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The Caladan Trilogy #3
Dune: The Heir of Caladan
In The Heir of Caladan , the climactic novel in the Caladan trilogy by New York Times bestselling authors Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson, we step into the shoes of Paul Atreides. A not yet a man in years, he is about to enter a world he could never have imagined.The story that began with Duke Leto Atreides's rise to power, then continued with the consequences of Lady Jessica’s betrayal, will now conclude with Paul becoming the leader that he needs to be on the way to his pivotal role as Muad’Dib.Any Dune fan will devour this tale of a legend coming into his own.At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
Paperback
First published November 22, 2022
About the author
Kevin J. Anderson
1,095 books3,209 followersYes, I have a lot of books, and if this is your first visit to my amazon author page, it can be a little overwhelming. If you are new to my work, let me recommend a few titles as good places to start. I love my Dan Shamble, Zombie P.I. series, humorous horror/mysteries, which begin with DEATH WARMED OVER. My steampunk fantasy adventures, CLOCKWORK ANGELS and CLOCKWORK LIVES, written with Neil Peart, legendary drummer from Rush, are two of my very favorite novels ever. And my magnum opus, the science fiction epic The Saga of Seven Suns, begins with HIDDEN EMPIRE. After you've tried those, I hope you'll check out some of my other series.
I have written spin-off novels for Star Wars, StarCraft, Titan A.E., and The X-Files, and I'm the co-author of the Dune prequels. My original works include the Saga of Seven Suns series and the Nebula Award-nominated Assemblers of Infinity. I have also written several comic books including the Dark Horse Star Wars collection Tales of the Jedi written in collaboration with Tom Veitch, Predator titles (also for Dark Horse), and X-Files titles for Topps.
I serve as a judge in the Writers of the Future contest.
My wife is author Rebecca Moesta. We currently reside near Monument, Colorado.
I have written spin-off novels for Star Wars, StarCraft, Titan A.E., and The X-Files, and I'm the co-author of the Dune prequels. My original works include the Saga of Seven Suns series and the Nebula Award-nominated Assemblers of Infinity. I have also written several comic books including the Dark Horse Star Wars collection Tales of the Jedi written in collaboration with Tom Veitch, Predator titles (also for Dark Horse), and X-Files titles for Topps.
I serve as a judge in the Writers of the Future contest.
My wife is author Rebecca Moesta. We currently reside near Monument, Colorado.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 154 reviews
October 23, 2022
What if there was a science fiction novel so incredible in its depth and breadth that the author penned two more, making a trilogy and then added three more novels to that? And, what if after his death, his son and another well known writer added yet another twenty novels to the franchise, tracing history backwards And forwards thousands of years? You would end up with a complex universe that filled in all the gaps and more. Some fans of the original trilogy would probably throw their hands up and say only the original would do. Others would say we are addicted so just give us more and more and more. We want a never-ending supply of this stuff.
The Caladan arc is a trilogy tracing the years immediately proceeding the events in the original novel Dune. That’s what makes it fascinating for students of the Dune universe, but simultaneously awkward because perhaps not every question need be answered and not every background shaded in. Particularly this novel in this arc is perhaps too close in time to the original Dune novel.
Several of the characters here, Leto and Jessica, seem far too young and naive, to be suddenly the mature people in the Dune novel. Don’t get me wrong. It’s an enjoyable read and this reader wanted to know what happened and how things got resolved. But, Leto’s flirtation with the rebels and Jessica’s concubine duties elsewhere simply were not necessary to lead into the events of Dune. For that matter, all the little adventures of Paul, Duncan, and Gurney were unnecessary interludes. Most of all, the explanation for granting the Atreides Arrakis was not necessarily more reasonable than the original hinted at explanations.
Even given these critiques of what is essentially fan fiction, it was a worthwhile read for us Dune fanatics as are all the twenty bonus novels.
The Caladan arc is a trilogy tracing the years immediately proceeding the events in the original novel Dune. That’s what makes it fascinating for students of the Dune universe, but simultaneously awkward because perhaps not every question need be answered and not every background shaded in. Particularly this novel in this arc is perhaps too close in time to the original Dune novel.
Several of the characters here, Leto and Jessica, seem far too young and naive, to be suddenly the mature people in the Dune novel. Don’t get me wrong. It’s an enjoyable read and this reader wanted to know what happened and how things got resolved. But, Leto’s flirtation with the rebels and Jessica’s concubine duties elsewhere simply were not necessary to lead into the events of Dune. For that matter, all the little adventures of Paul, Duncan, and Gurney were unnecessary interludes. Most of all, the explanation for granting the Atreides Arrakis was not necessarily more reasonable than the original hinted at explanations.
Even given these critiques of what is essentially fan fiction, it was a worthwhile read for us Dune fanatics as are all the twenty bonus novels.
September 6, 2023
The 24th continuation novel since Frank Herbert left us with one of the great cliffhangers in literary scifi history.
Yet his son and Anderson have picked up where Frank left the story. Much is said by the fanatics who would prefer that Franks work should be left alone. The mere fact that we are getting a 25th novel this Oktober proves there are plenty fols out there that want to enjoy this extended Dune-verse. (22 novels, 2 short story collections so far).
