains the extraordinary ability to control the giant sandworms. The novel explores power, religion, ecology, evolution, sexuality, political manipulation, survival, and the consequences of humanity's long-term struggle for control.