Rating: 
Summary: Fantastic Prequel
Review: Dune is the best series of all time, hands down. The most intelligently and creatively written that it is possible to imagine. When I heard that they were coming out with prequels, I cringed. I half hoped they would be successful -- so I would be lucky enough to get more of this world again -- but I didn't want them to ruin it for me.THEY DIDN'T. They pulled of the incredible feat of giving us something new in the context of something old. And man, did they do a great job. It is written by two authors, one of whom is a son of the original. Different chapters thread through the story in different areas, and it looks like one author took certain threads. Some of the threads are clearly better than others, but all are great. The originality that they come up with was really a feat. They didn't "extend" the original, they created new stuff that is just fantastic, without compromising the later novels. This book is about the House Harkonnen -- but contains all of the major players from the other houses. Much of the story we already know, but the fleshing out of it was fantastic. My hats off to the authors.
Rating: 
Summary: Nothing compared to the originals
Review: I probably would have given this more like a 3.5 or 4, but putting the name Dune on it requires the authors to live up to standards they did not quite live up to. No "mind-blowing concepts" which the originals were full of. The originals were CRAMMED with information, and were difficult to read because of it. And FRANK Herbert is my favorite author for that reason. It's a good book, but if you want something like Dune, read other Frank Herbert novels.
Rating: 
Summary: Did the authors even read the original Dune series?
Review: The "historical" and chronological inconsistencies in this, and it's precursor Dune: House Atreides, are enough to be the question more times than I care to count.
Consider, Baron Vladimir Harkonnen's mass is ascribed to obesity in The Children of Dune.
Lady Jessica (Atreides) real mother is not above mentioned Reverend Mother, but is mentioned in the second Dune novel.
Doctor Wellington Yueh, according to the original Dune, doesn't meet much less enter the original Duke Leto Atreides' service until 6 years before said original Dune, NOT sixteen years as postulated in Dune: House Harkonnen.
And finally (I'm running out of space), Frank Herbert's original creation of 'no-ships' appears in Book 4, some 10,000 years from the beginning of Dune, yet Brian and Kevin bring no-ships into being in House Harkonnen. Where did this technology (presented as NEW in Book 5) disappear to for 10,000 years?
I suggest somebody do a little research before publishing their next 'prequel'.
Rating: 
Summary: In the slave pits of the Beast!
Review: In this second volume of the prelude trilogy, we move slowly towards Dune itself. So many characters and events are set in place that explain all the understood elements in Dune. Idaho Duncan, Halleck Gurney, Dr Wellington Yueh, Liet Kynes, Jessica, and some others. But the main center of this volume is to describe in details the dictatorship of the Harkonnen : the disease of the Baron, the beastlike character of Glossu Rabban, their exploitation of slaves and their pleasure in hunting men, gladiator games, using human beings as prey, toys or torture entertainments. Their psychology of power for the sake of profit is explored in all possible ways and with a tremendous amount of details. There is no other political thinking for the Baron : power has to bring in a profit and human beings are nothing but the tools used to make that profit. Within the Imperium the Baron's sole reasoning is that he has to impose this vision of the state, and thus to oppose one house that represents the antithesis of it : House Atreides, whose power and political action is based on honour and the code of ethics that is derived from it. The book thus explains, or rather goes on explaining after the first prelude volume, the antagonism between the two houses. The next interesting element is the seizure of Ix by the Tleilaxu with the support of the Emperor. We discover there another ruthless exploitation of men and women. Men are slaves brutally forced to work and women are experimental beings used by the Tleilaxu to produce anything they want. Women are pure chemical living machines capable of producing living matter and tissues.The absolute of immorality behind the stringest proclamations of religious orthodoxy. There again the Atreides are antinomic because they found their action on the respect of people and on their love. Finally a last remark about the structure of the book. It is different from the other Dune volumes by Frank Herbert. It is true this trilogy is by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson. The chapters are very short indeed and the introspection that is so characteristic of Frank Herbert's style is here practically absent or reduced to very little. The book, like the preceding volume, is essentially an action book, and suspense is essentially created by short chapters following different lines and the constant intertwining of these different lines. Nevertheless, an indispensible volume to understand the whole Dune series. Dr Jacques COULARDEAU
Rating:
Summary: If you read the "Dune" series, you have to buy this one!
