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Title: House Atreides (Dune: House Trilogy, Book 1) by Brian Herbert, Kevin J. Anderson, Tim Curry, Frank Herbert ISBN: 0-553-52665-0 Publisher: Random House Audio Publishing Group Pub. Date: 05 October, 1999 Format: Audio Cassette Volumes: 6 List Price(USD): $29.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.53 (383 reviews)
Rating: 3
Summary: Just doesn't have the atmosphere.....
Comment: Apparently, Brian chose Kevin J. Anderson to do the Dune Prequel because he did good Star Wars stuff - he seemed very capable at writing stories set in someone else's universe. Unfortunately, the majesty of Dune is not something that others can easily adopt as their own. Frank Herbert focussed on ideas rather than narrative, whereas the prequels seem to do the opposite. Very well written, 'House Atreides' seem to lack a certain epic 'WOW!' that made Dune popular not only in its own time, but a worthy entrant into the history books as a literary classic. Beginners won't understand the references to CHOAM, the guild and the Landsraad, or spice and Arakkis, or the various schools and houses (Ix, Bene Tleilaxu, Bene Gesserit, the Swordmasters, Mentats, etc). Old-hat fans, on the other-hand will be invariably disappointed by the lack of development in such controversial areas as AI and genetic engineering. If you want to get up-to-date on Dune history, great, but don't expect it to be as dark, intelligent and compelling as the originals would suggest.
Rating: 4
Summary: Better than expected
Comment: I can't deny that there things in the story that I feel are not totaly consistent with the original Dune books, but personally, I found this book more readable than the original series. Mr. Herbert and Anderson have a more user-friendly narrative style than Frank Herbert. For those of us weened on Dune, the plot discrepancies may be hard to swallow, but newcomers should find the book very entertaining.
Rating: 2
Summary: If only there were a Ghola Frank Herbert!
Comment: I won't say the Dune "Prequel" Trilogy is entirely without merit. Any of the three books is an entertaining read for a cross-country train trip or a trans-Atlantic flight, like a Tom Clancy novel would be. But most people who know and love the "Dune" chronicles cannot help but be disappointed, even angry, at these pale imitations of the originals. The most striking lesson to be gleaned from these new Dune books is the difference between a truly gifted writer and a hack; between a serious work of imagination and literary skill, and airport lounge pulp fiction.
I won't detail all of the failings of the narrative - the inconsistencies with the original series, the sometimes absurd plot development, the gaping holes and internal inconsistencies in the story. Other reviewers have dealt with these at some length.
My biggest beef with these three books - all of them - is how poorly written they are (especially "House Corinno"). One would have hoped that more of Frank Herbert's literary ability would have found its way into his son's genes than apparently did. (Call the Bene Gesserit, quick! We need a new breeding program here!) The dialogue is often stilted, the character development shallow, and the structure fragmented, episodic and jerky. In contrast to Frank Herbert's elegant, even serene construction, Brian Herbert and Kevin Anderson have unfortunately adopted the hyperactive "jump-around" style so beloved of today's writers of second-rate entertainment fiction.
Most disappointing to me was the shallowness of these new books. Frank Herbert's "Dune" books were books of IDEAS more than books about events and action. A great deal of their narrative was occupied with people's THOUGHTS, at least as much as with their actions. Brian Herbert's & Kevin Anderson's books, by contrast, are almost entirely devoid of thought, ideas or philosophy and are entirely preoccupied with who is doing what. At best, this makes their books entertaining, something with which to while away the hours. But they are simply not in the same league with the original Dune books. For the newcomer to the world of Dune, moving from "House Corinno" to "Dune" will be like moving from Harold Robbins to Steinbeck or Hemmingway.
Reading my way through these three books, I frequently found myself wishing that one of the Tleilaxu had been around when Frank Herbert died, to grow a Ghola Herbert in their axolotl tanks. These prequels might have really been something in the hands of a gifted writer.
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Title: House Corrino (Dune: House Trilogy, Book 3) by Brian Herbert, Kevin J. Anderson, Frank Herbert ISBN: 0553580337 Publisher: Spectra Books Pub. Date: 27 August, 2002 List Price(USD): $7.50 |
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Title: The Machine Crusade (Legends of Dune, Book 2) by Brian Herbert, Kevin J. Anderson ISBN: 076530158X Publisher: Tor Books Pub. Date: 16 September, 2003 List Price(USD): $27.95 |
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Title: The Butlerian Jihad (Legends of Dune, Book 1) by Brian Herbert, Kevin J. Anderson ISBN: 0765340771 Publisher: Tor Books Pub. Date: 02 September, 2003 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
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Title: Chapterhouse Dune (Dune Chronicles, Book 6) by Frank Herbert ISBN: 0441102670 Publisher: ACE Charter Pub. Date: 01 February, 1996 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
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Title: Heretics of Dune (Dune Chronicles, Book 5) by Frank Herbert ISBN: 0441328008 Publisher: ACE Charter Pub. Date: 01 April, 1996 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
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