Rating: 
Summary: Want to know what went on before the time of Dune?
Review: While Brian Herbert does not have his father's gift for intricate plot and intense conversations, Dune House Atreides is a worthy sci-fi novel in its own right. The background history of House Atreides is fitting and interesting. The characters, mostly drawn from familiar figures in Dune, are fleshed out--ie, a younger (slimmer!) Baron Harkonnen, Prince Shaddam before he became Emperor, the weasly Hasimir Fenring and a young Duke Leto. The history of Duncan Idaho is possibly the finest part of the book.If you loved the Dune series, you will not be disappointed to read House Atreides. Just don't expect the same sweeping, complex style. This is a faster-moving, episodic novel. I enjoyed it, knowing ahead of time that the style was somewhat different, but still in keeping with the Dune legacy.
Rating: 
Summary: Not his father's Dune
Review: I actually enjoyed this fast-paced pulp novel, based on Frank Herbert's Dune. There was just enough story here to keep me reading, in spite of the cardboard characters and juvenile writing. Although this book is atrociously written --- painfully inept metaphors and similes, scant descriptions that fall flat, and an overall tone that hovers somewhere between Doc Savage and Superman comics of the mid-sixties --- Herbert's notes provide a strong basis for the plot, which is engrossing at a pulp-fiction level. It's been more than 25 years since I read the original novel, so I wasn't bothered by the inconsistencies that would be apparent to a hard-core Dune fan. It's a shame that a good editor didn't intervene and clean up all the unnecessary modifiers and given the text some polish. Still, that hasn't stopped the book from selling, so it's not hard to guess why nobody at Bantam cared. Kevin J. Anderson has been nominated for Nebula awards and Bram Stoker awards. Either his other books are infinitely better written than this one, or the Science Fiction Writers of America have drastically lowered their standards. If you're not a true-blue Dune fan, you may enjoy this as a light read with a few interesting ideas. But be ready for some really, really bad prose. These clowns make Michael Crichton look like Hemingway. Even Jackie Collins's writing doesn't contain basic mistakes such as you'll find here. Nevertheless, it's only fair to tell you that I'm more than halfway through the second volume, and having a good time (although wincing every so often). Not only that, but it's whetted my appetite to go back to Frank Herbert's original books (which are stylistically sophisticated and far more imaginative); so Anderson and B. Herbert must be doing something right.
Rating: 
Summary: Awesome job on the prequel
Review: Dune is the best series of all time, hands down. The most intelligently and creatively written that it is possible to imagine. When I heard that they were coming out with prequels, I cringed. I half hoped they would be successful -- so I would be lucky enough to get more of this world again -- but I didn't want them to ruin it for me. THEY DIDN'T. They pulled of the incredible feat of giving us something new in the context of something old. And man, did they do a great job. It is written by two authors, one of whom is a son of the original. Different chapters thread through the story in different areas, and it looks like one author took certain threads. Some of the threads are clearly better than others, but all are great. The originality that they come up with was really a feat. They didn't "extend" the original, they created new stuff that is just fantastic, without compromising the later novels. This book is about the House Atreides -- but contains all of the major players from the other houses. Much of the story we already know, but the fleshing out of it was fantastic. My hats off to the authors.
Rating:
Summary: Great Reading for Dune Fans
Review: This book is for the fans. If you love the Dune world and have read all the other books, you will really enjoy this one. You won't get that feeling of revelation like the first time you read Dune, but you won't be able to put in down either.
Rating:
Summary: Attractive and entertaining...
Review: I must say I have been a "Dune" fan ever since I saw the original movie.
The Dune series, for me, are the epitome of Sci-Fi. I love the background, the characters, the philosophy... the whole world and universe Herbert created.
In this book, I thought I recognized some of the original ideas and background Herbert senior created. Some developments seem to be just "filling", though.
Leto's character is a strong-willed, intelligent young noble, heir to a Great House, a fact that explains much of Paul Muad'ib's character; he is not only a result of genetic tampering, but also of his upbringing.
I thought it was interesting to read about it; the relationship between the Old Duke and Leto, leads one to see the relationship between Leto and Paul in a new light. This book opened up some interesting secrets and background on the more complicated issues described in the original book, which have led me to understand more about Dune. I recommend this book. I truly enjoyed it.
Rating: 
Summary: Definitely not up to the Works of the Father
Review: The Original Dune Series (TODS) contained quite spectacular political complexity, and, over a period of thousands of years, the saga revealed many of the secrets of the Bene Gesseret, Tlielaxu, Harkonnen, and Atreides. TODS has, throughout, the feeling of being a reflection of a rather "static" set of cultures, where everyone's thinking has been _strongly_ influenced by the thousands-of-years-back cataclysm of the Butlerian Jihad. In contrast, the recent "Dynamic Duo" seem to be trying to fit today's bits of technological advancements into the 50 years that lie just before the advent of Paul Atreides; the natural result is that it suffers from not Feeling Old. Furthermore, the people in the story clearly don't _believe_ in the evils of things like computing; in "TODS," it's SO ingrained as something passed down for generations that it feels like something resonating in their bones. Instead, there's the "bubbly feeling" in this book (and the sequel, House Harkonnen) that Kevin/Brian would be happy having folks doing web searches and such. That just doesn't fit with the "world view" of the Dune Saga. They _should_ have been exploring what sorts of mental, biological, and political artefacts might be used to overcome the utter lack of automation in a universe where people vigorously rejected it so long ago that memory of it only comes from those with ancient traditions. This book (and sequel) just don't have the feeling that what people are doing is based strongly on traditions passed down for hundreds or thousands of years. And sadly, none of what's introduced is really good enough to become such a tradition.
