Rating: 
Summary: An insult to the reader
Review: Two word review: poop sandwich.
Rating:
Summary: Can't anyone stop Kevin J. Anderson?
Review: Everything I've read from Kevin J. Anderson has been an absolute nightmare and this is no exception. Undoubtedly the mere existence of these dune books is proof of the royalties from the original series running a bit low for Brian Herbert's taste. This is just a cheap attempt to capitalize on the desires of Dune fans of all ages for a new and lifelike storyline. Believe me, I wanted it to be good too...but after five pages it's apparent to almost everyone that this new series is just awful. The character development, the style, the dialogue...it's all reminiscent of the very hideous Jedi academy series that Kevin J. Anderson was also in charge of some years back. That's the title of this review - can't anyone stop this man? The irony is that the introduction to Kevin J. Anderson's website (presumably written by him) is a very well-written synopsis of the career of an apparently intelligent and accomplished writer. Too bad for us that everything actually published by the man turns out to be horrible. For heaven's sake, Brian, ditch this man and write the novels yourself! Belive me, they can only get better. Anyone who doubts me can just compare the original Dune (or, for that matter, any other Frank Herbert novel) with the tripe that Anderson spews forth. Maybe I'm too harsh because I was expecting something in line with the elder Herbert's novels. I don't deny that the expectations are high. But the very act of publishing these new ones would say that these should be as good, no? In short, save your money and just buy Dune. If you've already read Dune, and haven't read The Dosadi Experiment, then buy that. If you've read both of those, buy something else from Frank Herbert. Whatever the costs, avoid Kevin J. Anderson like the plague.
Rating:
Summary: don't bother...
Review: This book, and the others of its ilk by Kevin J. and Brian Herbert, are nothing more (and considerably less) than cashing in on the Dune mystique. It reads like it was written by a wannabe fanboy, and the story has lost all of the Dune "magic" that Frank Herbert put into his stories. Regardless of whether or not Brian was in on where his father wanted to go with his stories, it's obvious that he (and his "assistant/compatriot/whatever", Kevin J.) are incapable of living up to those ideas.This book gets by the same way that the new Star Wars prequels have, by riding on the sentimental attachments that fans have for the originals. I got rid of my copies of the House books after reading them, and stopped even thinking about buying any more of these attrocities. If you like Dune at all, just re-read the originals....
Rating: 
Summary: A Fitting and Welcome Prequel
Review: With this book, Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson weave the warp and woof that make up the complex tapestry Frank Herbert started in his classic Dune novels so many years ago. All of the familiar characters are there in full regalia, along with their progenitors: Emperor Elrood and his son Shaddam, as well as Shaddam's ever-present companion, Hasimir Fenring. Baron Vladimir Harkonnen. Leto Atreides and his father, Duke Paulus, as well as Thufir Hawat, the Duke's faithful Mentat. The Spacing Guild. The Bene Tleilaxu. The Bene Gesserit, along with their on-going breeding programs and their constant struggle to create the god-child they call the Kwisatz Haderach. Pardot Kynes, the Planetologist. The mysterious Fremen. Dune: House Atreides is full of political and religious intrigue: Watch as Shaddam and Fenring wrangle their way into power. Watch as the Bene Tleilaxu work a most devious and conspiratorial plot against House Vernius and the Planet Ix. Watch as the Bene Gesserit make an unexpected move in their ages long plan to birth the Kwisatz Haderach, or "Shortening of the Way," a male Bene Gesserit "whose organic mental powers would bridge space and time." Watch as a certain Bene Gesserit Reverend Mother gives action to the Bene Gesserit Dictum: "History has seldom been good to those who must be punished. Bene Gesserit punishments cannot be forgotten." Watch as Pardot Kynes becomes the Imperial Planetologist to Arrakis, the Planet Dune, and as he befriends the Fremen and begins a plan of his own making, one he sees as taking hundreds of years to fulfill. And watch, as Baron Vladimir Harkonnen works a most exquisite revenge against the Harkonnen's old rival, House Atreides. Written in a style that complements that of Frank Herbert, Brian Herbert's father, Dune: House Atreides is a fitting and welcome prequel to this longtime favorite series of science fiction fans.
Rating: 
Summary: The perfect prequel/introduction to Dune
Review: House Atreides is not as interwoven as Frank Herbert's Dune series but holds a hoard of background and introduction to the Dune Universe which could be quite daunting if extracted solely from the original series. The facts are clear and the universe painted clearly piece by piece in House Atreides. New readers will find no confusion beginning their Dune experience with House Atreides while readers immersed with the original series should find the 'new' discoveries of familiar characters most entertaining and personal.
