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3.54 AVERAGE
3.54 AVERAGE
I'm not going to bother to compare this book to its antecedent, the greatest science fiction story of all time. No one will ever be able to match Frank Herbert's style, so you can't put this book up against the original. I always felt there were more stories to be told in the Dune universe, and the authors have gone in the most obvious direction of telling the story of Paul Atreides's father Leto.
I will read the next book, but this book didn't rock my world. I felt the characters were a little hollow - they fell by the wayside in favour of plot development. I plan on reading the next book in the series but I don't have high hopes.
I will read the next book, but this book didn't rock my world. I felt the characters were a little hollow - they fell by the wayside in favour of plot development. I plan on reading the next book in the series but I don't have high hopes.
3.5
You learn how a lot of important characters from the first dune book rose to their positions 30 years before Dune took place. As Well as introducing new characters and giving more importance to some who only appear very minorly or were only referenced originally. To mention so without spoiling, The Baron, Idaho, The Old Duke Paulus Atreides, Leto 1, Lady Helena, Dr. Kinds, Empower Elrood, Emporer Shadam, Piter De Vries, Stilgar, and one of my new favorites Hasimir Fenring (Is he a weasel, ferret, or rabbit? )
This book doesn't just cover the Atreides either you learn about other houses such as the IX and Harkonnens, as well as other factions like the Navigators, Bene Gesserit,, fremen, and the "dirty" Tleilax.
The book will also go into more detail about some notable planets mainly Dune and Caladan but also the home worlds of the IX.
************ Spoilers Below *****************
Some things I curious as to why they never get mentioned that happen in this book when they seem very relevant to what happens in Dune and beyond are that Leto know that the Tleilax had a deal with the emporer, the existence of Suboids, the fall of House Vernius and the IX, members of the Bene Gesserit saw the jihad but didn't mention it, and Jessica would have seen what they did as their descendant, the murder of the old Duke which I'd get if Leto didn't announce it to the Lands Rod his first appearance, the 1000 year limit on control of Dune, the invention and use of No Field and ship, Leto's Trial, the extent to which the fremen followed Kinds and saw his as a prophet.
Some of this might be explained in the next books but some of it still doesn't make sense cause Leto 2 and Paul would know about 90 of it because of ancestral memories on the male side.
You learn how a lot of important characters from the first dune book rose to their positions 30 years before Dune took place. As Well as introducing new characters and giving more importance to some who only appear very minorly or were only referenced originally. To mention so without spoiling, The Baron, Idaho, The Old Duke Paulus Atreides, Leto 1, Lady Helena, Dr. Kinds, Empower Elrood, Emporer Shadam, Piter De Vries, Stilgar, and one of my new favorites Hasimir Fenring (Is he a weasel, ferret, or rabbit? )
This book doesn't just cover the Atreides either you learn about other houses such as the IX and Harkonnens, as well as other factions like the Navigators, Bene Gesserit,, fremen, and the "dirty" Tleilax.
The book will also go into more detail about some notable planets mainly Dune and Caladan but also the home worlds of the IX.
************ Spoilers Below *****************
Some things I curious as to why they never get mentioned that happen in this book when they seem very relevant to what happens in Dune and beyond are that Leto know that the Tleilax had a deal with the emporer, the existence of Suboids, the fall of House Vernius and the IX, members of the Bene Gesserit saw the jihad but didn't mention it, and Jessica would have seen what they did as their descendant, the murder of the old Duke which I'd get if Leto didn't announce it to the Lands Rod his first appearance, the 1000 year limit on control of Dune, the invention and use of No Field and ship, Leto's Trial, the extent to which the fremen followed Kinds and saw his as a prophet.
Some of this might be explained in the next books but some of it still doesn't make sense cause Leto 2 and Paul would know about 90 of it because of ancestral memories on the male side.
I waited.over a decade to read this book because I was afraid it wouldnt.live up to my Memories of Dune. I was very pleasantly surprised by how much enjoyed it I liked exploring the events leading to Duke Letos rise and look forward to following the next book in the series
Truly bad. The prose is childish and choppy, the characters are two dimensional and the plot plods. There's tons of needless exposition everywhere. A huge disappointment. Will not continue with the series.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Star Rating: 5 stars
Date: 6/28/23 – 7/5/23
Note: This may be the 1st book in the Prelude to Dune series but in chronological/Dune Universe order (which is how I’m reading the books); it is the 7th so this will not be an in-depth review to avoid spoilers.
After discovering, reading, and loving the original Dune book from my local public library, I did some research to see which book I was supposed to read next and realized that there were prequel novels in the Dune Universe. As there were a lot of aspects in the Dune book that I wanted to know more about, I decided that I would go back and read the prequel books, then re-read Dune, and continue with the series as I thought that was how I would get the most out of the series and world. Following this path, I was able to get to Dune: House Atreides, the 1st book in the Prelude to Dune trilogy and the 7th book in the Dune Universe reading order as my cross-over book between June and July. This book tells the story of Leto Atreides, Vladimir Harkonnen, Pardot Kynes, and Crown Prince Shaddam Corrino, which are characters that I personally met in the original Dune, and it tells the story of how they came to the point they are at the start of Dune.
