Heretics ends at a cliffhanger . ChapterHouse does as well but it ' s cleaner and ties up a lot of Heretics as it immediately follows . The next two are Brian books , Hunters and Sandworms . They finish off the series but Brian books are very different . Further , you really need to read some of the Brian prequels , particularly the three Butlerian Jihad books prior to Hunters and Sandworms understand how Sandworms finishes . There are other bits that draw on Paul and Winds and even the three House books . Not enough to worry about . Honestly , as weird a turn as Heretics and Chapterhouse take things , that ' s a satisfying place to end . There is much drek is Hunters and Sandworms . I have read them all over the years , partially just to complete the set . I won ' t tell you not to read them , but it ' s like a television show you dearly love that runs a season too long with halfbaked scripts , replacement actors that don ' t carry the roles and the annoying kid cousin that suddenly appears . Think of Babylon 5 , Stargate SG 1 , Mork and Mindy , the Dukes of Hazzard , or the Brady Bunch . !