Rating: 
Summary: Not the best, but still Dune.
Review: Now, don't get me wrong, I LOVE the Dune series. And it's great to have more to read. But the book held little edge-of-my-seat excitement like the original series. Because it is set in the past I know the ultimate outcome. It's still interesting and has new secrets and surrprises sure to be appriciated by any Dune fan. The lighter read is also good for people new to the world of the Imperium, who may find Dune a little too involved.
Rating: 
Summary: Worthy of the Dune name
Review: The Dune Prequel books may not have the same magic and level of complexity that the original Dune book has, but they're well written and an enjoyable read. You can become reacquainted with many of your favorite characters and read about their lives and where they came from. Leto Atreides, Duncan Idaho, Gurney Halleck, Jessica, Liet Kynes, as well as the Harkonnens, Shaddam, the Ixians, Tleilaxu, etc. These books are a welcome change from some of the tedium and lack of action in the latter Dune books. Some of the plot twists and pre-Dune events are a bit of a stretch though. I recommend this series for another fun adventure into the Dune universe.
Rating:
Summary: So Brian's not Frank. Read it anyway.
Review: I came into this prequel with a lot of preconceived notions that it would not be a worthy successor to the original. And it isn't. But after a second reading, I realized it's not supposed to be. "House Atreides" is a prequel, not a sequel. It's supposed to "fill in the blanks" of what happened before the greatest book in science fiction history. NO book can ever hope to live up to that kind of hype. But I believe Brian and Kevin do a masterful job of setting up things that we =know= are going to happen in later books without killing the suspense. There's whole new storylines to explore in this series, which they do later on. So Brian's not Frank. But he's working from Frank's notes with the aid of an author who is used to working in other people's universes. If you like "Dune" give this series a chance. I believe if you come into it with an open mind, you'll find it almost as entertaining as the original.
Rating:
Summary: Anderson is no Herbert
Review: But can we expect him to be? Herbert had such a vision of the Dune universe I'm sure he could have easily written 30 more books if it weren't for his untimely death. Anderson attempts the "prequel" to the Dune saga, and does a relatively good job of writing in the characters. Unfortunately, the events seem to unfold in a predictable fashion as opposed to Herbert's constant surprise of what's coming next. Much of the political jockeying is also more transparent than in the original series. My roommate and I could often expound for hours with beer and copies of "Dune" in our hands, but this prequel does not inspire such imagination. It's a fun read, but far from the classic status Herbert acheived with Dune.
Rating:
Summary: Worthy!
Review: I've read the Prelude books and original Dune books in no particular order. My mind seems to be able to put it all together like making sense of a Tarantino movie...Anyway, this is the best of the three Prelude books in terms of 'trying to fit into the old man's shoes.' The later books seemed to be laced by unhealthy doses of Amal. I liked these books but it's not something I would try to emulate as a writer. But as a reader, they're good escapist fun!
Rating:
Summary: Passable but nothing special
Review: This prequal to the classic sci-fi epic does a passable job filling in the story of where the history of where all of the great houses came from and the history of the peripheral characters in "Dune". First the good. This novel does a very good job in filling in the rest of the universe outside of arrakis. It takes the story to the capital to calidan and to geti prime. It makes up new world of Ix and some new neat villians. The sheer imagination of the world carries this story a consiterable distance. The story also starts well setting up a good cast of characters in some interesting siutations. Now the bad. This novel loses it focus and sense of intellegence halfway in. The plotting that makes up most of the last half of the book just didn't feel that clever. I didn't read this book and feel immersed in complex political games, a character that was almost omnipitant in one sceane is rather weak in the next. The story line that is very good the first half of the book doesn't carry over to the second half. And of course the ugly. What really keeps this book from being a four or five star book, is its inconsistant writing. I could tell that this book was written by two authors, and that is not a compliment. Some parts are written well, but then the writing deteriorates. The problem isn't with the prose, but just the style of writing. The characters and the narrorators feel a need to say everything they are feeling. A good author protrays feelings through the characters actions and more subtle characteristics. This got really bad about two-thirds of the way through the book. Sorry but this is amatuer type work that takes an otherwise very good book and makes it simply mediocre.
Rating:
Summary: Good but no Frank Herberts here
Review: I started out skeptical of this novel for a couple reasons. One I am not a big fan of Kevin J. Anderson. His work on Star Wars and other series was just plain lousy to me. It was simple reading, played out story, and just down right uniinteresting.
