Dune: House Atreides
Author: Brian Herbert & Kevin J. Anderson
Year: 1999
Abstract:
Before the Emperor assigns the quasi-fief of Arrakis to House Atreides. Before young Paul Atreides is even born. Before Shaddam is
even the emperor. Dune: House Atreides begins what will be a trilogy telling the story of what came before the
greatest Science Fiction series ever written. You will meet a young Duke Leto's father, Paulus. You will find the young Duncan
Idaho a slave on Giedi Prime. You'll even find out why the Baron is so corpulent.
| Advanced Mind |  |
| Exploration/Quest | |
| Military/Fighting | |
| Horror | |
| Magic | |
| Advanced Technology | |
| Time Travel/Alternate History | |
| Science | |
| Aliens/Beasties | |
| Contemporality |
Other books in this series: Dune Prequels
Dune: House Harkonnen [2000]
Dune: House Corrino [2001]
tyranist's Review
It is with a great deal of trepidation and simultaneous glee that I picked up Dune: House Atreides. I have been a fan
of Frank Herbert's original series for most of my life (and I'm not that old) and I have longed for more adventures. We have all
wanted to see the fabled Dune 7. We all want to keep living in this magical place of the distant future. And fortuantely, someone
recognized this and the work has begun again.
Unfortunately, Frank Herbert isn't around to do that work. I dare say that anyone who tries to match his world will have a difficult time.
That is why I both admire Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson and hate them. I admire them, because it is astoundingly
brave to try to tackle work in a world where the fans are loyal in the extreme and more intelligent than the average reader. I
admire them for having the gall to tell stories about people we know and love. I admire them for bringing new stories to my
favorite world.
I hate them because they cannot ever be Frank Herbert. There are inconsistencies in this novel that are difficult to get past. There
are plot details, that do not fit the grand style of Frank. There are characters that Frank would never have even considered worthy
of attention. In other words, as much as I was glad to return to The Known Universe, Frank is dead and cannot be
replaced.
Still, I have talked with Kevin about this project and I know that he loves Dune. I know that he has fears of living up to the
expectations of the community. It is a large task, and they understand its import.
As for the novel, itself, I found it a difficult read for a few reasons. Reason number one is that I am an avid Dune fan and have
read the novels often enough to be able to spot inconsistencies. For those who know the Known Universe this well, it will
be all to obvious that Frank is not at the helm. Sometimes these errors are glaring and forced me to put the book down for
a time. Sometimes they were minor and I was able to find some rationalization for them. Still, it was distracting and made the
read a slow one for me.
Reason number two is the complexity of the novel. Kevin and Brian have undertaken a remarkably complex task. They track up
to five major storylines and many subplots throughout the novel. It is all told in a third person perspective, but you could be
in just about anyone's head when the next chapter begins. It makes the concepts and paths of the novel complex and big. In a
phrase, it can be difficult to wrap your mind around it. This is mostly a problem at the beginning of the novel, when we are still
being introduced to all of the plots and elements. I found that by the end, it wasn't as distracting, but this may scare away
many a reader before they would have been truly pulled in. It also provides less motivation for a reader to return often to the book
since you can't guarantee that I am going to see a character again for about thirty pages. In the end, it tightens up considerably
as some plots are subjegated and others wrapped up.
Reason number 3 is that I simply felt a need to absorb the novel. I have absorbed the rest of the Dune books and I wanted this one
to be available to me in the same way. This is a purely personal reason, but for fairness sake, I thought that I should mention it.
Recommending this novel will be difficult. I noticed that they were very careful to avoid exposing certain secrets that are only
eventually uncovered in the original series, but others were exposed with alarming immediacy. I would have a hard time recommending
that someone read this "prequel" before reading the original series. I don't think that having the secrets exposed is worth it. Still,
for some readers, this will ease them into a complex universe that they might otherwise not be able to tackle. This doesn't have
the tremendous intellectual complexity that bars some readers from truly enjoying Dune. Don't get me wrong, it isn't a simple, stupid
book, rather it is a book that while complex, does not match the depth that Frank Herbert had. I am eager to read the rest of the
series still. Maybe that should count for something.