Rating: 
Summary: Mainly for Dune fanatics
Review: Writing a prequel to one of the greatest science fiction books ever written is no easy task. Herbert and Anderson are to be commended for even trying to craft this work, based at least partially on the notes left by Brian's illustrious father. Their success, however, is partial and this book is probably only of interest to Dune fanatics.The book concerns events that happened a generation before Dune. That's about as much as I can say about the plot because its principal fault is the lack of a narrative focus. We are treated to Pardot Kynes starting his lifelong study of Dune, to Shaddam IV scheming to get control of the Empire, to a villanous plot to take over the planet of Ix and to the rise of Leto Atreides. We even get information on the conception of Lady Jessica. Any one of these stories might have worked but the attempt to put all of them together makes the book slow (at 600+ pages, it is longer than most of the Dune books). A few threads should have been dropped. Additionally, the suspense of the book is watered down when you've read Dune. You know what the outcome of Leto's trial by forfeiture will be; you know how the Baron's breeding will work out. The really interesting stuff concerns Ix and House Vernius and I could have used a lot more of that and a lot less of Lady Jessica's conception. The book's appeal is not helped by the authors' style which is slow and repitive. They will tell you about the balance of power in the Empire at least a dozen times. This can be contrasted with Herbert the Elder's style, which was crisp and quick -- so much so that you really have to pay attention to know what was going on. This book is a lot more dumbed down. Hmmm. It sounds like I'm panning the book. I'm not. It's not *bad*, it's just not *great*. It was an enjoyable read and I found the filling in of Dune's background interesting. Although I knew the eventual outcome, the last hundred pages had me reading rapidly, eager to see what happened. I was reminded of the appendices to Lord of the Rings -- which lack the narrative verve of the novel but are fascinating if you love the world Tolkien created. This is the same -- it lacks the power and lyricism of Dune but is fascinating if you're interested in the history of the Imperium. The ultimate point is that I went out and bought House Harkonnen after reading this. That should tell you how much I liked it. But then again, I loved Dune. And that's the point of my review. If you loved Dune, you'll like this book. If not, save your money.
Rating: 
Summary: Not worthy.
Review: I found this book to be lacking in most areas. While mildly entertaining, the writing was amateurish. And worst of all, you'd swear this was fan fiction from some teenager. Not very true to Frank Herbert's vision at all.
Rating: 
Summary: Cartoon series out of DUNE
Review: Ah... Dune junkies. The original DUNE was such potent substance that we all found ourselves grabbing the pricy hardcovers of Frank Herbert's son's concoctions off the store shelf and actually reading them, asking ourselves every 2 pages: "Why am I reading THIS?" The original DUNE series was indeed very addictive, and we all have had this little substance abuse since then. When the fake DUNE came out, I was among the first ones to buy them, in hardcover... Woe to me, all three of them.
One thing is clear: the creator of the original DUNE was an immense literary talent; his son Brian is not. The latter's only credential is that he is the son of Frank Herbert; therefore he has an inherent right to take his father's literary canvass and turn it into a cartoon series, making a few bucks in the process. These new books' do not aim at the perpetuation of Frank Herbert's intellectual legacy. Their goal is making a few bucks off our substance abuse. I admit I may be wrong. It is quite possible the poor Brian sees himself a rightful Duke of the DUNE series with a signet on his finger but does not realize that he is out of his league. He was bright enough to understand that he could not do it alone, so he hired a writer to do it for him. For all that, as for literary collaboration of Anderson and Herbert-junior, 1+1 does not equal 2. It equals 0. Having finished reading the prequels, I opened the original DUNE. Ah, what a pleasure it is to revel in its complexities and nonpareil multi-dimentionality!
Rating: 
Summary: I liked it. Very readable and a worthy prequel to Dune.
Review: This book is a great read. It is, of course, a prequel to Dune, the Frank Herbert Sr. classic. Although it is not as great a book as the original Dune, I actually liked it better than all of the sequels to Dune written by the original Frank Herbert Sr. The novel takes place in the latter years of the Old Duke's reign on Caladan, the home of House Atreides. It introduces us to the Old Duke, and to Duke Leto Atreides, who we never really get to know in the original Dune, since he gets killed off there fairly soon. Duke Leto is the central character of this novel, and that fact is what makes this a pleasure to read. The story is fast-paced, interesting, and very readable. It was good enough that I have re-read it, and I enjoyed it very much the second time. Recommended.
