The Machine Crusade (Dune Series)

Rating:
Summary: Another "Dune" novel enjoyed!
Review: I am a big fan of Frank Herbert and his Dune series and was pleased to learn a few years ago of the efforts of his son, Brian Herbert, and Kevin J Anderson to flesh out much of the untapped material left by his death. I knew however I would have to take these books on their own merit.

The Machine Crusade is one of those books. The second in the "Legends of Dune" series chronicling the great struggle in which humans throw off the bonds of slavery from their machine masters pics up twenty-four years after volujme one, The Butlerian Jihad, at a frightful pace. One which never slackens. Jumping from one important turn of event to another, sometimes without enough buildup, the parts of the book jump entire years at a time. But there is never a dull moment. Because of this all-ctionstyle it seems like we don't really get to see some of the characters as much as we would like. Zufa Cenva and her genius daughter, Norma are archetypal in the disapointed parent/dissapointing child roles. Even when things like this, which are reiterated time and again, are resolved it's a split moment of the book.

I thought the Butlerian Jihad allowed us to roll with the tide of history, but The Machine Crusade pushes us ever faster. It's like the first book was a regular long-distance space ship and now the Machine Crusade has fold-space technology.

I wished that the authors had teken the time to flesh out more characters and events as they had with the first one. I'm sure they could have gotten two novels out of the one if they had wanted to. But for pure adventure and getting a grasp on the history, instead of a glimpse as Frank Herbert had always given, this truly is truly worth reading.