Rating: 
Summary: Everything and more
Review: For a already established Dune fan it is a foundation to the story that grabbed you up and took you through the millenias. For a Dune newcomer it is a introduction to the best story you will ever set eyes on. house atriedes makes you all giddy inside when the characters play into an important role in Dune history. Brian and Kevin make you feel Duncan's hatred for the Harkonnens that he talked about so many years later. An incredible book for any lover of that special desert planet.
Rating:
Summary: it's not Frank Herbert, but it's still quite good
Review: This prequel to _Dune_ is apparently based on Herbert Sr.'s notes and vision for the series, tragically unfulfilled.If you loved Herbert Sr.'s style, I regret to let you know that you won't find it here. There was only one Frank Herbert. After reading _House Atreides_ I'm glad Herbert Jr. and Anderson went ahead and wrote in their own style, which is smooth, enjoyable and interesting. _Dune_ fans will like the meatiness and direct relevance of the story to the later books. The majority of characters here are familiar to _Dune_ readers. Portrayals are consistent (of course, we see them all in younger years; the timeframe of the book is roughly that of the accession of Shaddam IV). In fact, I really hadn't anticipated that the portrayals would be as good as they are, so that was one of several pleasant surprises. Heartily recommended to those who want more _Dune_. Devotees of Herbert Sr.'s unique style won't find more of it here, but it's still good SF.
Rating:
Summary: Brian Herbert is big chip off the old block!
Review: This is a remarkable intro to the Dune series. Brian Herbert has captured the full flavor of the Dune series, and created a marvelous introduction to surely one of the best ever series of Sci=fi books. The characters, captured decades before "Dune", are richly limned. Absolutely great!
Rating: 
Summary: Dune: The master is missed...
Review: I did enjoy this installment of the Dune series if only to return back to the characters I've missed all these years. I would recommend this to anyone that enjoys the Dune series, just don't look for any new revelations and the writing takes a little getting used to. There seems to be a lot of repetition of facts through-out the novel.
Rating:
Summary: encourages nostalgia for the original dune
Review: I really Enjoyed this book. Being a consumate fan of the original "Dune", this book is, relative to their own series, a better prequel than "the phantom menace". It sets the stage for and explains many of the issues which we were simply presented with in the book "dune". Although i havent read anything by brian herbert, i knew kevin j. anderson to be a great story teller. I was overall quite impressed and staisfied with this book. it will go on my shelf with "dune", as another book that i bring myself to read over and over again. for the "dune" fan, this is among the "MUST READs".
Rating:
Summary: A book that fills the voids
Review: It's hard following a master such as Frank Herbert. The pressure in comparisons would seem insurmountable. Yet having read this book I was amazed at the story line and depth to the characters. Brian Herbert and Kevin Anderson fill in the gaps that are sorely lacking in the original masters. Duncan Idaho, Pardot Kynes and Prince Leto are given more depth defining there personna that will lead them to the decisions they make in the Dune Series. House Atreides also covers new or short referenced characters in detail. Duke Paulaus and Dominic Vernius and Emperor Elrod IV are just a few in this 600 paged novel. I especially enjoyed the portrayal of the Harkonnen line. Once and for all the reader learns just how evil the Harkonnen's have become. In summation, this is a must read, if I could have rated it six stars I would have.
Rating:
Summary: Thin, but fun.
Review: I agree with most of the reviewers here - DUNE: House Atreides is a pretty thin account of the DUNE saga. The characters are shallow, simple, and the authors focus thier words more on how the characters LOOK, than on how they THINK. This is a BIG departure from Frank Herbert. Even so, this book is fun to read becuase it has all the places, stories and people that exist in the Frank Herbert books. Just don't expect to keep this one with you after you read it, like the other books...
Rating: 
Summary: House Atreides
Review: I've reading and re-reading the Dune books of Frank Herbert so many times, that I know all the characters as part of my friends. Usualy I read in italian, but since the novel is not available in my language I went through the book in english. This book isn't one of the originals, but it brings you back to the planet of Arrakis with a very good aproach. The story is good and, since it's a precuel, you already know where thing will conduce you at the end of the trilogy. I felt my self home travelling again through the sands of Dune, and learning about the characters that will be older during the original books. The stories of Duncan Idaho, C'Tair, etc are well developed. I substance it's a good book that has to be read by any Dune fan.
Rating: 
Summary: Great epic reduced to pulp - and mysoginist to boot
Review: Most other reviews here have pointed out the shallowness of the ideas in this novel, manifested in the hollowness of the characters, etc. All of this is true, but when it comes down to it, House Atriedes book simply suffers from bad writing, and ultimately, I feel, bad editing. The writer isn't always to blame. Authors sometimes get so close to their work that glaring inconsistancies become invisible to them. It is then the job of the editor to sort out these problems. That job has not been done well enough in this case. While there are many examples in House Atriedes, one that stood out was the description of a chair as "comfortable" in one sentence, and "uncomfortable" in the next. This was no attempt at irony, metaphor, whatever. Just bad writing. Everything else follows from this. The poor development of character, the debasing of any mythic resonance established in the original series (how about those Salusan bulls - straight out of Lost in Space!), the complete lack of insight or broad philosophical/historical ideas that made the original so exemplary. Worse still, and perhaps somewhat disturbing, was the role of females within the novel. When they weren't sitting around eating fruit and looking pretty, they were being raped, blasted, or eaten in scenes that lingered a little too long for my liking. While men in the novel suffered various noble deaths, there seemed to be a kind of sick delight on the writers parts in establishing and "executing" various cruel ends for the women. I really think this issue has to be addressed before the series continues.
Rating:
Summary: Jerrybuilding on cosmic foundations
Review: It is particularly hard to evaluate this book because it is a mixture on several different levels. I would have given 1-2 stars for the book itself, were it not for the superb framework provided by Frank Herbert in his Dune series. I felt that the present writers were like toddlers who could not walk on their own, but managed to stumble along with the aid of a baby-walker (in the shape of Frank Herbert's richly detailed plot and background). The unsatisfactory nature of much of the writing is made up for by the satisfaction of finally learning just what happened (for instance) to Duncan Idaho as a boy. Characterisation, dialogue, action and plot all seemed very weak at times, better at others, leading me to wonder if some fragments of Frank Herbert's own notes might have found their way into the book. The authors' task is made much more difficult by Frank Herbert's allusive style, which often hinted expressively without fully explaining. Yet I feel that this book could have been much better, had Brian Herbert recruited one of the world's leading writers to collaborate with him - preferably someone whose style and mindset was closer to Frank Herbert's. Regretfully, I don't think I will be spending the time and money to read the other two prequel volumes. As far as I am concerned, Dune - like its author - can rest in peace.
|
