I stuck with it because I try to complete most books and I wanted to see if it got better. The story was long and tedious, like what I would expect a sci-fi fan in a writing class to try and pass off as epic merely because they scribbled over a thousand pages. The only character that was somewhat likeable and had a more developed personality died soon after her introduction the other characters were wholly unlikeable. If you like big ideas and can deal with a seriously flawed book, read it. Then, as one of his final ways to wrap up the story, Herbert resorts to the "putting the villian on trial - literally" cliche. In a world where there are tens of thousands of men for every woman, what place does homosexuality take in this new order? Do women become more revered and have more power? Or do they become slaves? And some huge, obvious questions are left basically untouched. Some characters and conversations are so stilted as to literally make you laugh out loud (or cringe, depending on your temper). It is frustrating because the execution and characterization leave much to be desired.
He also manages to show how Ireland is so immersed in its own distant past, and how these plague times will similarly be mythologized, and how that might be both good and bad. It delves even deeper than a typical end-of-the-world story, though, by setting the villian and a few other characters on a long, quiet walk through what's left of Ireland, showing how the plague has warped life. This novel has another great idea, that of a man-made pandemic. Herbert is great at big ideas and thoroughly thinking them through, showing how each and every aspect of life and society might be impacted (see Dune).
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