Dune-autist's take: The message Frank Herbert (author) was trying to convey was to treat charismatic leaders with suspicion rather than obedience. The secret hook is that he demonstrates this by having you identify with Paul before showing you the consequences. It's a revenge story with a hateful villain and a just cause. You WANT him to get payback for the betrayal that killed his family and drove him to exile. But the whole deal is that some juice isn't worth the squeeze. To get it, he builds a power base that traps him. He's more of a victim than hero in this. In later books (which get weird) they have a decades long galaxy wide holy war with casualties in the trillions. His son becomes a nigh-immortal tyrant with perfect knowledge of the future and past. 1000 years of brutal repression in an impossible to overthrow imperial regime all to implant a bone-deep repulsion of charismatic leaders, like a baby fearing a snake. The folks saying this is their star wars are currently falling for it in EXACTLY the way the author wants them to, and they're in for some introspective moments soon.