Rating: 
Summary: Fun, satisfying space-opera page turner...
Review: Sometimes I think maybe people take DUNE too seriously. It is a great testament to the power of the series that it consistently
manages to be so philosophical, pulpy, and entertaining at once. This book follows the stories of many familiar characters, Duke Leto, Jessica, Baron Harkonnen, Reverend Mother Helena, the Emperor Shaddam IV, Rabban, Duncan Idaho, Gurney Halleck, Count Fenring, Piter De Vries, Liet Kynes among others, and adds a few new ones such as Rabban's father and mother, a renegade household, the Verniuses, and C'tair a rebel on the planet of Ix who is the twin brother of a HUMAN Navigator, D'murr. There is certainly a lot of material here, and at times it seems almost too much, but that is what Space Opera is for, and the resulting "brings up as many questions as it answers effect" is kind of nice. Perhaps one day we'll find out a little more about the Butlerian Jihad. (And it's all still hugely symbolic.) There are discrepancies, which is to be expected in any long running epic series. The only one which really bothered me was that Fenring supposedly built the Conservatorium in the Palace on Arrakis for his wife, the Bene Gesserit Lady Margot. I believe the primary works implied its origins were a little bit more legendary. But it's still a fascinating portrait of a VERY SICK human race imperceptibly struggling, one hopes, for recovery, and it's all the more a fascinating read for the dark, conflicting and increasingly ironic philosophies that permeate. I hadn't read House Atreides, and I didn't really have very much trouble with using House Harkonnen as a starting point for the new series. But you do need to know the base characters before hand. You'll learn about Paul's brother, Jessica's sister and how Rabban got to be called "the Beast." And if you're like me, you'll think Reverend Mother Helena has a heck of a lot of nerve testing anyone for being human.
Rating:
Summary: Frank Herbert's characters but Kevin J. Anderson's style
Review: I love Dune and the three prequels written by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson are entertaining and an interesting look at the characters. I have Anderson's Star Wars books and like his writing style - but it is vastly different from Frank Herbert's. If you are looking for the dense prose of the elder Herbert, you will not be pleased with these books. If you are looking for a continuation of the stories simply for entertainment, enjoy.
Rating:
Summary: The Saga Continues!
Review: So Brian Herbert ain't his old man...so what? This second volume of the DUNE prequels is one hell of a ride. If you enjoyed the originals, and are a bit tired of re-reading them over and over, do yourself a big favor and dig into these prequels. Fast-moving fun.
Rating: 
Summary: What a stinker
Review: It is obvious that this guy is an apprentice, while his father
was a master. Why? I will not discuss his writing. I will just write some facts. In the book 3 "Children of the Dune", Frank Herbert wrote on page 98 that Jessica's mother name was Tanedia
Nerus, while Brian chose another person. In book 4, Lord Leto II
revealed a secret location of the planet X. I wounder how could Lord Leto (his grandfather) go to this planet for his training? There are a lot of things like this. At least Brian should read original 6 books. I mean, I am sick of greedy people
without qualities trying to make money in this way.Dejan
Rating: 
Summary: Great story, atrocious writing
Review: The stories, some if not most developed by Frank Herbert, the original author of the six-part Dune series, are fabulous. Alas, the writing is atrocious. There are too many examples of awfulness to enumerate, so I will mention only one. The authors repeat information as though they think the readers aren't going to be paying any attention: in House Atreides, Kailea's "emerald" eyes are mentioned so often that I figured the authors had done a "Find and Replace" search on her name.... The book is wordy and loose, not at all like the tight, crisp writing of Frank Herbert (who died in 1986). Not a page goes by that I don't wonder why these books weren't edited properly. However, because the story line is so good, I keep reading. I would only recommend these books to someone who could somehow overlook form for function, just to get at the stories themselves. When Dune: House Corrino comes out in paperback, I'll read it, too, despite my complaints about the writing. However, I'm most looking forward to going back and rereading the original Dune once I finish House Harkonnen, just to get the taste of that terrible writing out of my mouth.
Rating: 
Summary: Eh.. ok
Review: Just ok, long-winded, but interesting at times. Just read the main Dune books and stay away from the prequels! OK ok, you can read Prequel #1 Atreides, too, but don;t read House Corrino! AK! EEGADZ!! Aweful!
Rating:
Summary: It's not Frank, but then who could fill his shoes?
Review: I still find the original Dune series far more complex in every way - character development, plot and even the vocabulary used. However, House Harkonnen is as good as it gets! Could not put it down, and like all Dune books, all hell begins to break loose in the last 100 pages - and all hell does break loose for the Atriedes family. Also, this is the first Dune book that has ended so very sadly. It's an interesting twist. I can't give it 5 stars, because only Frank gets 5, but I do give it 4. I loved it.