Review: Very well written, although the style differs from his father, Brian Herbert brings us further literary pleasure with his prequel series. You have to have it. I spent hours and hours reading it and I felt somehow sad when finishing the book...
Rating: 
Summary: Another disappointing Dune prequel novel
Review: It seemed as if BH and KA got togehter and said let's try to find as many characters and subtopics from the original Dune novel and make up a bunch of stuff to try to tie up the loose ends. The problem lies in the fact that every plot or sub-plot seems forced. There is a complete lack or originality. I experience deja vu when Leto kept moaning about "they've taken my son". Doesn't that sound like "they've tried to take the life of my son" which he repeats several times in Dune. The banquet scene was awful. I thought the banquet scene from the original Dune was one of the best parts of the book. Here I sensed they were trying to recreate they drama and intensity from the original banquet scene, but it turned out to be a cliff notes copycat. I won't even mention Gurney and Liet on Salusa. Then there's the garden in Arakeen keep. This book says Fenring built it for his BG wife. Why did Jessica (in Dune) seemed so shocked when she discovered the place. Wouldn't this info. have been spread to all BG. Plus, in Dune, I seem to recall the garden paradise being built by off-worlders (many years ago when they first came to Dune, not just 15-20 years before the original Dune takes place). Other things I felt were missing included, plots within plots, any mention of battle language (Atriedes, Harkonen, etc). The fremen all seemed a little too civilized also. Last thing I want to complain about is the Ginaz trainers. They represented fighting styles from about 10th-20th century (1000 years) Old Terra. I guess in the next 25,000 years, there will never be any new fighting styles that emerge that can compare with what was created in the past???!!!
It seems everything was written to summarize the threads that Frank Herbert left open and that they could capitalize upon.
Rating:
Summary: Not bad, but could have been a lot better
Review: Having read the masterful Dune series, and having enjoyed "House Atreides," I looked forward to this second book in the prequel trilogy. Being a librarian, I was able to get it at work just a day after its release. I sat down to read...and found myself VERY disappointed. The plot is at times disjointed (coincidences abound), and some of the twists and turns are ludicrous (what happens to Leto's son Victor seems to echo events from the original Dune novel; are they borrowing from Frank?). At times, I was bored with the book...it seemed to go nowhere fast...or is that slow? And the trials and tribulations of House Vernius are so excessively tragic as to almost be laughable. Speaking of laughable--the interplay between the Baron and the Bene Gesserit sisters borders on the ridiculous. I did find the source of the Baron's debilitating affliction to be rather ironic, though. Anachronisms abound in the story. Anyone who's read McNelly's Dune Encyclopedia (based on Herbert's notes and chronology, which Brian and Kevin seem to be ignoring...or maybe McNelly's wrong) knows that these stories take place nearly 25,000 years in our future. Why the constant references to Old Terra? After that much time, wouldn't traditions and beliefs (such as the uniforms of the Ginaz Swordmasters)carried from Earth have faded or altered into something else? Much of the book seems rushed; Duncan's training (which is supposed to be the most difficult in the known universe) finishes rather quickly (and seems only slightly more challenging than Ranger training...it's as if Herbert and Anderson felt that other elements of the plot merited more attention). The "artificial spice" subplot is handled in a tedious and somewhat pedestrian manner, which is unfortunate since it is the only plotline with intriguing potential. It makes sense for Shaddam to attempt such a thing; after all, he could effectively corner the market. But Herbert and Anderson come darn close to botching that entire plot thread. (Readers of the original book know how that particular plotline works out). Plus, the liberation of Ix seems inevitable--after all, Heighliners and Ixian devices pervade the original book, and the slimy Bene Tleilax are back where they belong. Following this series is a bit like following the Star Wars prequels--much of the drama is gone, since one knows how it's going to end. At least "House Harkonnen" finishes well, with a few nice tie-ups to the serpentyne plots and subplots. There is adequate action and intrigue to propel the book through its numerous slow spots. There's enough good in it to merit three stars--and after all, it IS a Dune book, with most of the elements that made the original series a masterpiece. Read it, if only to fill in the gap between first and third books. "House Atreides" was fairly good, and an adequate addition to the Dune universe. But this...Ugh! One hopes that "House Corrino" proves to be better. There has been talk that Herbert and Anderson intend to cap off the original series by completing Frank's unfinished Book Seven...one can only hope that they do that more justice than this uninspired addition to the Dune universe.