Rating:
Summary: Compelling and Well-written
Review: I think Brian Herbert and Kevin Anderson took on a heck of a challenge, with hundreds of thousands of DUNE fans expecting something as good as, or better than, the original. And, I must say, they came very close. The pre-Paul Atreides/Muad'ib/Kwisatz Haderach era was put together in a suspenseful and comprehensive way. DUNE is still DUNE, but House Atreides is a masterpiece in it's own right.
Rating:
Summary: Very accessible and not to bad (regarding its not Frank)
Review: This book an easy read where the original Dune books ar much more complex. The original books remain interesting after the first read, and one still discovers new things on second or sometimes third read. House Atreides holds a lot of interesting background info on Frank's universe. And I liked that. The end was a bit to "easy" in my opinion. But remember this is not Frank. Rate the book on its own merits. Then it is a decent read.
Rating:
Summary: fun stories
Review: While the Dune:House books will never be written to the...critics satisfaction, all 3 are excellent stories. I read the original Dune books in the mid 80's & loved them. I have now read the 3 "House" books, and enjoyed them as well. No one will ever be able to meet the expectations of the "experts", but thank you, Brian and Kevin, for letting us enjoy Dune again. I'm looking forward to the rest. Let's learn to enjoy books and stories without being so critical about the style. Some will never be satisfied, but most of us are. Literature is for entertainment as well as art. So just enjoy the books for what they are, fun.
Rating:
Summary: Trying to remember Frank Herbert?
Review: House Atreides is the first volume of a trilogy which is intended as a prequel to the events narrated in the great classic "Dune" by Frank Herbert. The initial idea of Brian Herbert (Frank Herbert's son) was to write a conclusion to the original saga which comprised six volumes. This idea was reinforced when some drafts of a "Dune 7" novel were found years after Frank Herbert's death in 1986. What finally resulted was the collaboration of Brian Herbert and Kevin Anderson (well known already for working within others universes not created by himself, like Star Wars and the X-Files), to write several novels that take place in the 'Dune Universe', both authors claiming that some plots and ideas were taken from Frank Herbert's notes. The attempt is of course futile in the sense that no one will ever come close to write the way Frank Herbert did. He was an exceptional writer with an incredible wisdom and very peculiar style. Thus, when one reads House Atreides, one might see the body (characters, places and events of the Dune Universe) but the soul is missing. And it was precisely the soul of Herbert's works that made him inmortal. The problem with House Atreides is that it does not resist the comparison. If we could be able to judge it without thinking in the original Dune series it could be a nice adventure, even with some interesting events and places. On the negative side, the writing is no more than average, and the two different pens are clearly felt. Some of the events seem forced just to fit in the overall saga and many character responses are poorly backed As it stands, House Atreides and all the novels which the Anderson-Herbert duo are writing might be interesting only as they will make us remember the greatness of Frank Herbert. The big incognita will be their final volume "Dune 7". Will it really be the conclusion that Frank Herbert was thinking for his epic saga?. We will never know...
Rating:
Summary: An extremely pale shadow of Frank Herbert's Dune books...
Review: I've been reading and rereading Frank Herbert's Dune books for twenty years, and I have to say that I find this book a shameful attempt to captialize on a great SF author's fame. The plot is contrived and simplistic, and the characters are cardboard cutouts. To paraphrase Thufir Hawat when he dealt with the Baron: Frank Herbert could tell us a thing with the literary equivalent of the lift of an eyebrow or the wave of a hand...could express an entire sentence in the the way he accented a single word. This writing, by comparison, is cloddish! I'm sorry if this hurts the authors, because writing any book is a huge task and I'm sure that enormous effort went into writing this one. But the authors should expend their energies making their own creations, and stand or fall on their own imaginations, not Frank Herbert's. Bantam Books, too, should reconsider their all-too-transparent motivations. I'm thankful that Christopher Tolkien has not fallen into this trap, and that the Lord of the Rings remains pretty much how J.R.R. left it (don't get me started on the films...).
Rating: 
Summary: This is the first Dune book I have ever read
Review: I was interested in Dune since a friend suggested it was a good read. Accidentally I picked up this book instead of my intended origional Dune. I thought this book was extremely entertaining, probably one of my top 10 favorite books and worth every penny. I loved the multi-plot writing in the book that gives the reader insight in every perspective. I intend to finish the prequel trilogy and then continue on to the origional series. If this book doesn't compare to the origionals as most of the reviews say then I am in for a treat.
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