Reviews

Sisterhood of Dune by Brian Herbert

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shane_tiernan's review against another edition

4.0

This is great! You get all the factions - Butlerians, pre-Spacing Guild, Bene Gesserit, Suk Doctors , Mentats and they're all trying to survive and get in better positions and sometimes crossing over so you have mentats training to reverend mothers, one kind of reverend mother who might also be a navigator, and Butlerian reverend mothers. Can't wait to see how it all ends up. I mean I know from reading that other books that none of these factions is totally gone, except maybe the Butlerians, but that's okay they definitely need to go.

dibiz116's review against another edition

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4.0

3.5 stars rounded up.

it's a Dune book - I'm so invested in the world built around all of these stories at this point that I'm probably giving this (and will continue to give future Dune books) higher ratings than they deserve. But there's always a level of comfort coming back to this world year after year. The plot was actually fairly engaging - individual character development may be lacking a bit but the depiction of the history of how the factions and schools in this universe was formed is extremely interesting. As always with Dune, the political intrigue is the plot driver here. This would probably not land well for someone who hasn't read the majority of the other Dune novels though.

reasonpassion's review against another edition

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4.0

I didn't get into the other histories as they didn't hold much interest for me. I started this set of history because of its closeness with the structures in place for the central series. While there is a quality that Frank Herbert had to his writing that simply can't be duplicated, the authors here have succeeded in capturing the essential themes, even to the point of exploring them further. The machine crusade 's imprint on humanity cannot be overstated and the psychological effects here described, centered as they are on the character Manford, are a testament to so much of what is currently going on in the world today. That anti-science rhetoric, seen as it is conflated with the worst in human history and a diminishment of humanity, passionately expressed in sheer disturbing fanaticism, echoes the rhetoric from many pulpits. The answer to it provided is not without its own problems and can reach its own version of fevered fanaticism. Showing this struggle in fiction form is a delightful homage to Herbert and a usage of the world he created that continues to inspire self-reflection and discussion.

galax003's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

wincher2031's review against another edition

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5.0

The lower stakes political tensions make a nice change to the highly explosive bombardments common throughout the preceding Butlerian Jihad trilogy.
The looming threat of returning thinking machines as a result of convenience, the lack of lessons learnt and the theme of history repeating through human error reflects our reality, ever relevant to modern life told with all the subtle evocation readers could want in a cautionary tale.
The battles take a backseat here, and in their place: a distant early warning from beyond the stars.
The subjects and themes are vast and plentiful, in danger of becoming an impenetrable mess of character threads which are, thankfully, all tied together in one impressive plot-knot. Sisterhood succeeds where Heretics of Dune fell apart.
It's as if the best parts of Children of Dune and Heretics of Dune were combined in a continuation of the Butlerian Jihad trilogy, creating one of the best Dune novels so far.