Rating:
Summary: Good but far from great.
Review: Much like the earlier prelude "House Atreides" written by the same two authors this book attempts to enlighten the reader about the previous history of the main characters in "Dune", written by Frank Herbert in his original classic which, to say the least, is a masterpiece, probably the best science fiction ever written. Dune is totally gripping, in many ways it holds the reader, first by the very insightful chapter headings which portray the various protagonists such as the Bene Gesserit, Corrinos, Sardaukar etc etc in the light of their own making. I mean that each of them has deep layers hidden underneath with the imagination going wild as to the secrets which remain. Indeed, the aura surrounding the characters is remarkable, somehow Herbert created a feudal universe which meshed together so well that it a just fit together as a whole. This is not so evident in this, the second of the preludes. The chapter headings are nowhere near as deep or meaningful, the characters are not as well developed, seemingly one dimensional, the politics and psychology of Dune are mere whimperings comapred to the original, too much is revealed, too much is made explicit, when mystery is opened up something is lost. Having said this, this book is nonetheless quite entertaining in its own right, the stories are manifold and come thick and fast, some intrigue is present but nowhere near enough, the Baron no longer appears as evil, but then there are other aspects which are enjoyable, much is explained, the reason for the choice of a son rather than a daughter for Jessica against the wishes and plans of the Reverend mothers etc. Good but far from great.
Rating:
Summary: STILL falls short of the Dune glory--but again, not bad...
Review: After having tackled House Atreides, I was better prepared for what House Harkonnen was going to offer me...until that is I actually started to read it. As others have noted, if you have read the Masterpiece Dune already (and there is no point in reading these prequels if you haven't), you know EXACTLY what is going to happen to the chief characters. In this, there is no possible surprise that the authors could pull...however, it's the secondary characters which offer up the biggest surprise of 'House Harkonnen'. Not only is it a pleasant surprise, but I wasn't prepared for the speed at which the story progresses. Now as we all know, 'Dune' wasn't the quickest moving story to hit the presses, but the lack of plot speed in NO WAY diminished that amazing tale. If 'House Harkonnen' had attempted to move at that same pace it would fall on its face in miserable disgrace. On the contrary, the speed of this 2nd prequel takes off and moves at a surprising pace, which hardly lets up at all. It also is filled with a great deal of violence, too. It illustrates in vivid detail the lengths at which the Harkonnens are willing to go to redefine the word 'Atrocity'. Now let me be clear on one thing: While admirable in their attempt to continue what is arguably the greatest sci-fi series ever written, the first two books in the planned prequel trilogy are FAR from even coming CLOSE to the original classic novels. I find these two books entertaining however mostly because no matter how much I think I know about the Dune Universe, I can really see the incredible research that Brian Herbert & Kevin J. Anderson have put into their work. In fact, it was a very pleasant surprise to see them bring up facts and characters that I had forgotten about, and didn't even see coming. Despite all of their homework and admirable attempts, 'House Harkonnen' was still ultimately predictable and carried almost none of the depth of the original series. I gave this 4 stars mostly due to effort here, and while not easy, I tried to judge it entirely upon its own merits, and not compared to Franks inspired books. Based upon that, and that alone, 'House Atreides' and 'House Harkonnen' are what I would call a summer beach book. Fun and fast moving, but nothing to be truly impressed over. If you are a serious Dune fan, just TRY to read it and NOT compare it to the other books...it ain't easy--but it CAN be done, and under those circumstances is a worthy addition to the Dune saga.
Rating:
Summary: Is this a star trek book?
Review: Brian distorts the Dune serious making unbelievable leaps and writing things that any Dune fan know just couldn't be or clash with Frank's vision. The characters are one dimensional and the story line is preposterous. It's as badly written as star trek books. This book might be entertaining to those looking for a fun read but anybody who holds Dune true and dear to their hearts will dislike this. This was obviously a tool to fatten his pockets. He should have listened to his father when he wrote "YOu don't write for success." Let Brian have his fun with the prequels but let us all hope he doesn't truely desicrate Dune by attempting Dune 7.
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