I volunteered to be a pre-reader for the Endeavor Awards this year. This was one of the books I was assigned. I hadn't read any Dune since the first two books back in college--so 20 years ago or so.

This was one of the most disgusting and badly written books I've ever read. From the complete lack of emotional impact as an entire planet is turned to slag, to the shallow "Sex Wars" theme that didn't do well by either women or men. The pace was stilted, the characters cartoonish. I found it so painful to read I ended up slogging through it by timing myself and keeping track in my head how much time I had to spend in hell. My suspicion (unvoiced to those running the awards--so I don't know for sure) was that I was given the book because I was a late addition to the reading team, and they needed one more victim to read it to abide by the rules of the prize. So I persevered.

Don't sully your brain.

Originally published on my blog here in February 2007.

The original Dune is one of my favourite books, as it is for many science fiction readers. (The blurb for this novel claims that it is the bestselling science fiction novel of all time.) Frank Herbert's own sequels, while good, were not in the same class as this classic and, particularly later on, began to introduce elements which diluted the force of Dune itself. So when Brian Herbert (Frank's son) and Kevin J Anderson began producing novels in the Dune universe, expanding on the detailed background to the story, I never bothered to read them, especially after I read some lukewarm reviews. This novel is a bit different: it is a sequel to Chapterhouse: Dune, based on a rediscovered outline by Frank Herbert himself; it will be followed by (at least) two more. This sequel has been something that fans of the series have long wanted to see; Frank Herbert's death made it seem that the loose ends in Chapterhouse Dune would never be cleared up authoritatively.

The novel follows three major points of view, following on from the ending of Chapterhouse Dune. One is that of the community centred round Duncan Idaho, fleeing mysterious hunters in a stolen ship; the second is that of the Bene Gesserits left behind on Chapterhouse led by Duncan's wife, attempting to bring about a union with the Honoured Matres to combat an unknown threat from beyond the worlds of the Old Empire. These two are relatively familiar, involving many already established characters. The third is different, being that of a Tleilaxu geneticist, who has to face the twin blows of the defeat of his people by the Honoured Matres (though he himself was part of a group allied with them) and the discovery that the long time Tleilaxu servants, the Face Dances, have developed into creatures far beyond their original design, with their own purposes at odds with their erstwhile masters. While always present, particularly in the last couple of books, the Tleilaxu have never been as close to centre stage in Frank Herbert's work. They become more important thanks to the discovery of a secret held by the Tleilaxu Masters, which the reader of Chapterhouse Dune knows but the other characters only find out halfway through Hunters of Dune. This is that they have cells preserved from famous people of the distant past which can be used to reincarnate them; these people include the principal characters of Dune itself.

There is not actually very much plot in Hunters of Dune, particularly compared to the labyrinthine twists and turns of Dune (or even, to a lesser extent, most of Frank Herbert's other novels). It is like the middle novel in many fantasy trilogies, there to keep the traditional number of volumes but just describing relatively uneventful activity between the scene setting of the first and the climax of the third. It covers a longer period of time than the other novels, but I feel that everything in this novel could have more effectively treated as backstory for the later resolution of the saga. For example, it doesn't seem to be important to document the details of the attempts to unite the Honoured Matres and the Bene Gesserit, and anything from this story needed for the future plot of the series could be mentioned in passing.

There are problems in this novel which derive from the particular loose ends left in Chapterhouse Dune. It is hard to see just why the characters think that cells from thousands of years in the past are so valuable. I suppose that if someone said they were able to create a clone of Jesus or Mohammed, people would be interested today, and the clones themselves might be made to serve some political purpose. Here, though, the timescales are such that this would be more like resurrecting an Egyptian pharaoh or Nebuchadnezzar for their insight into the problems of the Middle East. The Dune universe may be peculiarly static (in the thousands of years that pass during the saga, there are few important technological innovations), but new factions such as the Honoured Matres, and the impossibility of applying the prescience that several of the ancient cloned individuals possess to the majority of the humans alive at this point of the saga make it hard to feel that the contributions the clones could make will be significant. (Obviously the further novels in this conclusion will make a great deal of use of the clones, but it will take a really impressive coup de theatre to convince me that it makes sense.) There are other details which jar as Herbert and Anderson expand on them, which would give things away if I expanded on them.

