Rating: 
Summary: Great Improvement Over Previous Work
Review: While I liked The Butlerian Jihad (I'd give it 3 stars) it was not without its flaws; stilted dialog and character development not withstanding, it was a fun read. The Machine Crusade is a major improvement; the writing style by both Brian Herbert and Anderson is more fluid and full, the characters are better fleshed out, and most story concepts/threads are better realized, some are surprising, and a few suspenseful (the Jihadis' desperate battle for Ix, for example). This installment comes a lot closer to Herbert Sr.'s work since it incorporates the political complexities that made those books great (and in all honesty had little room in the introduction that The Butlerian Jihad really was). This story is the true core of this trilogy and the elements we are familiar with from the Dune Chronicles are in much deeper transition; the Zensunni marauders of Arrakis are a lot closer in scope to their Fremen descendants than they were last time and Norma Cenva's space folding scheme stands on the verge of fruition. The chapters are still too short, but with as many threads as this book has, that brevity is almost necessary, and actually can encourage you to keep reading so you can get back to more interesting places/characters. If The Battle for Corrin can keep up the momentum BH and KJA made for themselves, then it's likely that their execution of Dune 7 will be successful.
Rating: 
Summary: I WISH I COULD GIVE THIS ZERO STARS!
Review: This is by far one of the worst books I have ever read! It is poorly written, has no plot, and is so fundamentally flawed that it's infuriating to read. It seems that these so-called "authors" have never read the original Dune books, and at the very least are totally unaware of why melange was so important to the survival of the Galactic Empire and interstellar travel and commerce in Frank Herbert's original masterpieces. How, if in later books the empire cannot survive without space-folding (and melange), are we expected to believe that the early, primitive interstellar travel could take place in such short periods of time if the places described in the book are many hundreds of light years apart, and are the same planets and solar systems as the ones in the original series? Wasn't it made abundantly clear in his books that the empire's dependancy on melange stemmed from their inability to travel those many light years across galaxies and star systems without folding space? And that the empire would disintegrate into utter chaos without it? [...]
Rating: 
Summary: I love you Norma Cenva!
Review: From the tragic story of Jool Noret to the chilling Erasmus who is far more human
than even he knows, the authors weave a highly complex tapestry of humanities
most desperate struggle in the Dune universe. I found the characters both unique and refreshing. What prompts this review is that they have stumped me! I believed
they had set the stage very nicely for the inevitable Atreides/Harkonnen schism,
in "Butlerian Jihad" but this book added yet another twist as to what must happen
in the Corrin Battle. I can't wait for that tale to unfold. And Norma Cenva! the
first human Kwisatz Haderach? Her breathtaking intellect contrasting
wonderfully with her sweet simplicity.
In my opinion these books are better than all the original works with the exception of "Dune" and "God Emperor". They can't quite match the plans within plans of Frank Herbert
but their story telling is just as complex, original and entertaining. With the very
last line of the book they have left a taste in my mind as sweet as Melange (hint hint :) God I love this stuff! Truly they are the: Heirs of Dune!
Rating:
Summary: Disappointing
Review: Read and liked Frank Herbert's Dune books. This is only the second Dune book by Brian Herbert and Kevin Anderson that I've read, and disappointed. Story-line and writing are not up to expectation. Can't finish the book, don't bother.
Rating:
Summary: Fundamentally flawed Dune series
Review: I have enjoyed all the Dune books by Frank Herbert. But these new books by Brian Herbert and Kevin Anderson are fundamentally flawed. In the original Dune books, we were made to understand that the spice Melange is the most important substance in the universe because the Spacing Guild require it to fold space. Without Melange, space folding is not possible and thus space travel will take many many light years. The result, commerce will collapse and the Galactic Empire will disintegrate into chaos. In the Legends of Dune series, Machines and humans are able to wage numerous wars in different star systems at reasonably short periods of time. Trade of slaves, light globes and even spice is thriving. All these achieved even before Space Folding is invented and without the existence of the SPacing Guild. I'm rating the book only 1 star because the authors have decided to throw the basic concepts of the original Dune books out of the window.
