The Machine Crusade (Dune Series)

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Summary: At last we find out how to pronounce Fremen!
Review: This seems to be a bridge book, rather than the one we have all been waiting for. Lots of archetypes, good guys, bad guys, merciless machines, powerful women, early melange usage. Credulity must be extended more than usual: planet-wide secret projects staying secret, huge conspiracies involving thousands of low level people remaining undetected, lack of planetary defenses for ground assault (how naive can we be?), lots of things. But maybe that is what SF is all about.

And in the last 4 words of the 692 page book, we learn how to pronounce Freman.

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Summary: WANTED: Special Edition of this book
Review: I'm looking for a very rare edition of this book and was hoping someone here could help me locate a copy. There were only a few hundred printed in this special edition format and I know that you Dune collectors have already snatched them up, but maybe I can convince one of you to sell.

This edition is missing its cover page and dust jacket, has a dozen or more pages ripped out (but still loosely tucked into the book, perhaps folded as well, maybe even inserted into the wrong places), shows severe water damage, and should show additional signs of wear, such as doodles throughout. Maybe dog-chewed and some pages colored with crayons. There are two key identifying marks. The cover (that is, the top page that is exposed by the torn off and mysteriously missing jacket and covers) has a badly stained ring where this book was used as a coaster. The other is that it curiously has Herbert crossed out in black sharpie wherever it is credited as part of Brian's namesake.

I'd be willing to pay top dollar for this edition if anyone can locate it. Maybe even as much as fifty cents. Please contact me asap.

60% off at Amazon! Pretty soon they'll be giving this away for free, that's how well received it is. 60% off at Amazon, who needs write a review beyond that? Still more cash than I'm willing to part with. "Fifty cent anyone? I got fifty cent for anyone willing to part with the book! Sell to me now while it's still worth that much!"

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Summary: Good for what it is
Review: A lot of reviews knock this book for being plodding, predictable, not well thought out, etc... And, in some ways they are correct. But, this book serves a very valuable purpose in that it builds the foundation for what is to come.

There are parts of the book that have no real bearing on the story, but I am sure will lead into an important part of the next book.

And, there better be a next book, because the ending of this one really p*ss*ed me off. There better be something to wrap up the loose ends.

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Summary: The History of Dune, and a nice story as well
Review: I liked this book better than the previous one. It gives more understanding to the advancement in the human mind over the thinking machine. You see how religion is used as a driving force to unite the people and bring about change. It is used as a rallying cry by the politicians who might not really believe in what they are saying, but the underlying message might still be true. You also get to see how many of the main factions of Dune came into being such as the Bene Gesserit priestesses, flight navigators, Tlulaxa organ tanks, CHOM, and Freman. Kolhar is turned into a shipyard. Rossak reminds me of Africa where since it is an underdeveloped jungle, it is able to provide many pharmaceuticals, and natural resources.
The villains and heroes are not as clear cut as they used to be in these books. Aurelius Venport and Norma Cenva are sympathetic characters, but they utilize slave labor, and Venport is like a drug dealer. Primero Xavier Harkonnen is a good guy, but as a military commander he does whatever it takes to win the war regardless of the loss of human life. Serena Butler is just a tool for the Grand Patriarch Iblis Ginjo for most of the story, until she finally comes into her own at the end. The Grand Patriarch Iblis Ginjo is a bad guy for using his position for personal gain. He does get the job done however, but is the cost too high? Lord Niko Bludd (nice play on the word blood) is definitely a bad guy and reminds me a lot of Baran Harkonnen. The robot Erasmus is still around as a bad guy, but I liked the twist of giving him more human characteristics as a kind of father figure to the slave boy Gilbertus Albans. Omnius is still supposedly the main bad guy, but it's just a computer, not very scary. Vorian Atreides is a good guy even though he's vain. At first it seems he can't live a normal life because he's been given this life extension treatment, but halfway through the book they try to have him settle down somewhat and grow up a little. I wonder how this will play out when other people who start taking melage start living longer as well. Selim Wormrider is supposedly a good guy, but he's also a terrorist. Tio Holtzman is a bad guy because he's selfish and only after his own glory. General Agamemnon is still the leader of the Cymeks but his role and the rest of the Cymeks for that matter, seem greatly diminished in this novel. I suspect they will play a bigger role in the next book. Jool Noret the Ginaz Mercenary is a nice character. Kind of like a futuristic samari. I also liked the robot sensei. The Zensunni Slave Aliid is set up as a kind of bad guy even though all he was trying to do was free his people, and the other slave Ishmael is set up as a kind of good guy even though it seems to me he could have done more to have helped his people sooner.

