Dune Messiah was a pretty good sequel but I felt it should have been longer

A few weeks after I finished Dune by Frank Herbert, one of my favourite narratives ever, I picked up and finished Dune Messiah in 5 days. It was not close to the level of greatness of the first book, but still very good nonetheless and it was an exciting, enjoyable read. Set 12 years after the end of Dune, Messiah focuses on how Paul Atreides runs, or tries to run, his empire. Billions have perished in this galactic jihad that his Fremen have taken upon themselves to wage, with little to no control from the