Rating: 
Summary: Did they do any research at all????
Review: I've read Frank Herbert's complete Dune Series and I have read all of the Brian Herbert, & Kevin J. Anderson prequels that have recently been published. This is the most disappointing book in the entire series to date! My husband and I both found the storyline lacking and the continuity of this book with the rest of the series is terrible. They put a story together that goes against much of the later series. What were you guys thinking? I won't give away too much of the story but they are terribly lacking and off base in the Norma Cenva story which was originally begun in the God Emperor of Dune book and Harkonnen's story also deviates from the original plot. My husband and I are so terribly disappointed in this book. There are lags in the plot and it's slow reading.
Rating: 
Summary: Entertaining But Empty
Review: I just finished this book, and I have some mixed feelings. First, some of the plotlines could have been done away with- Jool the Ginaz Mercenary comes to mind first. There was a lot of reading, with little payoff in the end. There were more, but time is short. In the end, I have come to the realization that I loved the original Dune series for a very different reason than I enjoy reading this new one- The original made me think, reread, and think some more. You'll never catch anyone doing that with the new series. It is, however, an easier, quicker read... Very entertaining to my Dune-starved mind. That may or may not be a good thing.
Rating:
Summary: Much better than Butlerian Jihad
Review: This story is much better than Butlerian Jihad, though not really feeling anything like the Dune that we all grew up reading and loving. This story seems to play to younger generations in an attempt to draw them into the story, but runs the risk of alienating the original Dune fans--something that would be most tragic. This one chapter of Brian Herbert's series does a good job of spanning the gap though.
Rating:
Summary: I love it!!
Review: I enjoyed this book every much it didn't have the slugish feel of the last book and th echarecters this time around actually developed. As the book opens several changes have occured from the last time we meet these charecters Manion Butler has retired from the senate of the Leauge and left control in the hands of the power hunergy and manipulative Iblis Gingo. The Jihad has ground on for years with little headway and the common folk are growing restless and weary of a war that seems to have no end in sight. They would have given up long ago if not for the will of Xavier Harkonian and Vor Attriades. I particulary liked the interaction between these two charecters. It will be interesting to see just how the break between their families occurs. You all will be very surpised as to what eventually happens to Saliem Wormrider and Norma Chenva, my two favorite charecters. Overall-I loved this book as much as I hated the last one. If I can be convinced anyone can so I beg all of you to pick up this book. It more that makes up for the shortfalls of the first book. However it did seem to me that quality was sacrificed for quantity in some instances. This is really the only bad thing about it.
Rating:
Summary: Overall Dry with some Cherishable moments...
Review: This story is entertaining, but there are a few things that do not sit well. The overall plot foundation doesn't seem so well developed as the main Dune universe. The author's drive home the point that the efficient thinking machines are stupid, but that doesn't seem realistic. For one, why would machines keep humans around? They would whipe them out like in Terminator, or use them as batteries as in Matrix, but to put them to work as slaves? Uh, not! I always imagined the computer imposing itself as God, being the caretaker of man, like in a few classic science fiction scenarios including Star Trek of "computer knows best". This would make the "jihad" make sense as humans would want to oust the false god. However, the general populace doesn't seem religious, but yet they are stirred into religous fervor, without an established or well documented religion. Thus from this, things just don't seem to add up, at least from the social standpoint. From a scientific standpoint, things don't seem to add up later. Humans seem to pose a threat to the sychronized worlds of machines producing around the clock, but the humans are forgetful and lazy. The contrast between this and some brilliant remarkable humans isn't as strong because of this backdrop. Lastly, the human and machine craft have faster-than-light travel, but the machine/cymeks mention/brag that they can go faster, as humans frality couldn't withstand the voyage. As space is zero-G, I hope the authors weren't thinking of G-force pressures... Anyways, in addition to machines being dumb and using humans as slaves, this part never made quite much sense and wasn't clarified.
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