Rating: 
Summary: A fun and light read, but by no means stupid
Review: I've enjoyed this book for many reasons, and one of them has been precisely what one of the other reviewers here has seen as a bad thing - the relative simplicity of the plots compared to the original Dune books. One of the great things about this book (and why it works so well as a prequel - the comparison to the Phantom Menace is insulting), is that a newcomer to Dune can follow it easily, and slowly get drawn into this universe. Indeed, the original Dune novels, while of course great because of their own many merits, certainly can't be considered suitable for "beginners" to science fiction. The plots often are overly tangled, and the amounts of exposition can be very excessive. Not so with this book. While it is a fun and easy read, it's not "dumb". It is true that a number of science fiction cliches abound throughout the book. But the characters (at least the important ones) are not one-dimensional. It is only natural that many things that were so complex and mysterious in the Dune novels, like the Bene Gesserit siterhood, would start out simply. After all, everything starts small and gets big and complicated later. Another way to look at it is, if some of the characters seem overly good or overly evil, it is, after all, expected that people whos legends would supposedly last for ten thousand years would have somewhat extreme personalities. For fans of Dune novels, and even for those casually acquainted with the Dune universe, it will be fun to discover how it all started. Of course, if you're one of those people who cracks open the covers having already decided what you, the supreme expert, think it should all have started out like, don't bother spending your money. But if you're open minded and would like a lighter read than the usual Dune novels, this is for you. One complaint I have is that some of the plot devices feel a bit forced in there, no doubt in the effort to answer all the questions that the original Dune novels posed. Considering that burden though, the authors did a great job. The other complaint I have is that at the very end of the novel, some of the characters seem to discard their emotions far too easily (in the interest of the proverbial "greater good"), considering how much they hung on to them for most of the book. You'll see what I mean if you read the book. But that's a minor annoyance, and combined with the other, only takes away one star in my opinion. Looking forward to the sequels.
Rating: 
Summary: Wait for the paperback...
Review: Despite what you've read elsewhere, this book doesn't answer any of the questions that you might expect. The only real item from this era covered thorougly in this book is Holtzmann, and he comes across as a standard scientist character (see other reviews). The beginnings of the Sisterhood are hinted at, folding space is touched on, the origins of the Bene Theliax are explored a bit. And that's about it. The whole book spends its time setting up things, but not explaining anything. Yeah, there's a backstory of the Jihad itself but that's not why Dune fans bought the book. The Mentats aren't brought out, the use of Melange by the Sisterhood isn't explored (they shun drugs at this point), the Harkkonen betrayal, the Guild, the final extermination of the computer minds, and many other things are all left up in the air... ...for a sequel.
Rating:
Summary: The Butlerian Jihad: Different But Good
Review: Of course The Butlerian Jihad is a must read for Dune fans.
The style of the book is similar to the previous trilogy written by Brian Herbert and Kevin Anderson - there are numerous story lines within the novel and each chapter switches between these story lines... one chapter focuses on Xavier Harkonnen, the next focuses on Vorian Atreides, the next on the "soon to be" Bene Gesserit, the next on the origins of the Fremen, etc. This style of writing (along with the short chapter lengths) helps to move the story along quickly. 600+ pages go fast, sometimes to fast - at times lacking the detail that made the original Dune so amazing (character development and especially scenery).
The story does take a while to get used to... it's weird to hear all this talk of robots in a Dune novel (even if you're aware of what the "Butlerian Jihad" is prior to picking up the book), but once you learn the enormous amount of new character names, the novel flows pretty well. The last 100 pages move really fast (each page is a "page turner"), and overall it's fascinating to see the origins of things like worm riding and spice addiction, even if some of the philosophical and political undertones present in the original Dune series (first 6 books) are missing.
For a none-Dune fan the novel might get 2 stars. For a Dune fan, the novel would probably warrant 3-4 stars. I'm looking forward to the next one...
