People who love to go on and on about Dune will often love to remind casual fans (or just straight-up non-fans) that the ultimate message of Frank Herbert’s novels is that heroes are dangerous and, often bad. Herbert said similar things, throughout his life, including the idea that he distrusted “charismatic leaders.” In 2021, director Denis Villeneuve echoed this notion, saying, "I think Herbert wrote it as a warning, [against] leaders that pretend to know what will happen, who pretend to know the truth, who might be lacking humility.” So, all of Dune, even the first novel, is an antihero’s journey. Mostly. But just in case anyone was confused, in 1981, Frank Herbert dropped the book that made things much clearer — by making everything way more confusing.