Rating:
Summary: falls short in its attempt to resurrect the classic
Review: I had some ambivalent feelings about this book. On one hand, we get all the components of the original Dune saga: Duke Leto, Bene Tlaxu, Shai Hulud, etc. It reminds us that Dune lives on as long as die-hard fans like ourselves are around. Unfortunately, Kevin J. Anderson falls short of the masterful Frank Herbert. The plots are generally predictable (even without knowledge of the Dune series), but I found them interesting nonetheless. The author explained too much overtly or with overuse of cliche, and this detracted from the subtle mystery that surrounded the original Dune. I enjoyed Anderson's portrayal of the Baron Harkonnen, but I was most disappointed with Duncan Idahoe. Granted, Duncan did have a difficult time having his parents gunned down and being chased through the hunting grounds, but I thought his escape was too easy. I expected something more stressful, more painful of his experience, torture to the limits of human endurance or even molestation by the Baron himself. I also expected Leto to have something more to do with his escape. Remember, Duncan was supposed to have experienced so much terror so much pain from the Harkonnens that he could "never" repay his debt to the Atreides family, not in a hundred ghola lifetimes of service to the God Emperor Leto. It just did not seem like enough. The Harkonnens killed his family and chased him a little bit, and then he escaped.
Rating: 
Summary: Extending Your Grasp of the Context for Dune
Review: Prequels are unusual novels. They should be written to introduce a book and series for someone who has not yet read any of the material. Yet their prime readership will be from those who have already read the series and want more. So you have to evaluate prequels from both prespectives. Usually, they favor one dimension or the other. As is the usual case for prequels, Dune: House Atreides will primarily appeal to those who have read the Dune novels. The Harkonnens are beautifully cast as thoroughly nasty, despicable, and incompetent. The tension between the religion of not having thinking machines and the potential to create new technology is nicely developed. You will also get a good sense of Emperor Shaddam IV. Duke Paulus Atreides is a very enjoyable character, and you will delight in the places where he comes into the story. I found much of the novel to be competent, rather than compelling. Unfortunately, these sections included Duke Leto Atreides, Duncan Idaho, and Pardor Kynes. These characters could have been magnificent, and provided much more fascination for the series. They come across as attractive, but not as people you want to grasp and hold onto because they are so appealing. As a result, interesting, additional details comprise a reasonably small part of this book. For those who have not yet read Dune, I felt that the book had one mistake in it. Readers will discover a bit more about physical changes that Guild navigators experience than is desirable for enjoying the whole series. In all other ways, this book will help the new reader anticipate and enjoy the beauties of the Dune series more. The background of much of what is happening will still seem mysterious after reading about it in this book, which is good. The origins of the key power groups are alluded to, but left murky. I think that approach was a good decision, because it encourages the reader to move on to other books in order to learn more. The lack of illustrations was a missed opportunity. Many of the concepts in Dune lend themselves to pictoral explanations. In fact, each of the covers of the later novels added to my enjoyment. I do encourage all fans of science fiction to read this book. It is a worthy volume in one of our greatest series. After you finish reading this book, I suggest that you think about what really is most important to you in your life. As this book shows, you can achieve fame, friendship, wealth, power, family closeness, or prescience. The more someone focuses on one, the less they have of the others. How will you make your choice? Look forward to enjoying more of what provides the most meaningful satisfaction!
Rating:
Summary: The only well-written parts were copied verbatim from 'Dune'
Review: The characters are childish, the plot is silly. Completely inconsistent with the original series.
Words fail me. This book is more like a parody of the series than an extension. Instead of the bold characters and twisting plot, we get worried one-dimensional yuppies which wouldn't have survived three paragraphs in Dune. There is almost no plot whatsoever. The authors keep throwing in the special effects from all books of the original series, without regard to the chronology of Frank Herbert's universe, and without any real purpose. One of the most dissatisfying books I've ever read. Not worth to bear the name of 'Dune'.
Rating:
Summary: Enthralling behind the scenes look at Dune
Review: Anderson & Herbert take us all on a very detailed, sometimes complex ride through the precursors of Frank Herbert's Dune books. Like a spice bloom, the words are compact and explode into the mind with great richness. For once, I feel as though I truly have a handle on the people who were instrumental in creating the stories that later enthralled me so, with Dune. I would very much reccommend this novel to anyone, especially to those who've read Dune and want to get in touch with it on another level.
| 
