House Atreides (Dune: House Trilogy, Book 1)

Rating:
Summary: Philosophy, ecology, religion, politics-it's all there
Review: Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson do an outstanding job creating the prequel to the world of Dune. The characters are younger and full of expression and the scenes are painted with the same brilliant colors of Frank Herbert's world. Give these men a chance, because they are stepping into some big shoes and they are just warming up! We've all been waiting for this so let us rejoice. We can look forward to more Dune novels written by these two men in the future. The spice is nice!

Rating:
Summary: A great book but, not as great as the originals.
Review: Overall, this is a very entertaining book. I couldn't hardly put it down. The majority of events and characters are true to the original series and it is interesting to see how many of the events in the original books were formulated. It was also interesting to see how life at the seat of the Imperium occured. The major fault lies in the authors' total disregard in not using "The Dune Encyclopedia" as reference material. For going on 20 years I have used this book as a complete reference for the series but, not one bit of information in it, that wasn't in the original books, is used. Every Dune website I have ever visited uses this book to some extent. It made some of the new book difficult to read because it completely contradicted what I, and thousands of other readers, have taken as canon all of these years. Mr. Herbert himself even gave "The Dune Encyclopedia" his blessing. So, for an overall review, I would definitely tell others to read it because it is a very enjoyable book but, I give fair warning to those who were waiting for a true Dune prequel. I, myself, will have a problem incorporating it into the Dune universe.

Rating:
Summary: OK
Review: Definately not the Dune that Frank Herbert imagined. While it maintained the same elements and characters of the novel, some ends didn't tie into the whole like they should have. The coherency of the novel is somewhat hard to follow. This over descriptive novel is far divorces from Frank Herbert's style of writing which emphasized that reader need only know the basic facts and no real actions, only consequences of them. This novel lacks that superlative element.

Rating:
Summary: Its a good read
Review: As a fan of the Dune book I have been waiting for many years for a book to revisit the Dune world. I found this book to be highly readable. It keeps very much to the original story. Probabily as well though as latter books in the series did. To the fans who want to keep in touch its a must read but to others its probabily better to miss. I enjoyed it very much and look forward to reading the next book in the series.

Rating:
Summary: Fine, but too explanatory
Review: I enjoyed reading more details about the Dune cosmology. However the story was too easy to read and explained everything outright. It lacks the subtle undertones of Frank's writings where you learn new things upon each re-reading.

Rating:
Summary: True to the original Dune series
Review: I have loved the DUNE series since it was first published. I was therefore somewhat skeptical of reading this new book, feeling that no one could come close to the vivid details of the original series. However the team of Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson have done the near impossible. They have lived up to the writings of Frank Herbert. The writing style, depth of character, and world developlent were excellent. I throughly enjoyed reading this prequel an am looking forward to additional stories from them about DUNE.

Rating:
Summary: decent
Review: Look, I don't see how people reviewing this book expect Frank Herbert to get up from his grave and write another book. Cut it some slack. Obviously it's not going to be as serious as the others, lighten up people. It is a good book, an easy read, though not exactly what I expected, it still attempts to explain some things that Mr. Herbert and to put in an Appendix. I think the reason most people don't like this book is because it tries to oversimplify things, compared to the not-so-simplistic DC. For the authors, this is their first attempt at trying to write in the shadow of Mr. Herbert. Let's just see how the next book turns out before we pass total judgement on their writing style.

Rating:
Summary: The History of the Dune Characters is Excellent
Review: It was with great trepidation that I picked up this book. Frank Herbert was one of the greatest science fiction novelists ever and upon his death the sci-fi community lost an incredible mind. I never expected another book to be written in the Dune series even though I had hopes that Brian Herbert (Frank's son) might consider it due to the ending of Chapterhouse Dune. I was excited when the book was finally released and I met up with Brian Herbert and Kevin Anderson at their book signing in San Francisco at Stacey's book store. The book itself was NEVER designed to compete with the original Dune Novels by Frank Herbert (an apparent oversight by some reviewers of this book). It was instead designed to give us the history behind the original Dune Characters and how they came into being in the first Dune Novel. The authors did an excellent job telling an exciting tale of those persons in the first Dune book and their early experiences. Dune: House Atreides keeps the reader riveted and turning the pages. It is a startling insight into the characters personalities and political conflicts surrounding the Dune universe. I am sure that the next two books, due out in the near future, will also lead us further into the depths of these characters. Although some characters may seem different from their personalities in the original Dune books, let us not forget that what we are currently seeing from this book is their early development. More is on the way. Hang in there Dune fans. I know I am....on the EDGE OF MY SEAT.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent Prequel
Review: Despite the inherent difficulties of writing a prequel, the authors rose admirably to the challenge. Their research shows. I reread Frank Herbert's DUNE series before reading this book and -- although the authors did not choose (to my great relief) to mimic the elder Herbert's actual writing style -- the story, action, and philosophy fit in well with the previous DUNE novels. An excellent addition to the series. I can't wait for the next one.

Rating:
Summary: GREAT BOOK!!!! A TRIUMPH FOR THE AUTHORS AND DUNE FANS!
Review: I think that the authors pulled off the near impossible - writing a new and substantial Dune book. It is very respectful towards the original Dune novels. It has a little more action than some of the others in the series. But what is wrong with that? This is a prequel done the right way. Dune fans should celebrate. Can't wait for more.