If you have read any of the Dune books, then you know that although they have a plot that I personally find very interesting, the focus of the story is most definitely the themes/conversions that the authors are trying to have with the reader. Side note, this is probably why I enjoy classic science fiction and fantasy so much as I am a major themes reader; I really like my novels to have some kind of weight to them as it makes them more challenging and engaging for me. Anyway, when it comes to Dune, the recurring themes have to do with leadership and ecology. There are many examples of leaders in this installment and they come to power in drastically different ways, which I won’t spoil, but the different ways in which they come to power and keep/maintain power as well as how they influence some of our future main characters is the backbone of this book.
When it comes to how ecology factors into this book, we visit many different planets over the course of this book and see how the environments are affected by the presence of people and vice versa. We get the impression that the authors are very worried about humans taking advantage of the natural resources they come into contact with and taking them for granted, and as a result, this book/series becomes eco-criticism. In a related note, the storyline that I loved the most was Pardot Kynes’s, because as a planetologist, he really worked as a lens for this theme. He was also my favorite storyline as there was a time when I really wanted to be in a field similar to his and I took classes for it, which I think lead to me appreciating his storyline and what the authors were trying to do with it more.
All in all, if you have read the original Dune and want to know more about different aspects of the narrative, then I highly suggest reading the prequel novels. I wouldn’t pay attention to those individuals who say that they aren’t worth reading or that the new authors are just riding on the coattails of the original authors because for one they were both successful authors before taking on this project, they are using original notes and research of the original author to write these books, and they are being incredibly respectful to the original author. I think the prequel books are really worth your time if you want to get the most out of the Dune universe and I personally will continue reading them. 5 stars and one I will be adding to my forever shelves!!!!!!
Date: 6/28/23 – 7/5/23
Note: This may be the 1st book in the Prelude to Dune series but in chronological/Dune Universe order (which is how I’m reading the books); it is the 7th so this will not be an in-depth review to avoid spoilers.
After discovering, reading, and loving the original Dune book from my local public library, I did some research to see which book I was supposed to read next and realized that there were prequel novels in the Dune Universe. As there were a lot of aspects in the Dune book that I wanted to know more about, I decided that I would go back and read the prequel books, then re-read Dune, and continue with the series as I thought that was how I would get the most out of the series and world. Following this path, I was able to get to Dune: House Atreides, the 1st book in the Prelude to Dune trilogy and the 7th book in the Dune Universe reading order as my cross-over book between June and July. This book tells the story of Leto Atreides, Vladimir Harkonnen, Pardot Kynes, and Crown Prince Shaddam Corrino, which are characters that I personally met in the original Dune, and it tells the story of how they came to the point they are at the start of Dune.
If you have read any of the Dune books, then you know that although they have a plot that I personally find very interesting, the focus of the story is most definitely the themes/conversions that the authors are trying to have with the reader. Side note, this is probably why I enjoy classic science fiction and fantasy so much as I am a major themes reader; I really like my novels to have some kind of weight to them as it makes them more challenging and engaging for me. Anyway, when it comes to Dune, the recurring themes have to do with leadership and ecology. There are many examples of leaders in this installment and they come to power in drastically different ways, which I won’t spoil, but the different ways in which they come to power and keep/maintain power as well as how they influence some of our future main characters is the backbone of this book.
When it comes to how ecology factors into this book, we visit many different planets over the course of this book and see how the environments are affected by the presence of people and vice versa. We get the impression that the authors are very worried about humans taking advantage of the natural resources they come into contact with and taking them for granted, and as a result, this book/series becomes eco-criticism. In a related note, the storyline that I loved the most was Pardot Kynes’s, because as a planetologist, he really worked as a lens for this theme. He was also my favorite storyline as there was a time when I really wanted to be in a field similar to his and I took classes for it, which I think lead to me appreciating his storyline and what the authors were trying to do with it more.
All in all, if you have read the original Dune and want to know more about different aspects of the narrative, then I highly suggest reading the prequel novels. I wouldn’t pay attention to those individuals who say that they aren’t worth reading or that the new authors are just riding on the coattails of the original authors because for one they were both successful authors before taking on this project, they are using original notes and research of the original author to write these books, and they are being incredibly respectful to the original author. I think the prequel books are really worth your time if you want to get the most out of the Dune universe and I personally will continue reading them. 5 stars and one I will be adding to my forever shelves!!!!!!
A complex story of space adventure and political intrigue that, unfortunately, doesn’t hold up over time. Smart women are calculating villains, gay men are disgusting aberrations, and straight men are playmaking heroes. No, thanks.
adventurous
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No