Take a photo of a barcode or cover
brittney_tyler 's review for:
Dune: House Harkonnen
by Brian Herbert, Kevin J. Anderson
Star Rating: 4 stars
Date: 8/26/23 – 9/4/23
Note: This is the 2nd book in the Prelude to Dune or House Trilogy as well as the 8th book in the Dune Universe reading order so this will not be an in-depth review.
As I have stated in multiple reviews before, I have discovered my love of classic science fiction and fantasy and have been reading through a lot of the famous series in that sub-genre, and that includes the Dune Universe, and the one I was most recently able to get is Dune: House Harkonnen, the 2nd book in the Prelude to Dune or House trilogy as well as the 8th book in the overarching Dune Universe. (I have a system where I read 1 book from each series that I’m reading until I run out of series then I start over. Although, my new releases do throw this pattern off since I have to read them as soon as they come out because I get most of what I read from the library and new releases have long waiting lists so they have to be turned over quickly.)
As I have stated in most of my reviews of this series, I do not understand the anger that stems from Brian Herbert’s fleshing out his father’s series as, in my opinion, it seems like he is doing it in a respectful way. If you read the original Dune by Frank Herbert, then you know that there is a lot of contextual information that the elder Herbert does not explain and this information does relate to the plot so when you read Dune, you have to accept that you stepped into the middle of a story and aren’t really getting the whole picture. For some readers, the ones that the anger stems from, they are satisfied with this, however, when I read Dune, I found myself wanting that context. This is where the younger Herbert comes in because he stepped in and wrote the books, along with his writing partner, to give the readers that wanted it that context as well as finishing his father’s arc of the series. (His father passed away before he could complete it.)
If you want to know why I am bringing this up in this review specifically, it is because there is a relationship between two characters in this book, Liet and his father, Pardot, that I think is a direct representation of the younger Herbert’s relationship with his illustrious father. These two characters even have a conversion on page about the fact that Pardot, the father, is interested in the big picture of what he is trying to accomplish within the narrative, which I won’t spoil, while is son is more balanced, in that, he is interested not only in the big picture, but also the smaller details, and if you look at their writing styles and how they each tackled the narrative of Dune, then you will see some similarities. I just thought it was interesting and kind of endearing that he was able to let that relationship influence his writing.
However, as I mentioned previously, this book is the son’s attempt to flesh out his father’s narrative and give it the context it deserves, and he does this by setting up a lot of the themes and characters that will pay off explosively in his father’s Dune. He and Anderson have been doing this throughout their installments in this universe, but all their groundwork is now becoming stunningly clear as these books are direct prequels to Dune and feature almost exclusively the same cast of characters. If you want to understand the feud between the Harkonnens and Atreides or you want to know what the Bene Gesserit and their Missionaria Protectiva and Panoplia Prophecticus is, then please read the books that younger Herbert and Anderson wrote, it will give you that information without altering the complexity that you have come to expect from Dune.
One final note, however, this book was not as tightly wound as some of the others. It was still entertaining and greatly helped flesh out the world in ways I was seeking, but the narrative itself was not as engaging as some of the others, which is the reason why I deducted a star, however, I am looking forward to reading the final book in this arc, Dune: House Corrino, in the next few months as well as the rest of the books in this series. (I am specifically excited to reread the original Dune now that I have this extra context.) 4 stars and will be purchasing my own copy for my forever shelves!!!!!!!!!!!!
Date: 8/26/23 – 9/4/23
Note: This is the 2nd book in the Prelude to Dune or House Trilogy as well as the 8th book in the Dune Universe reading order so this will not be an in-depth review.
As I have stated in multiple reviews before, I have discovered my love of classic science fiction and fantasy and have been reading through a lot of the famous series in that sub-genre, and that includes the Dune Universe, and the one I was most recently able to get is Dune: House Harkonnen, the 2nd book in the Prelude to Dune or House trilogy as well as the 8th book in the overarching Dune Universe. (I have a system where I read 1 book from each series that I’m reading until I run out of series then I start over. Although, my new releases do throw this pattern off since I have to read them as soon as they come out because I get most of what I read from the library and new releases have long waiting lists so they have to be turned over quickly.)
As I have stated in most of my reviews of this series, I do not understand the anger that stems from Brian Herbert’s fleshing out his father’s series as, in my opinion, it seems like he is doing it in a respectful way. If you read the original Dune by Frank Herbert, then you know that there is a lot of contextual information that the elder Herbert does not explain and this information does relate to the plot so when you read Dune, you have to accept that you stepped into the middle of a story and aren’t really getting the whole picture. For some readers, the ones that the anger stems from, they are satisfied with this, however, when I read Dune, I found myself wanting that context. This is where the younger Herbert comes in because he stepped in and wrote the books, along with his writing partner, to give the readers that wanted it that context as well as finishing his father’s arc of the series. (His father passed away before he could complete it.)
If you want to know why I am bringing this up in this review specifically, it is because there is a relationship between two characters in this book, Liet and his father, Pardot, that I think is a direct representation of the younger Herbert’s relationship with his illustrious father. These two characters even have a conversion on page about the fact that Pardot, the father, is interested in the big picture of what he is trying to accomplish within the narrative, which I won’t spoil, while is son is more balanced, in that, he is interested not only in the big picture, but also the smaller details, and if you look at their writing styles and how they each tackled the narrative of Dune, then you will see some similarities. I just thought it was interesting and kind of endearing that he was able to let that relationship influence his writing.
However, as I mentioned previously, this book is the son’s attempt to flesh out his father’s narrative and give it the context it deserves, and he does this by setting up a lot of the themes and characters that will pay off explosively in his father’s Dune. He and Anderson have been doing this throughout their installments in this universe, but all their groundwork is now becoming stunningly clear as these books are direct prequels to Dune and feature almost exclusively the same cast of characters. If you want to understand the feud between the Harkonnens and Atreides or you want to know what the Bene Gesserit and their Missionaria Protectiva and Panoplia Prophecticus is, then please read the books that younger Herbert and Anderson wrote, it will give you that information without altering the complexity that you have come to expect from Dune.
One final note, however, this book was not as tightly wound as some of the others. It was still entertaining and greatly helped flesh out the world in ways I was seeking, but the narrative itself was not as engaging as some of the others, which is the reason why I deducted a star, however, I am looking forward to reading the final book in this arc, Dune: House Corrino, in the next few months as well as the rest of the books in this series. (I am specifically excited to reread the original Dune now that I have this extra context.) 4 stars and will be purchasing my own copy for my forever shelves!!!!!!!!!!!!