Rating: 
Summary: Not the Best, but Not Bad, Either
Review: Dune: House Atreides is, of course, the first of a three
volume prequel to Frank Herbert's classic novel, Dune. The point of the novel is to give "backstory" to the events
in the elder Herbert's work. It certainly succeeds in explaining
a great deal of things -- there are numerous "oh, so THAT'S
why..." moments in the novel. But its not great stuff. There are numerous stories going on,
and, despite the fact they are ultimately interwoven, there's
a feeling that you're reading an anthology of short stories
and not a novel. On the plus side, while the novel can't be said to live up
to the quality of the original "Dune", it is more entertaining,
and accessible, than Frank Herbert's own sequels, especially
the almost painfully dull "God Emperor of Dune". If you enjoyed the original novel, and want more, this
is a good choice -- better than the original sequels.
Rating: 
Summary: completely misses what dune is about
Review: "Dune: House Atreides" is the first in a trilogy of prequels to the "Dune" novels of Frank Herbert. Like sequels however, the only lesson you'll get from "Atreides" is to leave well enough alone. Frank Herbert was masterful because he could conjure up a vast universe without losing sight of his characters' humanity, and he knew how to both deftly craft his surroundings, and keep the historic details of the Dune universe tantalizingly vague (the appeal of Dune's hidden history stemmed largely from Herbert's refusal to dissect). The new trilogy ignores the qualities of the original's prose and the otherworldly seduction of its myriad plotting.
For those new to the series, Dune is set in a far distant future, when man has spread across the stars. Once enslaved by machine minds, men rose up in a religious crusade whose legacy has been the absolute prohibition against artificial computers. Instead, vast schools enhance the human mind, turning men into living computers called Mentats. Huge starships are guided by "third-stage navigators" - artificially evolved human beings who see through walls of time/space. Though technologically advanced, humanity is ruled by an emperor through an aristocracy (the "Landsraad") perpetually at odds with itself. (Individual houses endlessly plot against each other ala Machiavelli). Outside of Landsraad, various other groups jockey for power - like the insidious Tleilaxu who are masters of forbidden technology, or the Bene Gesserit who conduct genetic engineering experiments designed to create a suber-being called the "kwisatz haderach". Each party wield great power, but is checked both by each other and by their dependence on a mystical spice called "mélange" - a drug which stretches human lifespans, widens consciousness and, in really huge doses, turns humans into navigators. In short, mélange underlies every aspect of this society. Unfortunately, technology hasn't supplied a substitute for mélange, and the inhospitable planet Dune is its only source.
In "Atreides" we meet younger versions of the noble Leto Atreides, the vile Vlad Harkonnen, the slyly murderous Fehnring and Shaddam - the future emperor. Aside from other characters also already established in Dune lore, we meet the royal family of Ix (soon to be exiled when Ix is overrun by Tleilaxu) and Leto's parents. Title aside, " Atreides" tells as much about the Atreides as everyone else. Actually, Shaddam, gets the lion's share of attention. With his father Elrood kept alive through mélange addiction, and showing no sign of releasing the throne, Shaddam conspires with Fenring to kill him. Leto, not yet a duke, travels to Ix, whose rulers develop technology at the limits of the law. Leto's strict mother (whose religious fundamentalism dates this book as none of the original novels had) distrusts the ruling Ixians. The reigning duke is too fun-loving a guy to accord with the duchess' stern dogmatism. Vladimir Harkonnen, already Baron when "Atreides" starts, has yet to become the physically repulsive ogre of the original epic. Shaddam, already considering himself emperor, conspires to "give" Ix to the Tleilaxu, confident can blame it on a feud his father nursed against the Ixian rulers. In return, the Tleilaxu will try to develop a synthetic mélange. None of the original books' intense plotting nor their focus on their characters' perspective are in evidence here. No character possesses any depth. Fenring is a master in the art of murder, even when just giving advice, but here he's just annoying, and his plotting is seldom Macchiavellian. Neither Anderson nor Herbert develop Fenring in a way that suggests his complete reversal in the original "Dune". Leto is the hero of the story, but he comes off as one of those angst-ridden characters of a Dawson's Creek spin-off. None of the myriad subplots reflect an understanding of the Dune-universe. The Bene gesserit never arouse suspicion, even though their plan to breed the messianic Kwisatz Haderach threatens everybody, especially the Navigators (since they possess the closest thing to absolute power in the Dune universe). Instead it's the illegal invasion of Ix that unites the characters in this book - but who cares? (the Tleilaxu turn the Ixians against their rulers for whom they do the most work and reap the least benefits.) The authors completely miss the underpinnings of the age old Atreides/Harkonnen vendetta (they take the feud as the logical product of Atreides nobility and Harkonnen villainy. The point of a prequel is to show how things came to be the way they are, after nearly turning out differently). Another error is Leto's father - described as a cruel blowhard in the original "Dune", he's now a benevolent ruler who lives for his loyal subjects whom he entertains with frequent bullfights. But above all is Shaddam's nonsensical collusion with the Tleilaxu. At Fenring's urging, Shaddam presses the Tleilaxu to develop a synthetic version of mélange in order to both free his throne from spice mining and elevate it over the spicing guild. What the authors fail to grasp is that success would only swap the monopoly of the navigators for that of the Tleilaxu (it would also nullify the industrial complex that mines the spice, one of the economic structures that both ensures the stability of the universe and, because the throne manages it, allows Shaddam to effectively rule. Besides, if the Tleilaxu reneged, how would Shaddam enforce his end?) The unblanced deal would make sense had Shaddam nursed a vendetta against the Ixians - but the grudge against Ix was Elrood's.
