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Title: House Harkonnen (Dune: House Trilogy, Book 2) by Kevin Anderson, Brian Herbert ISBN: 0-553-58030-2 Publisher: Bantam Pub. Date: 28 August, 2001 Format: Mass Market Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $7.50 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.34 (149 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: So Brian's not Frank. Read this one, too.
Comment: I came into this series with a lot of preconceptions that these would not be worthy successors to the originals. And they aren't. But after a second reading, I realized they're not supposed to. "House Harkonnen" is a prequel, not a sequel. It's supposed to "fill in the blanks" of what happened before the greatest book in science fiction history. NO book can ever hope to live up to that kind of hype. But I believe Brian and Kevin do a masterful job of setting up things that we =know= are going to happen in later books without killing the suspense. Now they've started to explore the new storylines they created, and they do a good job. I, for one, can't wait to see "House Corrino". So Brian's not Frank. But he's working from Frank's notes, with the aid of an author who is used to working in other people's universes. If you like "Dune" give this series a chance. I believe if you come into it with an open mind, you'll find it almost as entertaining as the original.
Rating: 4
Summary: An improvement, but still probably only for Dune fanatics
Comment: My opinion of House Harkonnen is very similar to my opinion of House Atreides (see my review there). Like its predecessor, House Harkonnen is slow and has too many plot threads. Some of the most interesting ones (the fate of House Vernius; Abulurd Harkonnen's fight with his half-brother) are muffled in the huge number of stories being told -- we see Gurney Hallack and Duncan Idaho growing up, Duke Leto and Lady Jessica coming together, the birth of Feyd-Ruatha, etc. And like House Atreides, this book suffers from our knowledge of the future (spoiler warning) -- we know Leto, Gurney and Duncan aren't going to die and that Shaddam IV will still be emperor in the future.
Still, it's a decent read -- especially for Dune fanatics like myself. It fills in the history of the Imperium. And the fight between the Tleilaxu and Vernius; between the Grumman and Ecaz -- are interesting. In fact, the book might have been better had it focused entirely on these conflicts -- with Leto and the others serving merely as secondary characters.
The narrative style is improved and the higher rating I give this book is mainly due to the incredible villainy we get to see in House Harkonnen. This actually *improves* your appreciation of Dune. (Spoiler warning again). You smile knowing these monster will eventually get what's coming to them.
And, of course, I'm buying the next book -- which tells my real opinion of this one (3.5 stars).
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: The Butlerian Jihad (Dune Series) by Kevin J. Anderson, Brian Herbert ISBN: 0765340771 Publisher: Tor Books Pub. Date: 02 September, 2003 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
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Title: The Machine Crusade (Dune Series) 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: Chapterhouse Dune (Dune Chronicles, Book 6) by Frank Herbert ISBN: 0441102670 Publisher: Ace Books Pub. Date: 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 Books Pub. Date: April, 1996 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
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Title: God Emperor of Dune (Dune Chronicles, Book 4) by Frank Herbert ISBN: 0441294677 Publisher: Ace Books Pub. Date: April, 1991 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
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