In the end, the central problem in Hunters of Dune is that the lack of an exciting plot proves a difficulty beyond the abilities of the authors. Since the only interest here turns out to be the way that Frank Herbert tied up the loose ends, I would have preferred just to read his outline as he left it and saved myself the time required to read three or more full length novels. Further novels continuing this story will be ones I skim through, say in the local public library, rather than books I buy for re-reading in the future.

Dopo la morte di Frank Herbert nel 1986, i lettori di Dune si trovarono orfani non solo dello scrittore ma anche della saga, che non aveva avuto un completamento. Dieci anni dopo, il figlio Brian scoprì alcuni documenti contenenti vari spunti di trama e tracce per la conclusione e il risultato, in collaborazione con il collega Kevin J. Anderson, sono i due libri I cacciatori di Dune e I vermi della sabbia di Dune, pensati come un unico tomo ma diviso per il suo spessore. Tutto questo viene spiegato alla fine del primo romanzo di cui ora scrivo la recensione.

La rifondazione di Dune ci aveva lasciato con Duncan Idaho in fuga su una non nave insieme a Sheeana, ad alcune Bene Gesserit dissidenti e contrarie all'unione con le Matres Onorate, al ghola del Bashar Miles Teg, agli ebrei sfuggiti alle Matres Onorate e al Maestro dei Tleilaxu Scytale. Un eterogeno gruppo del quale ne I cacciatori di Dune scopriamo in destino, insieme a quello della nuova guida dell'alleanza Bene Gesserit - Matres Onorate Murbella rimasta sul pianeta della Casa Capitolare e a nuovi personaggi che vengono mano a mano introdotti, nello stile corale caratteristico del ciclo di Dune. Intanto, il misterioso Nemico si avvicina, e l'umanità dovrà cercare di risolvere i propri conflitti intestini per poter prepararsi al meglio contro una guerra molto più grande e sempre più insidiosa, sfoderando armi a volte sorprendenti...

Ovviamente, in questo seguito scritto da Herbert figlio qualcosa cambia: non aspettatevi le lunghe riflessioni che avevano caratterizzato i primi sei libri. Lo stile è molto più dinamico, con la trama che avanza capitolo per capitolo. Da questo punto di vista, il libro mi è piaciuto.

Quello che mi ha lasciato perplessa, invece, sono state alcune modalità in cui si sono risolte le storie di alcuni personaggi anche importati (uno in particolare, ma non faccio spoiler), come se ci si volesse affrettare verso una conclusione che poi non viene neanche nominata successivamente da chi con loro aveva qualche tipo di relazione. Avrei apprezzato qualche riga in più, perché così sembra quasi una cosa messa lì solo per chiuderla e via...

Comunque, in sé il libro è godibile e mette molta curiosità per continuare con I vermi della sabbia di Dune, che sto leggendo in questi giorni. Se avete amato Dune, non lasciatevi spaventare dal cambio di mano, andate avanti!

all they did was clone eveyone from the original books

I had heard nothing but bad things about this and I went in with low expectations. Hence, I'm pleased to say I really really enjoyed this. The main criticism I've heard is that it is extremely exposition heavy. Indeed, this is the case. It assumes you don't really remember or understand the last 6 books. But given that this came out two decades after book 6 and that Frank's writing style is extremely dense, this isn't a bad assumption.

Overall I enjoyed this a lot, and found it much easier to read than the previous two books in the Dune universe. I look forward to reading book 8!

n  n   

Those who think they see most clearly are often more blind than the rest.
-Bene Gesserit aphorism

n  n

Hunters of Dune was published in 2006. I have had it lost on my bookshelf for quite awhile. In terms of the Dune chronology, this book comes after the last Dune book Frank Herbert himself wrote, Chapterhouse: Dune. It picks up the story of the ghola Duncan Idaho and those who escaped from Chapterhouse in the invisible no-ship. In it we see the recreation of Paul Atreides, Chani, Stilgar, Liet Kynes, Thufir Hawat, Doctor Wellington Yueh - all through Tleilaxu ghola technology. A rebirth of the Kwizats Haderach to hopefully combat the approaching Enemy, which we find to be survivors of the Butlerian Jihad, A.I., the Machines humanity fought thousands of years before.
Again, like the Herbert books before, this tale is told through multiple threads. Multiple plot lines, multiple story arcs involving multiple characters and their own motivations. The story will continue in Sandworms of Dune, which I will get to eventually, the 22nd book in the Dune canon. Good book, I enjoyed reading the continuation of the story of Dune.