Rating: 
Summary: The Magic and Mystery continue
Review: A must have and read. The now essential book to the Dune universe. If you want to know what the Honored Mates are running from in Hereics and Chapterhouse. You need to read this book, you will figure out what it is if your are a true DUNE fan and historian. BH and KJA were awesome. They took us back 10,000 years and still maintained the nostaglia of this wonderful universe. As of now you can only imagine of what the ART/HAR rivaly began beacause you will see a small beginning of it here. We will lose a peace of our humanity in this part of our history, but it will be a wake up call to the Machines. Must read this is, I can tell you waiting till Sept of 2003 for Crusade of the Machines is too long for me, I need it now, and so will you after reading it.
Rating:
Summary: Butlerian Jihad: The First 100 Pages...
Review: I know what you're thinking: why a review at 100 pages, and why five stars so soon? Well, if you're a fan of the Dune universe, you know you want to read this anyway, and if the three previous books are any indication, you won't be disappointed, so let's not beat about the bush. This book grabbed me at 100 pages, and thus I feel confident of its ability to enthrall me further. It is the first in the series designed to fill in the years even before "House Atreides," the years the original Dune series constantly refers to but leaves tantalizingly unexplained. I won't spoil anything, but you will see the genesis of many institutions in the original series. Also, some characters that I have ached to know more about are given dimension here. Indeed, this is a novel made of origins and beginnings. Beginnings are such delicate times, and Herbert and Anderson handle them adroitly. On another point, in the first 100 pages of "The Butlerian Jihad," Herbert and Anderson have truly found their own authorial voices in the Dune style. Whereas the first novels had a definite "imitating the master" feel, this novel's tone and style are noticeably different when compared to "House Atreides"; like evolving musicians, they have learned to play the Dune universe with their own flavor. In short, they are fulfilling the sci-fi legacy left by Frank Herbert to my satisfaction. Pick it up, and see how they envision how it all begins.
Rating: 
Summary: What can you do when it's Dune?
Review: People should buy this book because it's a Dune book and you might as well read it to keep up-to-date on the Dune Universe. However, after reading this book for the first time, I must say that I was pretty disappointed, and not even judging it by Frank Herbert's series, but by the other Dune prequels (Harkonnen, Atreides, Corrino). 1) The characters were very uninteresting because their motivations were pretty simplistic and not very novel/unique. These characters were like out of a video game or like a comic book (i.e. shallow). For example, the Sorceresses of Rossak are written so that they seem more like the X-Men as opposed to the precursors to the Bene Gesserit. 2) The events that occur are pretty linear and straightforward, none of Frank Herbert's intriguing wheels-within-wheels plot developments that makes Dune thought-provoking. Even events of significance (Holtmann's discoveries, Earth's destruction) are written based on generic characters (e.g. typical mad scientist behavior/the easiest way to win is more firepower).... --This text refers to the Hardcover edition
Rating: 
Summary: "Return of the Jedi" uuupps We meant "The Butlerian Jihad"
Review: Brian Herbert and Kevin Anderson's newest spinoff of Frank Herberts masterpiece of imagination can only be labelled "Very disappointing".
As a great fan of the original six Dune novels I harboured great reservations when I read about Brian Herbert and Kevin Andersons prequels to Dune project, and my worst fears were justified. The Dune prequels were not up to anything resembling old Herberts novells. The fact that they were written in a prose and style entirely different from Herberts original novels were not neccessarily a bad thing. After all, Frank Herberts prose is difficult to emulate and it also had its weaknesses, often being obscure and confusing. Brian Herbert and Kevin Anderson wrote the prequels in their own style...ok fine, but unfortunately it was quite clear from the beginning that the audiens they targetted their novels for were different from Frank Herberts. Theirs was clearly an audiens of teenage readers and this certainly affected the whole prequel stories, characters and dialogues, and not for the better. The prequels were clearly inferior to the original Dune books, but at least there were some occasional highpoints. The Butlerian Jihad, however has none of these. It is written in a childish prose, which is ripe with total misconceptions
of the Duniverse. It is unfortunately very, very apparent that Kevin Anderson has done his trade earlier, by writing spinoffs of George Lucas Star Wars universe. The Butlerian Jihad's is brimming with Star Wars concepts. The Sorceress of Rossak and The Bene Gesserit in the prequels are clearly influenced by Jedi and the force, and bear no resemblance to the originals described by Frank Herbert. The characters and their motives are totally cliche and the dialogue even more so. Herberts and Andersons understanding of Artifical Intelligence and their description of "Thinking Machines" are so ridiculous and "droidlike" as to be absurd. After reading "The Butlerian Jihad" one can only come to the conclusion that the authors has used a computer program which is capable of automatically generating a Science Fiction story from a few preset parameters, a program earlier being used for Star Wars stories. Replace all jedi with Sorceress of Rossak, replace all Bantas with Sandworms, replace Tattoine with Arrakis, etc.
