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A review by catsflipped
The Road to Dune by Frank Herbert
3.0
This is a very difficult book to rate. Some parts I loved and others had to skip over.
First I would say if you are intending to read the Dune books in order, as I have chosen to do, leave this one until after you have read all of Franks books, or at least until after you have read Dune Messiah. The list I had placed this book after Paul of Dune but it just doesn't belong there. The different charcater, extra chanpetrs and alternative ending are somethign to enjoy after you have finished the originals.
After the preface you have an alternative dune novel names Spice Planet. It was basically like reading about a parallel universe where name were different but roles remained mostly the same.
Part One followed the original Dune storyline quite closely but there was enough different to amke it a good read. Some interesting fact around the great worms surfaced, whether they are true of the on Arakis I cannot tell.
Part Two had a storyline that strayed from the one in Dune (or was it Dune strayed from tis story as I believe Spice Planet was one of the original drafts) A very clever way to deal with the worms is developed that I almost wish had made it to the final cut.
I really enjoyed this alternative story even though it lacked some of the depth of the final version, although having read every book up until Dune maybe I just had the benefit of a deeper understanding of those characters. If Spice Planet were released as a short story unrelated to Dune I would probably give it 4 stars.
After this fairly short novel we move on to communications and explanation of how Dune came to be - this part did not interest me at all and I found myself scanning over it but mostly not reading it.
Then we have a section containing unpublished scenes and chapters. Many of these I enjoyed and others I am glad they were left out. There is no running story, just snippets from the book so for a lot of the time you are trying to re-orientate yourself as to what is happening in this particular scene.
The section of short stories at the end contains some but not all of the short stories that often sit between the main books. As I have already read them all I did not read them again. Each one has been rated individually as I finished them and most gained a 4 or 5 stars for their fast and fun content.
This books is definitely a book to be read after you have enjoyed the originals. It is not part of the storyline at all and if you are to read it I would recommend you leave it until last.
First I would say if you are intending to read the Dune books in order, as I have chosen to do, leave this one until after you have read all of Franks books, or at least until after you have read Dune Messiah. The list I had placed this book after Paul of Dune but it just doesn't belong there. The different charcater, extra chanpetrs and alternative ending are somethign to enjoy after you have finished the originals.
After the preface you have an alternative dune novel names Spice Planet. It was basically like reading about a parallel universe where name were different but roles remained mostly the same.
Part One followed the original Dune storyline quite closely but there was enough different to amke it a good read. Some interesting fact around the great worms surfaced, whether they are true of the on Arakis I cannot tell.
Part Two had a storyline that strayed from the one in Dune (or was it Dune strayed from tis story as I believe Spice Planet was one of the original drafts) A very clever way to deal with the worms is developed that I almost wish had made it to the final cut.
I really enjoyed this alternative story even though it lacked some of the depth of the final version, although having read every book up until Dune maybe I just had the benefit of a deeper understanding of those characters. If Spice Planet were released as a short story unrelated to Dune I would probably give it 4 stars.
After this fairly short novel we move on to communications and explanation of how Dune came to be - this part did not interest me at all and I found myself scanning over it but mostly not reading it.
Then we have a section containing unpublished scenes and chapters. Many of these I enjoyed and others I am glad they were left out. There is no running story, just snippets from the book so for a lot of the time you are trying to re-orientate yourself as to what is happening in this particular scene.
The section of short stories at the end contains some but not all of the short stories that often sit between the main books. As I have already read them all I did not read them again. Each one has been rated individually as I finished them and most gained a 4 or 5 stars for their fast and fun content.
This books is definitely a book to be read after you have enjoyed the originals. It is not part of the storyline at all and if you are to read it I would recommend you leave it until last.