Frank Herbert was a genius, or as close to being a genius as for distinction to not matter. Brian Herbert is not a genius, and as much not a genius as for the distinction to be crucial.

This book? Bland, repetitive, linear, uninspired, tedious. A space opera that fails to deliver both the space and the opera.

The premise of the book? Here, read literally the same exposition you’ve read in fifteen previous chapters for the character you couldn’t care less about. And then marvel at how these characters are the same character: stupid, one-dimensional, brooding, spewing platitudes in mono- and dialogues and situations that aren’t worthy of an illiterate fifth-grader.

The end goal of the book? How can we stretch our shigawire-thin plot to warrant a second book?

The result? A piece of garbage.

I’ve been working on rereading the original Dune books, again... and this time decided to continue through book 7 and 8 even though they’re not written by Frank Herbert. You can definitely tell the difference in the writing style and the fact that all the philosophical parts aren’t there. But you still get the continuation of the storyline which I did really enjoy.

This time I decided to reread this book by audiobook as I love Scott Brick’s narration. It’s been years since I read this book and, to be honest, I remembered almost nothing. So the last 5% was a complete surprise which made me sit up in astonishment.

I’ll be continuing my reread of this series with Sandworms of Dune along with Scott Brick’s brilliant audiobook performance.

PLEASE STOP! If you are considering reading this book after finishing Chapterhouse: Dune, please do yourself a favor and just walk away.

I can say without reservation that this book and its sequel are the worst books I have ever read. A bad author is one thing, but attempting to ride on the shoulders of a genius like Frank Herbert with this trash is despicable. Shame on Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson.

So awful are they, not only will you feel heartbroken that such an amazing story has been destroyed by the two most unworthy writers imaginable, but also furious on Frank Herbert's behalf that his masterpiece has been brought so low.

Plenty of other reviews outline in intricate detail the many many failing of Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson, so I will not. I just hope someone considering this book, does what I so so wish I did, just walk away and be content with those six perfect gems. Six is enough my friend. Don't be greedy. If you are greedy you are going to get burned. You can't take it back. YOU CAN'T TAKE IT BACK!  You can't...

SPOILERS!


There is always something dubious about authors never finishing their works for whatever reason and having someone else take up the mantle. For Frank Herbert, it was his death before completing his mega Dune saga. Sure, the original series had its ups and downs, more ups than downs in my opinion, but could anyone really capture the full, lively, if character-flat, universe that he'd created and then left unresolved? His son, Brian, and Kevin Anderson certainly make a good effort. Using notes Herbert himself had left for a Dune 7 book (with Dune 6 ending with a temple-clawing No! Not this way! effect), Bri and Kev do their best. And they largely succeed. Unfortunately, they carry over the flaws that Frank had been weighed down with and heighten them to a greater degree.
This is mostly an issue of characterization. The story itself is pretty damn engaging. There's Kralizec, the unknown Enemy sweeping humanity up before it and exterminating it, the New Sisterhood, and the Honored Matres still duking it out and there's Face Dancers everywhere. Cool, right?
What keeps it all from working is the utter lack of character development and personality. There's a few exceptions. Murbella is pretty engaging. The creepy old couple chasing the no-ship is neat. But otherwise everyone else is flat and uninteresting, which is strange considering that almost every character is an uber-badass superhero with freakish weird magical and sexual powers. They're all just, sort of...well, blah. And this gets taken to the nth degree when the stupid old ghola trope comes into play and pretty much every character from every old Dune book gets cloned. There's just something weird about Paul and Jessica Atreides hanging out in a nursery fighting over toys. Whatever.
Also, there is just too much name-dropping from Bri & Kev's other Dune attempts and it hampers the narrative, too. There are apparently gasp-worthy names and plots mentioned which, if you haven't read their fifty+ other Dune novels, you won't understand at all. That's why we have Dune Wikis, I guess.
Not bad. But not great either. I'll finish off the series, but not a little reluctantly.

Oof. If you got to the end of Chapterhouse Dune, what ever you can imagine the ending might be to the trilogy that will be better than reading this.