It is true what they say, Hollywood can rewritte even the best book/manus into crap and the big entertainment medias and publishers can ruin the best ideas. Brian Herbert and Andersons works seems more to be based on the desire for cold cash by ridding on a wave of Dune popularity, than by genuine respect for Frank Herberts original works. Even if you liked the prequels (and if you are a true Dune fan you most likely did'nt) you will probably be disappointed by The Butlerian Jihad. Read some decent Science Fiction instead...Read Old Herberts books, Haldeman, Asimov, Ian M. Banks, Kim Stanley Robinsson, Arthur C. Clarke, Peter F. Hamilton or a lot of other "great" authors, but avoid this juvenile nonsense.
Rating:
Summary: Worth reading just because it's part of the Dune universe
Review: Setting high expectations for any prequel to one of the legendary books of science fiction is a formula for dissapointment. Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson made an excellent attempt with the "House" prequels. While not filled with the same intrigue and depth of thought or character as the original Dune series, the "House" trilogy had a page-turning energy similar to a Michael Crichton book. The natural follow-up would be to go further into the past and see the beginnings of the Dune universe. As a stand-alone novel, The Butlerian Jihad is unimpressive. The human characters are driven my somewhat unbelievable ambitions, and the mechanical characters are sometimes downright silly. However this book is worth reading simply because it provides more storyline for those interested in the world of Dune. There are a few nice twists that show how history doesn't always provide an accurate record of what happened. I recommend this book simply because it is part of the Dune universe. As long as you don't expect to be blown away by the prose, it's a worthwhile read.
Rating:
Summary: Amazing: a prequel that I enjoyed more than the original!
Review: When I bought "The Butlerian Jihad", I was expecting something in the line of the trilogy "Dune: House [Atreides,Harkonnen,Corrino]", also by Brian Herberth and Kevin Anderson: a somewhat descriptive book, with mild action and weak plots, which only value was to show in detail places of the Dune Universe that you whished to see but were not in the original Frank Herberth's works. I was wrong. "The Buttlerian Jihad" has a strong, epic plot that draws all the attention of the reader - it is a book that will take away hours of sleep because you can't put it down. The characters at first sound bidimensional, but as the story grows you start feeling their emotions as you own, and by the end of the book some chapters even made me shed some tears, which is an effect that few books had in all my life. Not surprisingly in a book that obviously uses elements of Shakespearean and Greek tragedies, playing with archetypes - some of them kind of new, like the Man-Machine dicotomy - deeply rooted in most people's minds. The portrayal of a "pre-Dune" universe is brilliant, and relays heavily in vintage science fiction elements that give a delicious quaint, retro flavor to the story. And, most amazingly, the freedom to write a tale that Frank Herberth only mentioned in the vaguest terms made it possible to produce a book that can be read in a way completely independent from the original series, and still be enjoyed. In fact, the explanations of how some thing s of the Dune universe came to be are not the most interesting parts of the book: I would indeed *recomend* newbies to read it as a separate work.
Rating:
Summary: Much better than critics allow
Review: I have not read the original "Dune" yet. I intend to read them all in chronological order, thus, this book is first in the timeline. I was not burdened with the notion of a "letdown" and enjoyed it as interesting space opera that's clearly setting the reader up with many characters, planets, and plot directions. I feel fortunate that I haven't the preconceived notions of the original Dune readers who can't accept the Anderson/Herbert book(s).
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