Rating: 
Summary: A big wrap-up for this "prequel" trilogy.
Review: Let's just get something out of the way before I write the rest of this review: These three prequel novels do not hold a candle to the works of Frank Herbert, and I consider all of the prequel novels to be strictly non-canonical with respect to the Duniverse.Now, that having been said, I really enjoyed this book. Brian Herbert and Kevin Andersen have done a nice job of weaving a complex storyline over the three prequel novels, and manage to tie all of the loose ends up in this book. The story is quite intricate and weaves no less than 8 separate plots together to tell the narrative, with some storylines getting more space than others. The book is very fast-paced (thanks mostly to the very brief chapter lengths) and I enjoyed the fact that the authors tried to incorporate some minor charactors from the real Dune books into the plot and to flesh them out as was feasible within the confines of the story. The use of such charactors as Piter, Thufir, and Count Fenring is very well done and helps to anchor the book (and the reader) in the settings and time we have come to know and love. Some major charactors, most notably Shaddam and Leto, are portrayed fairly one-dimensionally, which was a disappointment as they are really the focus of the book. The book bogs down in the middle after a nice start, but really winds up well with a very exciting last 100 or so pages. I also appreciated the maps of Kaitain and Geidi Prime. Overall, worth reading for anyone who enjoyed the Dune series.
Rating: 
Summary: Prelude to Dune; House Corrino
Review: It is a good book. I may only be 15, but i know a good book when i see one. I believe Frank Herbert would have been pround of this prelude. Much easier to read then the original done series.
:)
BYE!!
moosemaniac.
Rating: 
Summary: Timely Story, I Guess
Review: Based on my reading of the first 2 or 3 pages of the original Dune by Frank Herbert and from watching about 5 minutes of the movie version on Cinimax about 15 years ago, here is my synopsis of this book by Frank's son: Baron Pokeman, emperor of the planet Userbekistan has ordered his armies to seize all the Yuda (life sustaining liquid, otherwise know as water) on the planet. But tribes of Gonnemi wage battles with the armies of Pokeman, and the Empress Oremahatti is assassinated by Oman Emirate, the evil orvan-dweller who succumbs to the dreaded Tertain germ. Pokeman directs his senior Hujamin to develop an indestructible Harkin, which is susceptible only to the Kalith, which is in the possession of the orvan-dwellers. The Harkin is deployed into the cities of Uzerbekistian, where the Yuda then becomes unconsumable. Ultimately, Pokemon is removed from power and everyone is annihilated. To repeat, this synopsis is pure guesswork, based on my limited knowledge of the original story. As for the social implications of the book, i am going to guess that it provides a very timely allegory of crazy people and armies all killing each other and they have some Middle-eastern sounding names, which makes you think about all the insanity on this here earth. So there you go. Enjoy.
Rating:
Summary: Good Dune Material
Review: Ignore the few naysayers who slam this series. I've thoroughly enjoyed Dune: House Atreides and Dune: House Harkonnen. I just received House Corrino and I'm sure I will enjoy that as well. It must be hard to continue this series and do it well. But Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson do a darn fine job. Perhaps not as complex as Frank Herbert's work, but compelling nonetheless. Being an avid Dune fan they met and exceeded my expectations. This series is full of intrigue, surprising events, and action. A welcome change after some of the hubbub and boredom of the later Dune books. Write on gentlemen...
Rating:
Summary: Shaddam! Shazzam!