The second thing is that it is not Frank Herbert. I understand Brian is as close as we can get but when comparing this and the series to Franks epic series there is no comparrison. The characters have different attitudes. The descriptions are somewhat off. The tone of the novel doesn't match up with the original books. It is annoying how some characters in Frank's novels don't know each other but now in these prequels they are great buddies. Kinda like Leto and House Vernius of Ix and Gurney Halleck and Liet Kynes. Finally the book lacks the old biblical sense that Frank put into his. It seemed in Franks novels ever sentence was trying to be prophetic and hold meaning while these novels are just playful fun with some deeper meanings but nothing like his fathers.
However I did give the novel 4 stars because even though it doesn not mesh with the original Dune works it is still quite entertaining, a fun read, and it clears up many questions to those left ambiguous in the original Dune series. So if you are a Dune fan and can get over the discrepencies between the works and just go with the flow you will enjoy this series.
Rating: 
Summary: Great Prequil Worthy of Herbert
Review: This book has an intrequit plot and a well developed interwoven group of characters. About a monta ago I saw the Dune film and I decided to start with House Atredies (Being the 1st prequil). I read this book pretty fast even though it is around 650 pages. The beginning might start out slow but around page 100 it picks up pace with sabotage, murder, lies and betrayel all across the imperium. I liked the massive inter-house conflicts and the overall complexity of the novel. The only bad part of the novel is the beginning being so slow. This book has encouraged me to read through the ENTIRE series. I would reccomend this book to anyone, no matter if you hate books like this, and especially if you love books like this. Dune House Atredies is a good read all around. Currently I am almost done with Dune House Harkonnen and am awaiting the arrival of Dune House Corrino at my doorstep in a week.
Rating:
Summary: Well Written: Srong plot and Good Style
Review: This is a prequel to the original DUNE Chronicles, unquestionably one of the great science fiction stories of the century. Dune House Atreides is a lively blend of adventure and intrigue woven into a stunning embroidery of the Great Houses of the Emporium. It is set in a time before that of the original Dune novels. The authors take you on a journey from planet to planet, character to character and bring them all together in a lively ending. Dune fans will find the history fascinating and some characters familiar. Newcomers to Dune stories will get a taste of what we all so much enjoyed in the original chronicles. Sparkling descriptions of the environments of very different places and narrative portraits of some penetrating characters will keep your interest. A few of the characters are Elrood IX, ruler of the known universe, Baron Vladimar Harkonnen, Governor of Planet Arrakis, Pardot Kynes, Planetologist, Duke Paulus Atreides, ruler of the planet Caladan, and his son the young Duke Lito. The Baron Vladimar Harkonnen hunts people including a child named Duncan Idaho who eludes him. The young Duke finds himself in charge of his house at an early age. The Emperor Elrood's son Shaddam and his degenerate friend Hasimar Fenring are scheming evil plots. Meanwhile Pardot Kynes is discovering the ecosystems and native culture on Arrakis (a planet also known as Dune). In the mix are the Mentats (humans with computer like minds), the crafty Bene Gesserit witches, and the dirty Tleilaxu. The Spacing Guild has a monopoly on space travel. The CHOAM is a commercial organization controlling the all important spice melange (noted mainly for its geriatric qualities). Plots within plots, dark secrets and a few romances kept my interest for all of the 600 or so pages. I found this refreshingly well written and fluid. You will hate the bad guys and love the heroes. This book will leave you wanting more of the same and rumor has it Herbert and Anderson have at least a couple more Dune prequels coming out soon.
Rating: 
Summary: A pale shadow
Review: Dune is an incomparable classic of SF writing. No-one would have expected House Atreides to match it. But this book falls so far short of Dune that it is a travesty that it bears the Dune name. For one thing, House Atreides does not draw on the aspect of Dune that raised it above countless other SF books - the pervasive presence of mystico-religious elements. Most obviously there was Paul's fulfilment of the Fremen's prophecy of the Lisan al Gaib and the Bene Gesserit's breeding programme for Kwisatz Haderach, and his vision of the jihad to come. But even more striking is the fact that we were constantly reminded that many of the central characters were either deeply religious (the Fremen) or had a keen awareness of the possible religious consequences of the events they are involved in (Paul, Jessica, the Bene Gesserit). This religious dimension is wholly lacking in House Atreides. Given that the significant religious events in the Dune story caught everyone off guard it might have been inconsistent to have heavy foreshadowing throughout the prequel trilogy. However, the absence means that House Atreides is not cut from the same cloth as Dune. But the real problem is simply that House Atreides is badly written. The characters are paper thin (good guys - clean cut, loyal and courageous; bad guys - nasty and scheming). The characters are also all irredeemably stupid. The intrigue and politicking between the Great Houses and the Emperor that formed part of the backdrop of Dune and was uncovered as the story proceeded is brought into the foreground in House Atreides and set out in excruciating detail, killing any suspense or intrigue. The plot has so many implausibilities I can't begin to count them. Frankly, this book insults the intelligence of the reader.
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