DUNE WHISPER OF CALADAN SEAS #1 CVR F UNLOCKABLE VAR DEKAL

Dune: One-shots

by Brian Herbet

During the chaos of the legendary Battle of Arrakeen, a group of Atreides soldiers get caved in. So while Paul Atreides meets his destiny in battle, Sgt. Vitt uses his family's gift of storytelling as a Jongleur to transport his men from their tomb to their homeworld of Caladan. Can Vitt mentally transport them back to the lushness and vast oceans of Caladan and give them the gift of hope in the darkness?

Genres: Comics, Science Fiction

40 pages, Comic

Published January 1, 2022

Reviews

[Austin Wright · Rating 4 out of 5]

As of January 2022, I have only read the first five Dune novels by Frank Herbert. I have decided to dive into the expanded universe by KJA/BH by reading simultaneously "The Road To Dune" and "House Atreides".

The paperback of "The Road To Dune" has five short stories by KJA/BH, the first of which is "A Whisper of Caladan Seas".

The most rewarding part of reading these novels has been the terminology; when I run into a word like "jonglier" or "Paradan", I run to Google and try to find if the words tie into the original canon or not (jongnier/no--Paradan/yes).

This story was a great choice for the return of the Dune series. Personally, I could have done without the "magical" ending, but that is just me! I felt for the dying soldiers, which was something that I didn't feel in the original series--so job well done!

[Eric Williamson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A desperate tale of holding out for hope when there is none coming... and the attempts we make at trying to peacefully meet the end of the road. A grief tale, but told with some elegance, and stylistically rich, and yet at times, frenetic art sweeps. An interesting thematic pass at the never thought after Atreides troops that are annihilated at the Battle of Arrakeen in Dune.



I appreciate the alternate Jakub Rebelka cover B/C variant whereby the cave mouth opening likens itself to the face of a Fremen looking at the trapped Atreides squad... for alone, the Fremen symbolize Dune, and await to harvest what remains.

[Max McKinnon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great art, side story, details. Dune fans will love it

[47Time · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Harkonnen assault on the Atreides forces was well orchestrated. In the book (and the recent movie, for that matter) most of the focus is on the named characters. Here we see how the defence was handled by a group of Atreides soldiers. Isolated from the main force and unable to fight back or get away from their hiding place inside a cave, the soldiers can only hope for a quick death.

Though they fight valiantly, the group led by a member of the disbanded house Jongleur are forced to hide from the Harkonnen artillery. They can do little.more than wait for death, either from the bombardment, or from thirst and starvation.

Similarly to the Bene Gesserit, the Jongleurs developed an advanced way of telling stories. Their psychic power grew to be dangerous, so the other houses silenced and scattered them. The trapped soldiers in the story beg their leader to remind them of home as only he knows how. He uses his abilities to set their minds at ease, before delivering them to a sea where they find a peaceful end.

[Andy Hickman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dune: A Whisper Of Caladan Seas ****
Remembering Cadan, “Smell the salt water, the iodine of drying seaweed .. Hear the whisper of waves, the splash of a distant fish .. Listen to the –"
For a bunch of men who are the remnant of Atreides soldiers trapped in the cave-cliffs of Arrakis at the end of the Harkonnen invasion the power of storytelling to alleviate the fear of their pending death is indeed a powerful and magically experience. You imagine this exercise playing out in real life situations such as POW camps or in collapsed mining tunnels.
Awesome to be re-emersed in the Dune galaxy.

[Beattie · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story is decent, but the art is MUCH better than the art in the House Atreides series. I love how is looks like it was made with pastels!

A very stylized art style, but I prefer that over the kinda bland art of the last series (which tended to give everyone weird faces that looked unrecognizable in different panels).

I haven’t seen any other monthly Dune comics announced. But maybe if they let other writers and artists play in the Dune universe then we’ll get some better comics.

[Lee Keller · Rating 5 out of 5]

A little uncanny reading this through, as the beginning of the book seems eerily similar to what's happening in the world right now. (I am sure this was written well before current events). Still, this comic rendering of a previously published short story is quite good on its own merit, Dune fans should like it!

[Colin W. Fitzgerald · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty darned good, considering there's nothing groundbreakingly new here!


Excellent storytelling and all...but the artwork left a LITTLE to be desired.
Still worth every penny, as far as I'm concerned.

[Bruno Franco Netto · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a very simple tale, set in the aftermath of the Arrakeen battle in Dune. The art is beautiful and there is a poetic and nostalgic element to this simple tale that takes us to the vast expanses of the Dune universe.

[Lee-Arng · Rating 3 out of 5]

Story was great. Not the biggest fan of the artwork.

[Padraig O'Sullivan]

Great Story

It was very well made and put together. Comics have a good way of bringing stories like this to life.

[Shelby · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my favorite Dune story. It might be short, but it is so powerful.

[Julian Mileski · Rating 3 out of 5]

The writing and art are great. The draw back is, the plot just doesn’t matter. It’s great because it’s in the Dune universe but in the end it’s just, meh. I’m looking forward to more of this story and hope it becomes more exciting.