Review: Of all the DUNE prequels, this is the most useful and interesting of the lot. Overall the oily villians we came to know in the classic DUNE are introduced in retrospect, and we are given an insight into just how manipulative and surrepticious these characters are. Shaddam IV seems inept in almost everything but court politics. He displays a Nixon-like trust in the wrong people. Enjoyable, informative, but not classic. Even though packed with what it takes, Its kind of like I already knew. A lot of "ahh...I thought so(s)"
Rating: 
Summary: Dune--MTV Style
Review: The downfall of this book--as with the other Herbert/Anderson Dune prequels--is the ridiculously short chapter length. By failing to focus on individual characters or plotlines for more than a few moments at a time, they fail to provide depth of character, emotion or story. The average chapter length is three pages, which is hardly enough to give readers a taste of their characters. And instead of this style giving their work a sense of tension, the "quick cut" chapters only left this eager reader deeply unsatisfied. One of the many strengths of Frank Herbert's writing was the depth with which he explored his characters and settings, giving even his most imaginative creations a strong sense of reality. By contrast, the Dune prequels including House Corrino, spend too little time on any one character or plot for anything to "stick" in a reader's mind. This vapid style might work for MTV, but fans of the original Dune novels will be disappointed by the lack of substance.
Rating:
Summary: More indepth herbertness
Review: All i really need to say is that this is more Herbert tomfoolery.
If you are a fan it is a must read. If you have yet to discover the magic that is Frank Herberts work (now carried on by his son) then go back and start with Dune, and believe me, you will be getting around to this one sooner or later.
Rating:
Summary: Great Escapist Literature...
Review: It's not perfect. But what is? Herbert and Anderson are obviously adrenalin junkies, tempered by our modern age of impatience and information overkill. Brian's father, Frank was of a different generation. A generation where it was more common for artists to lock themselves away from the world in order to study it better. Brian and Kevin come from a world of speed and excess, video games and nano-technology in the palm of their hands. Their world - our world - was only conceivable in the imaginations of past generations; Isaac Asimov, Arthur C. Clark, Frank Herbert, etc. What am I getting at? I didn't read the Prelude to Dune novels hoping for Frank's insights and inventiveness. I read them not only hoping to see what Brian and Kevin had salvaged of his unwritten work, but also to escape into one of the grandest space opera's ever conceived. Yes, there are problems as other reviewers have pointed out. Personally, I think collaborative work on this scale is seldom as successful as it could have been if left for one author to anguish over. The best books, and Frank Herbert was well-known for this, offer insights; other ways of seeing the world so that we may be able to see our own world more clearly. But I couldn't put it down. The short chapters were like so many tasty morsels of finger-food. 600 pages in five days. I amazed myself. When I got to the last 20 or 30 pages, my head spun with all that was about to happen. House Corrino is like a spider web covered in tiny spiders all vying for their place in the scheme of things. My conclusion is that if you paid to watch any of the Star Wars movies, then happily pay the man and read yourself this book.
Rating:
Summary: Great Action
Review: I will keep it simple. Great Action. If you enjoy Dune, you should enjoy this book. I enjoyed the other 2 books in this series too, but I enjoyed this one the best. For me, it was hard to stop once I got going.
Rating:
Summary: Best of the three prequels
Review: This is the best of the three prequels, with the caveat (of course) that Frank Herbert is gone, and no one will ever live up to his quality of writing. For Dune fans this is a great book. I wanted to address some of the bizarre/negative comments made in the other reviews. The authors do not contradict Frank Herbert's work -- everything is properly explained. For example, one reviewer wrote that the secret of the axlotl tanks is given away when invading Atreides forces see them. However, the tanks are actually destroyed before anyone can get into the lab so they are not seen by any Atreides soldiers, and Fenring makes a mental note to not tell his Bene Gesserit wife. Another reviewer complained about no-ships not coming into existence until the last two Dune books (10,000 years into the future from the original Dune). Those no-ships were of Ixian design, and the one in these prequels is of Richesian design -- and the inventor is murdered, leaving the technology "lost" until some future time when it is again discovered/invented on Ix. The pace of the story is very good. The characters are better developed. This book is just more interesting than the other two prequels. I do wish I had had the chance to do a final review myself, however, before "Dune: House Corrino" was published (I'm a HUGE Dune fan). Unfortunately, it does sometimes feel like two different people wrote it -- which is, in fact, the case. However, there are little annoying things that could have been fixed before its release. For example, I lost count of how many times the phrase "in the half handshake of the imperium" was used. We get it. "Handshake" would have been good enough after the first several times.
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