One of the big climatic scenes toward the end of the book with Serena Butler seemed so obvious to me, I would have been upset if the robots like Erasmus couldn't figure it out. I was relieved when he finally did even if they couldn't do anything about it.

The love story on Caladan with Leronica Tergiet, her husband Kalem Vazz, and their twin sons Estes and Kagin was a nice touch.

I liked how there were Cogitors who disconnected themselves for thousands of years from the outside world to seek inner wisdom and still did not gain any useful wisdom that could be used in the outside world.

I felt at the end like I did while watching "The Empire Strikes Back". It was a good book, but you feel cheated because it left you hanging waiting for the conclusion.

Spoiler:

In the end many of the main characters are killed off, but there are at least 6 six children all around the age of 10 that I suspect will play big roles in the third installment of this trilogy.

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Summary: If it weren't for plot
Review: Crappy writing and craft are barely disguised in this "episode" of the Dune series. I find myself actually wincing from time to time at the poorly constructed narrative, but given my fondness for the original series, my pompous desire to feel holier-than-Herbert's-Son, and my almost juvenile desire to "see what happens" I keep reading. Maybe the book will spontaneously combust - I can only hope.

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Summary: Old Fashioned Space Opera
Review: The Machine Crusade is the second novel in the Legends of Dune trilogy, following The Butlerian Jihad. In the previous volume, the slaves on Earth revolted against their machine masters. Amidst the confusion, Vorian Atreides escaped from Earth in the Dream Voyager, carrying Serena Butler, the body of her murdered child Manion, and Iblis Ginjo back to Salusa Secundus. The Earth Omnius and the Titans broke the revolt, but Xavier Horkonnen later led the League Armada back to Earth to sow nuclear destruction over the face of the planet. Vor captured the last memory update from the Earth Omnius, leaving the robot Seurat deactivated in the disabled update ship.

The remnants of the League Armada left Earth as a radioactive wasteland and returned to a massive celebration. Xavier and Vor received military honors for their victory. Serena rededicated herself to the Jihad against the thinking machines.

In this novel, over a decade later, Xavier and Vor are defending IV Anbus, a Zenshiite planet, but are not getting any cooperation from the inhabitants. The Jihad soldiers try to defend the planet on the ground by setting an ambush, yet the Zenshiites not only refuse to cooperate against the machines, but also drug the Jihad soldiers in their villages and sabotage their heavy weapons. The Jihadis are faced with defeat on the planet, yet still manage to take out the machine horde, although with heavy loss of property and priceless religious artifacts.

The Jihad continues to gain ground against the machines, but at a high cost in human lives. Disaffection grows among the civilian populace, but Iblis, now entitled the Grand Patriarch of the Jihad, uses his Jihad Police to weed out traitors and political opponents. His Jihad Council has successfully usurped major powers from the League Parliament in order to increase the efficiency of the war against the machines. Iblis has made covert arrangements throughout the League and Unallied Worlds to promote the machine crusade.

In this story segment, major changes occur in the political, military and technological sectors. The foundations of the subsequent Empire begin to appear. The planet Arrakis acquires the Fremen. And the Atreides family appears on Caladan.

