Rating: 
Summary: Folding Into Dune
Review: Herbert and Anderson have done it again! Frank Herbert dreamed up one of the most fascinating sagas of humanity's far future and the prequels are doing a wonderful job of filling out the DUNE universe. Read and enjoy!
Rating:
Summary: As Always, Parallels to Current World Situation
Review: Once again, I have not read this book. But I have had enough conversations with Dune fans and saw a few minutes of David Lynch's Dune movie about 15 years ago and have read enough readers comments about previous Dune books, so I think I know enough to have an opinion. Based purely on guesswork, here is my synopsis of the plot: Emporer Jorgah Al-Bushah, leader of the planet Dune, has his hands full trying to prevent further attacks on the Peh 'pol of Dune by the Baron Hosah Mhbinlad 'Ain. Baron Osah has deployed tribes of Tah-li-Bhan around the planet, to cause death and destruction everywhere in his attempt to bring down Emporer Al-Bushah. The Peh 'pol support the Emporer Bushah in his efforts to eliminate the Baron, until it is revealed by the Emporer's arch-nemesis El-Gahor that Al-Bushah has been conspiring with the sinister Oman Emirates and Saho 'deis to horde all the Kah-Rud 'Oyl (magical wealth creating liquid which also powers the planet's Kah 'Ars) on the planet. But the spiritual mystic Rah elph Nahidir, with the aid of a small group of Hin Ju Neers, develops an alternate source of Kah 'Ar power, thereby making the Kah Rud worthless and stripping all the evil - doers of their corrupt influence and bringing peace to the planet. As usual, Herbert, through his great imaginative skills, provokes strong emotions and with all the middle-eastern sounding words and names, forces the reader to contemplate the current state of this here world. But you know, I'd rather watch CNN.
Rating:
Summary: a sequel that is better than the original
Review: While I would read anything to do with the Dune universe, parts of the Butlerian Jihad left me with mixed feelings. Maybe it was because I had to get used to new characters but the fact was that while the history and premise was very intriguing I thought much of the dialogue to be stilted. I would have given that book three stars, on a good day. It was then with much trepidation that I read the Machine Crusade. Well I could not have had a happier surprise. The characters are now more fleshed out, the history is still intriguing and the politics and backgrounds are exciting beyond belief. But the big difference is the dialogue amongst the characters and in their thoughts. I now care about the people involved in the stories. I look forward to the third book in the series. My faith in the ability of the authors to tell a story has been restored.
Rating: 
Summary: Machine Crusade - Awful!
Review: The writing is trite and certainly has none of the depth of the original Dune series. When you're fan, you can't help but want to read "pre-quels," a "history" of the "later-in-time" books. Unfortunately, the series from Brian Herbert and Anderson just hasn't measured up to expectations. Can I say "awful" again? Best wait for the paperback and not waste your money.
Rating:
Summary: DUNE!
Review: Despite what other people say about this book. I liked it a lot. I'm a fan of science fiction and Dune has to be one of the best series ever.
Rating: 
Summary: Okay... now THAT'S better!!!
Review: Okay, I admit... Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson are getting better. After the horror that was "Dune: The Butlerian Jihad" I thought all hope had been lost. Appearantly some people CAN learn new tricks... including how to write. I am happy to see that there is actually a solid plot in this one. And speaking of plots- I actually got an EMOTIONAL response during this book; whereas the only true emotion I felt during "The Butlerian Jihad" was that of suicidal tendencies. They should have had a coupon with that one for a mail-in t-shirt that rewarded the reader for surviving that ordeal. That said, however, you'll never understand THIS book w/out the other. Consider it a trial by fire. "That which does not kill you only makes you better", and so on. However, after enduring that literary "gom jabar" we are actually rewarded with "Dune: The Machine Crusade".
Rating:
Summary: A Trilogy All Its Own
Review: The difference between the Dune books written by Frank Herbert and the prequels written by his son, Brian Herbert, is that they occur in a completely different time. These books are similiar in the fact that they both deal with the legend of Dune, Muad'dib, and the countless other players but the situations are vastly different. I never picked up these prequels expecting them to be immense philisophical tomes but instead I found stories that you would hear around a campfire.. stories of powerful legends and people and history that brings the great novel of "Dune" into focus. What many need to understand when they pick up this novel [and the one before it "Butlerian Jihad"] is that they won't encounter the deep-thoughts of Frank Herbert's books, but instead a far reaching story that must encompass much of the history that came before "Dune". If you go into the novels knowing this, then you will come out immensely satisfied like I did. The stories are rich and the pace of the novel flows like wine. A good wine, one that you will want to taste again and again. I won't divulge important storypoints here because that's best left up to a book report or newspaper review, but instead emphasize that it got my heart racing and I couldn't put down the book for several days. I actually sneaked it into work and read it under my desk when no one was looking.. and on the subway to and from work, I had difficulty not crying "no!" at the book in several instances.. [usually I do not talk to books, but this one left me emotionally enraptured].. Brian Herbert and Kevin Anderson, I feel, are doing great justice to Papa Frank's dynasty. It's amazing that they can wrap all these storylines into whirlwind of rich history... Yes, the book is not "in-depth". It does not try to be what the original "Dune" novels are.. but instead becomes something of its own.. and worth the read..
