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A review by wincher2031
Mentats of Dune by Brian Herbert, Kevin J. Anderson
3.0
The swamp setting is a nice change from the ever familiar aridity of Dune, but the biological minutiae of the wildlife there and research resulting in the discovery of Sapho juice holds little interest, especially when a large chunk of the first 100 pages focuses on this as opposed to building the main conflict of the novel. A conflict which ultimately falls flat in comparison to Sisterhood.
This is a quiet between the storms in the same way that Machine Crusade was, middle book syndrome strikes again. The between-chapter aphorisms are better than the plot in this one, with characters meandering endlessly and often without much purpose.
That being said, there's just enough thought-churning philosophy to be found in the murky swamp depths and ponderings of the Mentats to keep hardcore fans interested.
Generally speaking though, I'm sad to say this is one of the worst Dune books through the sheer lack of a substantial plot rather than the overbearing presence of an awful one.
This is a quiet between the storms in the same way that Machine Crusade was, middle book syndrome strikes again. The between-chapter aphorisms are better than the plot in this one, with characters meandering endlessly and often without much purpose.
That being said, there's just enough thought-churning philosophy to be found in the murky swamp depths and ponderings of the Mentats to keep hardcore fans interested.
Generally speaking though, I'm sad to say this is one of the worst Dune books through the sheer lack of a substantial plot rather than the overbearing presence of an awful one.