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A review by talne
The Butlerian Jihad by Brian Herbert
2.0
Expectation often sets the tone for enjoyment. The first time I read Herbert's original Dune, I had almost no expectations beyond wanting a cool story. My friends and I were playing the PC game Dune 2000 at the time, and I wanted more. What I got was a complex and layered tale about politics, religion, freedom, ecology, and our relationship with those things. I admit, it wasn't until I was a bit older that I was able to fully appreciate the world Herbert built in Dune. But it has easily stood as my favorite science fiction novel.
With such a lasting impact that beget lofty expectations, any future novels not written by Frank Herbert may have been destined to be abject failures. Gone are the deep characters wrapped up in clever writing that makes you work for results. Instead, we're presented with a pretty safe adaptation of the Dune-verse. Characters are either good or bad, the authors feelings regarding good and bad things (torture, slavery, etc.) are a little too on the nose. There isn't much complexity here. After a bit, you know what you're going to get out of the novel. Good people trying to do good things for the good of the universe and....well you get the point. I enjoyed seeing the origination of the Great Houses of the Landsraad and the various factions and schools we've read about. It delves into the early rumblings of the spice market and the Fremen, and there are some decent action sections both in space on the ground.
In the end, the younger Herbert took the ideas his father carefully weaved together and made a mediocre space opera. If you loved the original series of novels and are interested in the greater Dune universe, it's a quick and easy read. If you're going into this expecting the next great science fiction novel, well we know what happens with high expectations.
With such a lasting impact that beget lofty expectations, any future novels not written by Frank Herbert may have been destined to be abject failures. Gone are the deep characters wrapped up in clever writing that makes you work for results. Instead, we're presented with a pretty safe adaptation of the Dune-verse. Characters are either good or bad, the authors feelings regarding good and bad things (torture, slavery, etc.) are a little too on the nose. There isn't much complexity here. After a bit, you know what you're going to get out of the novel. Good people trying to do good things for the good of the universe and....well you get the point. I enjoyed seeing the origination of the Great Houses of the Landsraad and the various factions and schools we've read about. It delves into the early rumblings of the spice market and the Fremen, and there are some decent action sections both in space on the ground.
In the end, the younger Herbert took the ideas his father carefully weaved together and made a mediocre space opera. If you loved the original series of novels and are interested in the greater Dune universe, it's a quick and easy read. If you're going into this expecting the next great science fiction novel, well we know what happens with high expectations.