Being part of a series, "Atreides" doesn't have to be open-ended (with half-finished plotlines and characters left for the next book), but it is. Some subplots don't come together at all - like the expeditions of planetologist Liet Kynes or the story of C'tair, a loyal Ixian working against the Tleilaxu. But worst of all, the novel lacks a solid voice, a single perspective in its scenes to feel the pain, joy, fear and triumph that all the plotting must create. "Atreides" simply fails because, unlike the spice mélange that underlies much of the plotting, it is neither addictive nor consciousness expanding.
Rating:
Summary: Upholds the standard
Review: Of course any "Dune" fan is going to be skeptical about the son of the author of one of the most successful science-fiction series in history trying to continue it. Tougher still is the task of writing a "prequel" to the first novel, which would be tough even if done by the first author. But fear not. This work stands proudly with the original, and in some cases even exceeds it. For in this book you see how many of the characters you meet in the first book got there in the first place. You get to see Duke Leto as a boy growing into young man. You get to see how Jessica is conceived at part of the grand sisterhood plan. You see how Duncan Idaho meets up with Leto. And in one of the best twists in the book, you see how the Baron becomes his physically disgusting self. This alone is worth reading. What I liked about it is that it equals, and in many cases, even exceeds the ruthlessness of the characters we've grown to know. There are virtually no breaks in the unrelenting pressure to survive by each an every character. This comes both in the form of nature on the title planet, as well as the constant political maneuvering and backstabbing that occurs to gain power. It would have been nice to see a little more human kindness, but it is probably what we have to expect for a story that sets up the Harkonnens holding the cards in the next story. I enjoyed this one very much.
Rating:
Summary: 4 stars, if you are new to Dune; Frank Herbert fans: 2 stars
Review: As can be seen when taking a look at the hundreds of other reviews of this title here at Amazon.com, this collaborative work by Frank Herbert's son and Kevin Anderson is to some extent controversial. In part, this is a result of the complexity of the plots Frank Herbert weaved in the original series, as well as the mystery in which some of the past preceeding the time span covered by his Dune series was shrouded. This title is the first in a trilogy prequel, which elaborates on some of the events that eventually are covered in Frank Herbert's six "Dune" books. While Frank Herbert's "Dune" are great works of Science Fiction, to some readers they were not readily accessible. The slightly more simplistic approach chosen here will allow new readers who are not yet acquainted with Dune to familiarize themselves with the variety of characters and plots which later are at the core of Frank Herbert's works. Especially in light of the cable mini series "Frank Herbert's Dune" and "Children of Dune", this trilogy can help to provide readers whose interest in Dune was sparked by these made for TV movies with easier access to Frank Herbert's works.
Rating:
Summary: Adds a new meaning to the word horrible
Review: This is about the worst garbage I have ever experienced. It is a complete abuse of the Dune universe. It is effectively Days of Our Lives in Frank Herbert's Dune Universe - well, I say the Dune Universe, but even that is poorly applied. There are distortions between this book and the Dune universe, connections made that should not be (Liet meets Gunny Hallek? gimme a break), a complete lack of understanding of the dune universe (I think that the only thing the authors understand about shields is that they go boom when a laz gun hits 'em). The automatic crossbows are a nice touch.... I started reading this series with the knowledge that it was not Frank Herbert's Dune. Pretty soon, though, the discrepencies with the actual Dune books started standing out. As I progressed further and further, it got worse and worse... and my enjoyment of reading became more morbid fascination. Frank Herbert has gotta be spinning in his grave over this one... and Brian Herbert ought to be seriously ashamed of what he has done.
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