Leto I is Paul’s father.
Leto II becomes Guldur/Tyrant/God Emperor
Leto III is Paul’s first child, killed in infancy.
One of Herbert’s indexes gives the rationale for Leto III dying due to the time not being right for his coming or his spirit not fully descending from heaven.
How does one pronounce Ix? Isn’t Ix the name given to Wallach IX (at least that’s the impression i was under after reading dune messiah) where IX is the roman numeral for nine? Are they Nine-ians or Icks-ians?
Icks.
IIRC most folks aren’t even aware Ix was originally something 9.
Does it give the rationale for Leto III coming before Leto II?
Actually, it does. IIRC though Leto III is born before Leto II, he’s just a historical footnote. Being of little importance, he gets stuck in line after the God Emperor.
Right, then.
Guess what it’s time for me to re-read?
Actually, that’s probably not a bad idea, considering I was a teenager the last time I read the series. I’m older and SO much wiser now, don’t you think…?
I don’t remember indexes. Are these in the back of Dune?
The big trouble for me was that I was pretty young when I read the Dune books, and I thought the main characters were supposed to be “good guys”. No Paul and his mom and the Fremen aren’t good guys. Paul is a feudal aristocrat, playing feudal aristocrat games. He isn’t a sympathetic character, if he existed in real life my response on meeting him would be to run away as fast as possible.
Wallach IX is the home planet of the Bene Gesserit (it’s house is the BG chapterhouse) and is in a different star system than the one that contains Ix. As you know, Ix is comprised of a race of people who deny the proscriptions of the Butlerian Jihad and use thinking machines. Ix also constructs the starships that the Spacing Guild uses to travel from planet to planet.
I never liked nor understood the Bene Tielax, but lord knows Herbert had a thing for them. Ugh. I also have had a hard time getting around the timescales in the Dune Chronicles - you first have 3 books that take place over, what, 4-25 years? Then book 4 skips 3,000 years and takes place over a vague period of time that could be months or years (I think it was months). Book 5 is quite a while after book 4 and picks up the series for a few more years, until the overall story was ended prematurely by Herbert’s death in book 6.
Word has it that Brian Anderson and Herberts kid are working on the final story to Dune (the conclusion to Chapterhouse: Dune, taking the story “from Dad’s notes.” That sound you are hearing in the background are the monkeys and typewriters that are cranking that sucker out! 
I’ve always pronounced planet as Icks and the people and Ickians. Why I drop that last “s” I don’t know, but that’s what I do.
Previewed or not? You make the call! :rolleyes:
In the Lynch movie version, the Guild Navagator makes a brief reference to having just come from the machine planet Ix.
I think he pronounces it Icks.
I always pronounced it “Icksians”
::falls over:: too… many… responses… ::thud::
Thanks for all the information, everyone… ^^ though there seems to be enough conflicting reactions that I think that as a result, I’ll at least -attempt- to start watching each version of the movies/series as I can get ahold of them, and I definitely do want to read the rest of the books, at least the Frank Herbert ones.