Rating: 
Summary: Held to its own standard, a good book.
Review: If you are new to this series (or, God forbid, if you've only seen the movie) you will find to book to be a very good sci-fi example. The plot is surprisingly quick for any Herbert book, rather written by father or son. The characters develop quickly (though not overly deep); the lines between good and evil are very clear. There is not so much Dune jargon that it makes it difficult to understand. Most importantly, it can easily be read as a self-encapsulated novel.If you are an avid Dune fan, on the other hand, you WILL find this book disappointing. Not horribly so, but a mild distaste instead. For all the reasons that make it easy for a new person to read (quick plot, clear sides, fast development), you will find it lacking. Dune has always been about a world so real that it is palpable. This book falls short of that bar.
Rating: 
Summary: iffy
Review: Storyline- B+. It could've been exciting if FH dictated it, because it is a good story, but the writing was monotonous. There was frequent sidetracks with obvious information repeated again and again. Writing- D-. Paragraphs full of 3rd person thoughts that are so irrelevant. Hardly any dialouge. Chapters average about 3-6 pages long and ALWAYS switch to a new place every time. Characters are "paper thin" as another reviewer put it. There are some parts in the book that are exciting and almost feel like Dune but it really comes off like a book for a 12 or 13 year old. It took me a good 2 months to finish it because I had to force myself to read through it. I really wouldn't recommend this book to anyone but I heard the same thing from people and I still read it anyway. The next book in the series will be better, have hope.
Rating:
Summary: Dune Lite
Review: It's been a while since I last read any of the Dune books, but they were so classic that when House Atreides came out, I avoided it since I figured it would never measure it. Well, after tripping it across it at the library, I decided to risk it since it wouldn't involve any money. It turned out that my preconceptions were pretty much correct. Perhaps they were self-fulfilling and I merely got what I expected. Nevertheless, this book just didn't seem to have any of the texture that the original Dune books had, none of the depth. Or in a sound bite, this is "Dune lite". I imagine that if I was high-school age, a time when I read sf voraciously and was a bit less discriminating, I'd love this. These days I'm a lot more picky, and aside from some from a few sparks in the chapters about Pardot Kynes, this book just didn't do anything for me.
Rating:
Summary: While good, it can't hold its own against the original six.
Review: I'm a 16 year old guy, and I love to read. I got interested in the DUNE books after I rented and watched DUNE. The movie was awesome, and I picked up DUNE and started reading it. I had no intention of reading the whole six books, but after the first one I was captivated. I finished Chapterhouse: DUNE and was actually sad. After almost a year of reading, it was over. No more DUNE. I almost cried. I had read House Atreides between Heretics and Chapterhouse, and was disappointed. While it was fun to read and go back and visit my favorite characters, except for Teg, of course, who wasn't around then. But it lacked the inner meaning. It didn't grab me and not let go until it had killed me. It was just a book. It didn't have that depth of meaning I had come to expect, and when I was through, I didn't think that I had just gone through an incredible experience that helped me look at humankind in a different light. But still, it is DUNE, however misguided. If anybody should continue the DUNE legacy, it is Frank Herbert's son. I just wish he had done a better job.
Rating:
Summary: A story about young Leto-hope there's a sequel
Review: I enjoyed getting into young Leto's head. The book seems to be part of a series as it keeps several threads dangling.
Rating: 
Summary: The temptation to be resisted at all costs
Review: I have been a huge fan o sci-fi for years, and most of all the Duen series. I have always admired the very skillful way that Frank Herbert had of creating a thoroughly convincing and believable environment, while abstaining from the greates of crimes that can be comitted by a writer: providing too much detail. This prequel is completely out of line with the other 6 books in the series, and although I can appreciate the curiosity that fans have regarding the smaller details in the Dune History, this should not be an excuse for producing a bad copy of a wonderful original. The temptation of making prequels should be resisted at all costs: they are never as good as the originals! Literature pieces should be regarded as works of art, not like TV sitcoms; if a book is left unfinished, it should stay so. If the Dune series stopped at number 6, well then, we should consider ourselves lucky to have 6 wonderful books to read. Not 7; not 6 with a 3 prequels. It would be the same if suddenly Chris Tolkien decided to make a prequel to Lord of the Rings. It would be a complete aberration - and that is why the books that have been released in History of Middle Earth have been scholarly studies of original material. If fans want more details, well, tough. That's all there is. Furthermore, the book itself is very poorly constructed, the characters are right out of the "Cliche Book of Heroes and Villains". The Bene Gesserit are reduced from their wonderfully mysterious characterization, the Imperial court is a sham, count Fenring is a poor excuse for a almost-Kwisatz Haderach. Not to mention poor Leto - a boyish, prudish teenager from BH 90210. All in all, it would have been much better (and probably harder) to have made some sourcebooks, based on Herbert's postumous papers. The fans would have been better served.
Rating: 
Summary: A good read for this "Dune" Lover years later...
Review: I ordered this book with considerable trepidation after reading many of the reviews you can read for yourself on these customer review pages. I had considered waiting for the paperback given some of the vitriol written by some self-identified Dune lovers! Now pushing 50 years of age, I count the original Dune as one of my most-loved sci-fi tales of all time. Although there is valid criticism of House Atreides in these customer reviews , perhaps the one I agree with the most is the authors' compulsion to provide a "recap" of known (and previously established) events, concepts, or character motivations at the beginning of virtually every chapter... even those that have been well-documented in the text of prior chapters! They must feel the reader has the intellect of a Star Wars paperback reader! Nonetheless, I found the book to be an entertaining read. Lacking the mysticism and spirituality of the original Dune (as is almost always true of sequels or "prequels" of any great novel), House Atreides still spins a tale that is entertaining, largely congruent with the events and cast of characters of Dune, and informative regarding the prior generations of Harkkonens, Bene Gesserits, and the Emperor's ancestors.... Reading House Atreides led me to re-read Dune for the first time in 4 or 5 years, and those critical of this prequel may be surprised to find there are also problems with Dune as well...one that I noted more than I remember from prior reads is the repeated references to Paul's "prescient" visions of the galaxy-wide Jihad! Is House Atreides a mind-altering life-changing sci-fi classic? Definitely not! But House Atreides is definitely a good entertaining read that kept me turning the pages and wishing for more. House Atreides is not worth incurring a water debt, and you may wish to wait for the paperback if your budget is tight, but read it!
Rating:
Summary: Parts of Ideas, no development
Review: This book really disappoints. The Dune series was definitely guilty of giving you ready-made people and scenarios, but the telling was what held your interest; you wanted to learn more about these people. The same sense sticks with you in House Atreides, but remains unrequited, because the novel does little to hold your interest (there are only thin plot-lets) and the figures of your favorite characters have lost their dynamic unfolding in the retelling. More a 'Did you Know' handbill of factoids on the original Dune than a true tale, despite its generous length. Only for the Herbert family die-hards.
Rating: 
Summary: A great prequel to a great series
Review: This book was not only better than I had expected, but it rekindled my desire to re-read the original series. Really gripping (I found myself bringing it with me every time I thought I might just have five spare moments to open it up!)
Rating:
Summary: Questions are answered
Review: Reading Frank Herberts Dune along with the other 5 books I found this to be my personal favorite. It answers many questions about the Dune series and I personally think the characters have more depth. I dont understand why everyone seems to compare father and sons writing techniques...both are surpurb in their own unique writing style. This book was fantastic and I look foreward to Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson next Dune project.
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