Rating: 
Summary: "The Machines of Our Lives"
Review: It reads like the bible for a soap opera; "The Machines of Our Lives". Every chapter seems to be written as if it has a three page limit which hashes out only the minutest description of the characters as well as the storyline. Much like the previous Anderson/Herbert ventures it lacks any type of great story telling and pales in comparison to the original books from where it gets its name. Why then did I finish this book in three days? Unlike the other books, the paired down outline approach to story telling seems to convey a simplistic charm that truly works. Maybe my expectations have been warn down by one disastrous ÒprequelÓ after another, but I canÕt say that the Anderson/Herbert duo didnÕt give me something that I liked. In some respects the books flows like fast food, and I devoured every page as such. Yeah in the end I felt bloated and knew the story would leave my mind about as quickly as it entered, but so what. It was fun. What ÒHerndersonÓ (Herbert/Anderson) did finally learn in this outing was how to present cool characters in enough wacky situations to keep me reading. Whether this should be called a true ÒDuneÓ book or not IÕm not to say, but at least I got to read a few pages about a character every now and again that I liked (or disliked in a good way). DonÕt get your hopes up about any realistic characters though. Like in the other books the dialogue is still about at the level of a bad student film and there is no real story, just one big lumberous plot with enough interesting events to make those of us with nothing better to do plod along with eager anticipation. It is unequivocal that the authors take themselves and this ÒstoryÓ too seriously considering the atrocious amount of blithe undeveloped plots and subplots designed to set up something that eventually leads us nowhere other then to tie up a loose end (i.e., the entire needless Hectate subplot). The books also seems to think that it has a surprise ÒtwistÓ at the end, but narratively it fizzles out long before itÕs eaten up by a sun (no IÕm not spoiling anything). To be honest I was more shocked at the audacity of the authors attempt at selling this as an ending of any kind then caught up in the turmoil of the narrative. Unlike my reaction to the other books though, I enjoyed the pomp of it all. I even relished in it. It seems to me that if ever anybody was going to put ÒRocky HorrorÓ into a book form, it would seem that these two would be perfect for it. Not because of their comic timing, or their subversive storytelling, but rather because I think that theyÕd take it seriouslyÉ and thatÕs what would make it so darn fun to read! AD
Rating:
Summary: Well thought out and plotted sequel to series 3 1/2 stars
Review: First, let's get the obvious out of the way; Dune: The Machine Crusade is another prequel to Dune and a sequel to The Butlerian Jihad. It has all the drawbacks and bonuses of a sequel; if you haven't read the first in this series of prequels devised by Frank Herbert's son Brian and Kevin J. Anderson, you may feel a little lost at first. The good news is that Herbert and Anderson manage to fill in the blanks early on with a nicely written recap in the prologue (much as the Frank Herbert did with each sequel to his classic Dune novel). I imagine that Herbert does much of the plotting based on Frank's original background notes and that Anderson does more of the hands on writing. At least it seems that way. In terms of style The Machine Crusades reminds me more of Anderson's novels than Brian Herbert's novels. But both had complimentary, similar styles so it's possible they rewrite each other. Either way, the plot continues. With the destruction of the Omnius on one of the settled worlds, humanity managed to strike a blow against the computer that created hope. The Cymeks led by Agamemnon struggle to regain their lost power against Omnius all the while fighting humanity as well. Time doesn't matter to Omnius or the Cymeks but it does to Serena Butler. Nearly a quarter century has passed since the computer's henchrobot murdered her son as part of an "experiment" to discover humanity's emotional movitation to fight even when they are clearly defeated. She and the others struggle on in battle against Omnius. Agamemnon's son Vorian Atriedes and Xavier Harkonnen continue their uneasy alliance in fighting Omnius. We also get our first glimpse of humanity's discover of "folding" space and the impact it will have. On Arrakis the Fremen come into their own as fierce fighters led by Selim Wormrider. We begin to understand how this distant, remote and poor dust speck in the cosmos comes to occupy center stage in Frank Herbert's original novel. This sprawling epic sets the stage for what's to come later in Herbert's original trilogy. Although it's uneven and the plotting is a bit more awkward here than in the some of the previous novels in this series, The Machine Crusade accomplishes most of its goal. It also sets up another potential sequel. To give Brian Herbert and Kevin Anderson credit, the series they've created does credit to the original novel and Frank Herbert's memory. There are a number of interesting philosphical questions examined here. To the author's credit, they don't let the philosphical questions bog down the action. Both attributes contributes to the strengths and the flaws of the novel; the questions linger on too long and the battles are drawn out a bit too much. At times it seems as if the authors are struggling with the epic tale they are trying to tell; it's as if they are trying to come to grips with the size of the story they need to tell and control it. Even when it veers out of control, The Machine Crusade is still better than most of what passes for science fiction today. Nevertheless, like its immediate predecessor, The Machine Crusade has an epic, vast scale that the story and characters deserve. It's clear that Brian Herbert in continuing on his father's story chose to do so in a fashion that wouldn't just cash in on (and hence dilute)the original novels. Instead, he and co-author Anderson have tried to come up with a series of space operas as rich in character and scope as the original series. While the dialog can be frequently clunky and the characterizations a bit too sketchy for some, these are minor flaws on this large canvas. They boldly move forward using all the colors of language that they can to describe this epic tale. If words occasionally fail them, it's because the story, like much of Herbert's original epic, can be overwhelming in its vast embrace of science, religion and politics. If Brian Herbert and Anderson can continue to create novels this complex, the Dune series has a future as more than a cookie cutter space opera series. If they occasionally borrow from some of the sf films that have come out since Frank wrote the original novel, it's only fair; George Lucas and many other film directors borrowed liberally for Frank's imagination, integrating into their own projects and calling it their own.
Rating:
Summary: they just keep getting better!
Review: The second book in the "Legends of DUNE" trilogy is complex, exciting, and full of surprises. DUNE fans will be thrilled to learn the answers to many questions left in Frank Herbert's original novels. THE MACHINE CRUSADE has so many storylines it's difficult to pick which one is best, but they are all engrossing and entertaining. Herbert and Anderson have written their own ambitious series based on the ingredients Frank Herbert left behind -- they are not attempting to COPY Frank Herbert. Great stuff.
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