Rating:
Summary: A worthy successor
Review: I've never been much of a science fiction fan, unless you count the Twilight Zone and Outer Limits. But, when I was a beginning teacher, some of my students were reading DUNE by Frank Herbert, and I gave it a try. I guess it was the melange, a kind of hallucinogenic spice that heightens your intellect, and the giant sand worms that could be ridden around the desert like living trolley cars, but I loved it. I read several of them, but then Frank Herbert died. I was vaguely aware that his son Brian was now writing the series, but I was a little leery about taking a chance until I saw it offered by one of my book clubs.
The number of characters and plot lines is a bit daunting at first, but around page two hundred I finally got used to it. It's also somewhat hard to keep track of exactly where you are at times. The setting is a galaxy or the Imperium. Emperor Shaddam, more ruthless than Ghengis Khan, rules over the Imperium. He has a sidekick called a mentat (think Spock) who is plotting with him to take over the spice trade.
The main character is Duke Leto Atreides, a great-grandson of Emperor Elrood IX, who presides over Caladan. His concubine, a defrocked noblewoman, wants him to marry her and declare their son his heir. He scorns her for a better political match.
The villain in the piece is grossly fat Baron Vladimir Harkonnen, who's been cursed by the Bene Gesserit, a sisterhood with a desire to dethrone the emperor and create a theocracy. The Harkonnens control the spice trade, the most valuable commodity in the Imperium.
Then there's Pardot Kynes, the planetologist who wants to turn Dune into a garden. His son, Liet-Kynes is part Fremen (revolutionary commoner) who fights the Harkonnens. Another plot line includes Planet Ix, which has been taken over by the Tleilaxu who have enslaved the populace. Kailea, Duke Leto's concubine and the mother of his son Victor, is the daughter of the former ruler of Ix. Her brother Rhombur also lives on Caladan. On Ix, the freedom fighter C'tair endures a lonely struggle against the Tleilaxu. On Geidi Prime, the home planet of the Harkonnens, Gurney Halleck's sister is kidnapped by the Harkonnens and he spends years trying to find her and steal her back.
Meanwhile a protege of Leto's, Duncan Idaho, is training to become a Swordmaster. It's an eight year course and when finished he will work for Leto. I was impressed by how well Herbert and Anderson handled the passage of time. At the beginning of the novel, Duncan is just starting his training; at the end, he's become a Swordmaster. With virtually hundreds of characters and umpteen plot lines, that's not easy.
Lots of juggling going on here, but all of the plots are interconnected and many of the hundreds of characters wind up on the same planet at various times and we get to see the relationships. Some of the plot lines are unresolved to be taken up in the next book.
It took me over three weeks to read the thing, but I'd say it is a worthy successor to the original DUNE. Some readers may find the villains hopelessly overdrawn. Harkonnen's nephew has absolutely no redeeming qualities. Some of you may remember the Sting movie based on Dune and the monstrously fat Harkonnen. He's just as repulsive here.
Almost forgot. One of the main characters does get killed in the end. I thought that was a brave move on Herbert's part. This is also done very logically as is an earlier death of a rather likable Fremen.
Rating:
Summary: House Harkonnen shows the dark side of politics
Review: I read House Harkonnen right after finishing House Atreides, and I found that House Harkonnen had more to offer than the first novel. Although both books lack the power and writing style as the originial Dune, this novel is very good due to its dark and deceitful side of politics. It is a great novel because you can finally see why the Atreides were beloved rulers and the Harkonnens were basically slave drivers. The Harkonnens in this novel show their true mettle and viciousness. Murder, sabotage, and patricide hold no meaning to this family. On the other hand, compare this house to House Atreides and you will see that these houses have two different methodologies of how to rule their subjects. This second novel in the prequel series is better than the first due to the "harsher" side of the Harknonnens. Their immoral behavior makes you want to read on, and see how much worse it can get. Again, this novel does not have the aura of the original Dune, but the authors have made a valiant attempt to recapture the glimpse of Dune in these novels. Basically, these novels are history books leading up to the Dune series. And I must say, these are some of the best histories book leading up to a series that I have read.
Rating:
Summary: Continuing the Series
Review: Brian Herbert is an amazing writer. It's hard to do anything as spectacular as his father's work, but Brian is well on his way. The Dune "House" books he is writing shed some light of Frank's series, but mostly they tell why. They give reasons for people's social alignment, actions, and attitude. "House Harkonen" is the second one he wrote and, as the name implies, tells the tail of a time when good things are happening to House Harkonen.It's sort of the "Empire Strikes Back" of the Dune. House Atreides is falling apart from the top, just as planned. If you intend to read this, I recommend first reading "House Atreides." Frank Herbert's Dune series is another good, if lengthy, addition to the Dune universe.
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