Rating: 
Summary: It's a start...
Review: When I first read the original Dune novels, I was amazed by the intracacies of the plot lines as well as the deep, almost mythical portent of Frank Herbert's words. The newer Dune novels do not recreate this. The plots seem fractured, as every short chapter changes plot lines like a movie cutting between scenes. The political intrigue present in even the "House" prequels is not manifest. Having said that, they are rather entertaining to read. The introduction of thinking machines and cymeks (machines with human brains) is a new and exciting direction for Dune. Humans and machines are fighting a great war for survival. A robot philosopher tries to understand the very essence of humanity itself. Xavier Harkonnen and Vorian Atreides meet for the first time. Both share a love for the same woman, hinting at the blood feud that will last for 10,000 years. Young Selim is cast into the deserts of Arrakis, where he learns to utilize and revere the great sandworm. Serena Butler is imprisoned on the conquered planet Earth, where she will spark the bloody revolt that changes the universe forever. There are several more plot lines in the novel (around 10 total, I think), and the dust jacket hints at more to come in the next novel. The Jihad has begun, but a war remains to be fought. The Butlerian Jihad is just a beginning, introducing plots and characters for the rest of the trilogy, but it is a worthwhile beginning to any reader curious about the origins of the Dune universe seen in later books.
Rating: 
Summary: Pretty Bad
Review: I'm reading this book adn I'm very letdown. First off I became a huge fan fo Franki H's original DUNE stories and while I felt the sequels just weren't as good, I still feel the original is one of the most entertaining books ever written.
Then Brian Herbert and Kevin Anderson wrote a preuel trilogy and I loved it. They certainly weren't as intelligent as the original DUNE ... they had a quick and fun pace, plus it featured all my favorite DUNE characters in amore personal detail. I love stories where characters are predominant and I feel story is secondary. If you have great characters than the story dosen't need to be a classic to be good. And the DUNE PREQUELS had the advantage fo having great villians and just letting them go all. Nothing was more fun than spending time with these dark vicious villians and fun heroes.
Sady BUTLERLAIN JIHAD [falls short]... the characters are dull! the robots are uninteresting. the only thing that kept me reading was this one perverse robot named Erasmus. He is a sick nasty little bugger who gives the book gleeful qualities. ...
Rating:
Summary: This is a disgrace to Dune Novels
Review: I'm a 13 year old Dune fan, and I love the world of Dune, the Spice, the plots, the imagination. Butlerian Jihad is a disgrace. The plot of the Butlerian Jihad is awful and not interesting. I hate the theme about robots are conquering the world. Dialogue is very boring and uninteresting. Writing style is awful. Not worth it reading. Worst DUne book yet. A bomb to all DUne novels, you will get bored of it after a while.
Rating: 
Summary: These books insult the classics from Frank Herbert
Review: I painfully finished the first two books of these prequels, they were among the worst books I have ever read. Save your money and look for something worthwhile to read.
Rating: 
Summary: Best of the KJA and BH Dune Novels
Review: This book rocked. I liked it alot. There were familiar elements and it sets up the beginning of the Fremen riding worms, mining the spice, the end of the machine age-and why it had to end-brings House Harkonen and Atreides together before they were houses. The beginning of the Spacing Guild and BG should be interesting as well. I am looking forward to this series. The writing is not as good as Frank Herbert and somewhat space opery, but reasonably well written, readable and enjoyable. It worked for me largely because it takes place so much before the Dune series Frank Herbert wrote it seems like the inconsistancies which were rampant in the prequel series will not be obvious in this trilogy.
Rating:
Summary: Sad [editing] work...where was the editor
Review: Like many readers I've enjoyed the Dune universe and the truly unique future history Frank Herbert created. Like others who've reviewed this book I read the early prequels; House Harkonnen, House Atriedes and House Corrino. They were fairly typical soap opera, but not horrible bus reads. They also fleshed out the story that lead up to Dune fairly well. The Butlerian Jihad is truly awful however. ... ... The characters are like cardboard cutouts. The dialogue is unbelievably bad. I had to put the book aside several times just because parts were so laughably bad. I can't recommend this book. ... ...
Rating:
Summary: A Good Distraction
Review: I couldn't ask for anything better. Every year in October a new Dune book and every January a warm beach to lay down on and read these novels. while these books are nowhere near as complex and philososphical as the original series, they are solid books an their own. They transport you to another time and expose to you to new worlds. The authors do an excellent job in developing the characters we have grown to love (and hate).I recommend this book without reservations
Rating:
Summary: Good overall book
Review: The beginning was pretty well done in this book, however towards the center and especially the ending, were somwhat dissapointing. All of the events relating with the older books are spaced too closely. And the whole thing seemed to be a bit rushed. The characters also were too shallow. But it was a good read, i enjoyed.
Rating:
Summary: I wish they allowed zero stars.
Review: I bought the first book Frank Herberts son wrote, and for some reason I bought the next 3. They are all horrible, and I shan't spend another cent on this series or anything else this man ever rights.
Rating:
Summary: Rushed
Review: By the book's end its early promise was lost. Subplots were overly contrived and ill-conceived. For instance, the marriage in couple of months? Come on! Characters would think the same paragraph to themselves throughout the book, much like Batman continually recounting the murder of his parents. About mid-way through, extraneous passages began to appear. I wondered if the authors had argued and mentally thrown in the towel. Compelled to finish, I was left dissapointed.
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