Rating: 
Summary: What did you expect?
Review: When I first picked up Dune about two years ago it was because I had finally consummed every other sci-fi book in my possession, the roads were too slick to visit the library, and Dune was the only thing left. I finished it in two days and proceeded to read through the rest of the series just as quickly. I was desperate to know how the whole thing ended. I'm sure others shared my disappointment when I attempted to locate a nonexistent sequel to Chapterhouse: Dune. But I did find a different novel, yet to be published, a prequel entitled Dune: House Atreides.I literally waited months and months for the book to get published, while rereading the other Dune books and catching many of the subtleties I'd missed the first time around. I don't know how many times I tried to imagine what would be contained in this book, what it would say about the characters and the events of Dune. I wasn't disappointed. No, DHA is not Dune. But, honestly, what did you expect? For starters, the settings of DHA and Dune are completely different. In Dune, it is essentially confined to one planet and centers around a House in exile. DHA covers House Atreides on the rise, in a multi-planet setting and in a universe far less mystical and more pragmatic than that of Dune. Lots of things change in the forty-odd years separating the plots of the two books. And as for the comparison between DHA and the Star Wars prequel, again I must ask: what did you expect? SW has always been a cheap copy of the Dune universe, so of course the prequels will be similar. How you can claim to be familiar with Dune and not realize this simple fact is a mystery to me. I wholeheartedly recommend Dune: House Atreides to anyone, whether you have loved Dune all your life or never even heard that title before. It is a wonderful book.
Rating: 
Summary: Surprisingly good, in its own way.
Review: I was skeptic upon hearing that the Dune universe was being brought back after Frank Herbert's death, but you know what? This book was actually really good. I will not deny that the characters arent as deep, and overall the book is not as philosphical, (those were things that made Frank Herbert so unique) but one cannot deny its entertainment value. There is always something exciting going on. The only reason I didnt give it 5 stars is a reason others have pointed out: the constant explanation and re-explanation of events that occured only a few chapters ago. Hopefully the authors wont do that in the next one. Put simply, don't expect Frank Herbert, and you will completely enjoy this wonderful "history lesson" of Frank Herbert's incredible universe that is Dune.
Rating:
Summary: House Atreides
Review: The Dune books by Frank Herbert are the greatest of all sci-fi epics ever written, so naturally I thought it was a tough act for his son to follow. My hopes didn't get any higher when I heard he was co-writing it with Kevin J. Anderson. Thankfully, I can say I didn't have anything to worry about. Though not as great as the original Dune, this book was still wonderful! It managed to capture the political intrigue of the original without becoming dry and boring. It starts of with several seemingly unrelated stories in Herberts wonderful universe, and brings them all together slowly through out the book, finshing with an edge of your seat climax! A must for any science fiction fan!
Rating: 
Summary: It's not Frank
Review: The best thing about this novel is that it will renew interest in the original. It made me go back and reread Dune and marvel at how beautifully written and conceived it all was. This book breaks no new ground, offers few insights and the writing is stilted. Too bad, we miss Frank Herbert very much.
Rating:
Summary: A phenominal read
Review: A fitting prequel to what is possibly the greatest science fiction work ever written. Expertly and masterfully told by the son of the "Kwisatz Haderach" of science fiction authors and his co-author, Kevin J. Anderson. A very difficult book to put down. Hopefully Dune 7 will be forthcoming from the same duo.
Rating:
Summary: House Atreides
Review: The sublety and dark complexity of the original Dune novels is absent here...the clumsiness and cliche apparent in this book made it a sad disappointment. Only the names remain the same... do yourself a favor and read Dune again.
Rating:
Summary: OK for pop sci-fi, but not worthy of Dune name
Review: This book is OK if all you are looking for is a possible history of the events preceding Dune, but the writing leaves a lot to be desired. It's written along the lines of the Star Wars type books, and comes across almost like a comic book with very cardboard characters. There are too many references to 20th century pop culture ideas (e.g. feng shui, thinking outside the box, etc...), and it attempts to make all the characters fit in line with their representation in the movie.
Rating:
Summary: Delightfully intriguing
Review: I was cautious about this book for a number of reasons: lukewarm reviews, the scale the writers were attempting, and previous bad experiences with authors taking over another writer's universe. However, my cautions were misplaced. Dune: House Atreides kept me on the edge of my seat, and I could hardly put it down. I felt the characterizations were strong and quite on par with Frank Herbert's original ideas. There are some real treats in here, particularly with the dialogue between Paulus, Leto, and Thurfir Hawat, and seeing the growth of the young Leto into a strong, capable ruler. The intrigue is exceptional, particularly the machinations of the Bene Gesserit. Naturally, Dune: House Atrides is *not* quite as striking as the original book, but it's as close a companion as I'd hoped. If I had to fault House Atreides, it's on the seeming inconsistencies with the original (i.e. the maternal parentage of Lady Jessica). Perhaps these possible retcons will be explained in future volumes. In any case, they weren't distracting enough to keep me from thoroughly enjoying this new tale. I look forward to rereading it while I anxiously await the remaining two volumes in the trilogy.
Rating:
Summary: READ IT!
Review: This is my first Dune book. I saw the movie and always hesitated to read any of the books because I thought I would be disappointed. I am glad to read this PreQuell to the original Dune series. It was wonderful to read how the Baron becomes fat and how he becomes disfigured from his illness. I recommend this book. Frank Herbert passed away in the 80's, his son Brian, and Kevin Anderson co-wrote this story and did a great job. READ IT!
Rating:
Summary: Leto, we hardly knew ye
Review: Okay, first things first: No, Brian Herbert is not as good an author as his father and no, this book is not as good as the original. Of course, Frank Herbert was probably the best science fiction author of the past 50 years and "Dune" is perhaps the best science fiction novel ever written. So those are rather impossible standards for Brian Herbert and Kevin Anderson to live up to. "Dune: House Atreides" does stand on it's own quite well, however, and is one of the better science fiction novels I have read in a long while. This book is a prequel centering on the original Leto Atreides, who was killed off in the early pages of the first "Dune" novel. (Leto, we hardly knew ye.) Brian Herbert and co-author Anderson go into the past to write of Leto's adventures long before the Atreides ever went to Arrakis. We follow the young Leto as he battles the Harkkonens and matures into one of the most powerful men in the universe. Certainly the book lacks a lot of the subtext of Frank Herbert's original novel. And, as with any prequel, there is the problem of us already knowing how this is all going to end. Still, if the worst you can say about a SF novel is that it "isn't as good as 'Dune'" ...well, you can probably say the very same thing about every other SF book ever written. My advice is that if you liked the previous "Dune" novels, sit back and enjoy this book for what it is. And don't worry about impossible comparisons.
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