This volume moves the story in the direction of the new Empire, but somehow the progression of events doesn't seem to move smoothly. Since this is a prequel to the prequels, the events herein are forced to fit previously revealed patterns, but the progressions are too jerky. Moreover, the ambiance of this novel is very old-fashioned; it reads somewhat like one of the Legion of Space stories from the 1940s. This has been an ongoing characteristic of works by these authors, but this volume seems to have this quality to a greater extent than the other Dune novels.

Recommended for Dune fans and for anyone else who enjoys space opera with massive movements of military forces, grand political maneuvers, and glorious personal sacrifices.

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Summary: An OK book - but what a drag....
Review: A lot of other reviewers have made the same comment, but I had to throw my two cents in:
I got the unabridged audio version of this book, and it is the first time ever that I have actually skipped an entire CD. I nearly threw the darn thing out the window! So much needless repetition, so many out-of-place and contradictory facts, and so many rehashed cliches and reworded profoundities that I, a few times, actually pulled hair out of my head in frustration!
I honestly feel that these authors could do a lot better. There were seeds of a decent story here, but it never sprouted. I never felt pitty for Serena or any of the other overly melodramatic, underly written tragic characters. I cheered when the book was over - because it was over. I think the authors might have used an emotionless thinking machine programmed for endless rewording of the same plot line to complete this long and boring book.

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Summary: Not a very well constructed book
Review: I am a big fan of the FH's Dune (and sequels). I also enjoyed the 'House' prequel trilogy. But, I have big issues with this second book of the 'Jihad' trilogy. It is quite obvious that the authors cobbled this together from bits and pieces that each had written. It is also quite evident that none of the authors, editors, etc. read this book in it's entirety. In the first 100 pages they bludgeon you with events from the first book. Yes many people might need to be reminded of what happened in the preceeding book, but we don't have to be told about the event three or four time with int three or four pages. This got so bad that I started to keep track of them. By the time I got to page 300 I stopped, there were just too many. Examples: On Pg 106 & Pg 108 repeated references to Cogitor Eklo. We are constantly reminded why Iblis married Camie. I got that the first time. On page 310 & 311 Vorian volunteered to do the foot work for Serena's new plans. It says 'Even before Xavier returned from Ix.' But in the previous chapter Xaview is sitting and the Jihad council table when Serena outlines her plans. I suggest that the authors pay more attention to what they're doing in the third book (which I intend to read) and the two post FH books there working on. The other book Dune books BH & KJA have written have been much better than this. I agree with the comment about the 'Encycopeadia Dune', but I don't know the full detail of licensing, copyrights, etc. that may have nesseccitated changes. I hope the authors do a better job on the next books, at least produce something up to there usual standards.

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Summary: I can't believe I read the whole thing...
Review: This book was at best a poorly written draft for a b-movie. I don't think the "authors" could have made this book more predictable, overdramatic, formulaic, or just plain stupid. It lacks everything that made Dune as engaging and magical as it was. Was there some contest to see how may times a sentence could be ended with ellipsis?
I can't fathom the credit that some other readers give this book. Don't get me wrong, I'm no literary critic, but I really feel strongly about the overt lack of subtlety, intricacy, character development, etc. The authors make constant references to certain characters intricately detailed plans, "wheels within wheels" I believe was their term. Yet, none of these "wheels" within other "wheels" ever seemed to emerge from the hints that they existed. B. Herbert and Anderson seem to think that by making references to these amazingly subtle plans that they will magically appear of their own will.
I really can't say enough bad things about this book. I think I'll leave it at that.

Rating:
Summary: Did not reach its potential
Review: This series has developed the history previous to Frank Herbert's Dune. I like what it attemps, but with this offering, the novel did not have a clear sense of direction. There were sub plots that could have been bettered developed & characters that were not well defined. I hope with the next installment more focus will be applied to a clear fast paced story line.