Rating: 
Summary: A somewhat disjointed story
Review: For people who have read the Dune series written by the late Frank Herbert, this novel forms a prequel. It appears to have been written as several related novelettes, which were then split up into short chapters and shuffled together like a deck of cards. At times, I found myself skimming through the novel to reassemble chapters in order to follow a particular story line. The novel is part action, and part romance. I skimmed through some less interesting parts to get on with the action. The concept of mankind fighting an empire of thinking machines is not new. This novel introduces a conflict, but does not end it. It is obviously the first of an intended series.
Rating: 
Summary: Someone, please teach these two to write!
Review: Unlike the masterpieces written by Frank, this novel and the three "House" novels stink. This is little more than a space opera -- dangerously close to the drivel produced by L Ron Hubbard.I waded through the first three books, hoping they would get better... Then in Jihad, in the very first battle, the stupid human Harkonnen finally realizes that, gasp!, the evil Cymeks are going after the Holtzman field generator! Doh! He commands the troops to protect the generator, and saves the day. C'mon Kevin and Brian -- people in the future should be smarter than today, not dumber. Any foot soldier with half a brain should know that the enemy is going to go after your most important defensive weapon -- the generator should have already been heavily defended, and what's more, should have been duplicated in many locations around the planet. The evil machines don't seem to be any smarter than the dumb humans, as witnessed by the shock that the humans somehow managed to deduce their true objective. The only interesting item in this book is the description of how the first human figured out how to ride a sandworm. This could have been a fascinating story -- but it smacks of too much control by non-visionary editors with an eye on fast-paced entertainment.
Rating: 
Summary: The Spice must flow...
Review: One of the best Dune books ever written and an excellent start for the new trilogy. It's not Frank Herbert's Dune for sure, but the universe created for this trilogy works for me and really helps to understand the mithology created by old Frank. Outstanding work. Now I'm waiting for The Machine Crusade and The Battle of Corin.
Rating:
Summary: The Butlerian Jihad and the prequel trilogy
Review: I have read some of other people's reviews on Butherian Jihad. I do not agree with most of them. I found it to be an excellent book. As with the prequel trilogy(House Atreides, House Harkonnen, and House Corrino), these books help to understand many keys parts in the original Dune book. Many people thought that Butlerian Jihad had a no-so-great ending and that it kind of left you hanging. If these people had looked on the inside cover of the book, they would see that there are to be two more books to complete Butlerian Jihad. In this book, we are given totally new people, but we still have the Harkonnen and Atreides name still running around. Butlerian Jihad helps the reader to understand why the thinking machines were so bad, and why no likeness of a thinking machine should ever be made. It also shows some insight as to what Salusa Secundus was like before it became the training grounds for the Sardaukar. Butlerian Jihad also shows us that spice was not well known in the earlier times,and how it was gaining fame. I recommend this book to all of Frank Herbert's fans, anyone who liked House Atreides, House Harkonnen, House Corrino, and to anyone who is looking for a great sci-fi book to read.
Rating: 
Summary: Easy to Enjoy
Review: I just completed reading The Butlerian Jihad. For those of us who not only loved, but were truly inspired by the original Dune series (and who remember that Frank Herbert is still deceased) Brian and Kevin continue to do a remarkable job of exploring and indemnifying Herbert's fictional intentions. The beauty of any fictional read is its ability to transport. There are few who can walk away unscathed from literary dissection like Frank Herbert could. With that exception in mind, it is great fun to sit and read these latest installments for the Dune-addicted. I appreciate the way Brian and Kevin allow the reader to involve their own imaginations to a comfortable degree. Too much visual expression becomes tedious and i prefer to rely on my own mental depictions of characters etc. Both chapter velocity and the manner in which they rotate through the given plots while working towards inevitable tie-ins is well paced. New characters are often difficult to warm up too, but the guys do a spendid job of creating enough attachment to these new heroes and villains that you'll look forward to their ongoing performances in the next installments, providing they survive. As well, the unveiling of many Dune origins, from the simplicity of glowglobes to the emormity of marketing melange, was pleasurable to read. Erasmus was devious fun and the twist in the lives of characters such as Serena and Xavier was edgy and emotional stuff. I concur with some who have expressed an overabundance on battle depiction and not enough on interpersonal relationship, that which made "God Emperor of Dune" so intoxicating (oops, see, i brought Frank back into it too). But all in all i felt The Butlerian Jihad a great adventure and easy to recommend.
Rating:
Summary: Verbose, shallow garbage.A waste of money (energy) and time.
Review: As a fan of the original Dune books ( the REAL ones written by Mr. Herbert Senior) I have plodded through the prequels and watched them...(read them?) get worse and worse.
This latest, " The Butlerian Jihad" makes me wonder if the authors have even read the originals with anything like care.
Rife with the introduction of nonsense.. ( women with silly, "Sabrina the teenage witch"-like powers never even hinted at in the original books ).... (and by the way guys... both the shield AND the lasegun are destroyed when they meet.. do your reasearch!)....
I found this book to be an utter bore. Shallow plots, clumsy interweaving of them..and , dare I say it?...so predictable that I am reminded that "absolute prediction equals death".
Far from the thought-provoking feast for the mind that was the original Dune.. this stuff is fluff and pap, seemingly cranked out to meet a publisher's deadline. Although the authors claim to be working from Frank Herbert's notes, I do not believe this sort of Pablum was what he had in mind. I think Frank Senior would be disappointed.
Order a nice, fresh, non-dogeared copy of the original instead, you'll enjoy it more!
Rating:
Summary: Butlerian Johad Review
Review: I'm only a quarter of the way into the book and I'm not sure I'll be able to finish it. The plot is weak and the action weaker yet. Many of the descriptions are irrelevant and I'm finding the book terribly verbose. The characters are so thin they're practically transparent. The science is weak to non-existent. The battle tactics are unbelievable. The style lacks the craftsmanship you'd expect from even a journeyman writer. I could go on, but you get the picture. I've never written a review before, but this sad excuse for a book has prompted me to do so.
Rating:
Summary: Former Dune Fan
Review: OK - I am done with Dune. The original series, written by F. Herbert, was excellent - it was so well detailed and written that I could almost smell the spice. The Butlerian Jihad, however, has convinced me to move on. This work was poorly written, poorly thought out, and wordy instead of detailed; it was a silly book. The Titans, the evermind, the other thinking machines were all comic caricatures of what they could have been. The inane dialog was so mind-numbing, I had to struggle through each page. My advice: read ANYTHING else- anything. Save your money, save your time, save your sanity.
Rating:
Summary: Getting Better but still Immature
Review: The authors are improving. However, they seem to be unable to create "evil" characters that are believable. For instance, the Cymek Ajax in this installment is portrayed as nothing short of a maniac. This shallow development does not allow for any complex exploration of his motivations and loyalaties. However, I have noticed an improvement is the authors ability to create beleivable characters that are not at their extremes of good and evil.
Rating:
Summary: Exciting Read
Review: To date I have read the entire Dune series twice. I enjoyed the Butlerian Jihad. The story moves!!! Put simply... It is like watching a action packed exciting movie. The characters are intense, many plots unfold at the same time, and many unanswered questions are finally told in this gripping novel about the war against machines. I read it in one day! I couldn't put it down.
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