Anyhow this is the closing chapter on the Caladan trilogy and it answered finaly the question why the Emperor took Arrakis away from the Harkonnen and gave it to the Atreides family. It also slightly answers why he will doublecross the Atreides in favor of Harkonnen, it is all a matter of jealousy. (how the Harkonnen get back into favor is undoubtedly another story👍).
In this book we see the seperated Atreides struggle to achieve their goals, Jessica wants to return to her Duke. The duke Leto wants to stop the rebellion that wants to crush house Corrino and his son Paul has to keep Caladan save from outside bad influence.
There are also the influences from the Bene Teillaxu and the Bene Gesserit who have their own agenda's.
The Emperor Shaddam also gets his story arch and it shows a very intolerant person with a certain overblown own estamating of his own grandure which will be taken care of in the direct sequel which is Franks epic novel Dune.
This book and trilogy was a pleasure to read and belong certainly to the better Dune continuation books.
Onwards to Princess of Dune concerning a tale of princess Irulan cohort of the new emperor.
Yet his son and Anderson have picked up where Frank left the story. Much is said by the fanatics who would prefer that Franks work should be left alone. The mere fact that we are getting a 25th novel this Oktober proves there are plenty fols out there that want to enjoy this extended Dune-verse. (22 novels, 2 short story collections so far).
Anyhow this is the closing chapter on the Caladan trilogy and it answered finaly the question why the Emperor took Arrakis away from the Harkonnen and gave it to the Atreides family. It also slightly answers why he will doublecross the Atreides in favor of Harkonnen, it is all a matter of jealousy. (how the Harkonnen get back into favor is undoubtedly another story👍).
In this book we see the seperated Atreides struggle to achieve their goals, Jessica wants to return to her Duke. The duke Leto wants to stop the rebellion that wants to crush house Corrino and his son Paul has to keep Caladan save from outside bad influence.
There are also the influences from the Bene Teillaxu and the Bene Gesserit who have their own agenda's.
The Emperor Shaddam also gets his story arch and it shows a very intolerant person with a certain overblown own estamating of his own grandure which will be taken care of in the direct sequel which is Franks epic novel Dune.
This book and trilogy was a pleasure to read and belong certainly to the better Dune continuation books.
Onwards to Princess of Dune concerning a tale of princess Irulan cohort of the new emperor.
November 29, 2022
Dune: The Heir of Caladan is the third book in The Caladan Trilogy. If you haven't read the first two books you're going to be a little lost here. Heir follows separated Jessica and Leto, and in this book Paul ends up separated from his parents playing acting duke with Duncan Idaho and Gurney Halleck by his side. Meanwhile, Jaxson Aru is in the midst of his rebellion against the emperor.
One complaint I have about this book is that there's a lot of fluff that doesn't really add anything to the story, so why not cut about a hundred pages of garbage and make this book more digestible? Among these unnecessary plot threads something about a horse and Paul's crush, My second complaint with this book (that I also had with the previous book, The Lady of Caladan) is that it's contrary to Dune cannon. Dune was important for Paul because going to Arrakis is the first big thing he does, but these books have him going on adventures left and right which makes Dune look like any other weekday for Paul, which is not what it is. Also, separating Jessica and Leto in this trilogy never sat well with me. Even though that part of the story is wrapped up as expected, it still felt so out of the Dune mythology and left a bad taste in my mouth.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this ALC. Scott Brick was a fine narrator. These books just aren't Dune for me.
One complaint I have about this book is that there's a lot of fluff that doesn't really add anything to the story, so why not cut about a hundred pages of garbage and make this book more digestible? Among these unnecessary plot threads something about a horse and Paul's crush, My second complaint with this book (that I also had with the previous book, The Lady of Caladan) is that it's contrary to Dune cannon. Dune was important for Paul because going to Arrakis is the first big thing he does, but these books have him going on adventures left and right which makes Dune look like any other weekday for Paul, which is not what it is. Also, separating Jessica and Leto in this trilogy never sat well with me. Even though that part of the story is wrapped up as expected, it still felt so out of the Dune mythology and left a bad taste in my mouth.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this ALC. Scott Brick was a fine narrator. These books just aren't Dune for me.
January 30, 2023
I tried but this really lacked luster for me. This trilogy just got worse as it progressed. Like many new fans, I became interested in the Dune Universe after the highly successful 2021 film. I read all of Frank Herbert's Dune novels and many of the Brian Herbert/ Kevin J. Anderson collaborations before my interest gradually waned.
I'm going to stick to re-reading the first four Frank Herbert Dune Novels: Dune, Dune Messiah, Children of Dune and God Emperor of Dune. I enjoyed all of these immensely, rated them 5 Amazing Stars and added them to my personal library.
Favorite Passage:
As he pondered his ancestors, he surmised that each previous Duke had undoubtedly faced challenges that they considered insurmountable. Paul chastised himself for lamenting his own position, for wallowing in pity. It did no good to feel sorry for himself, or to regret the past. But the future, that was another matter. Some of it lay beyond his ability to control, but he did hold a portion of the future in his own hands.
I'm going to stick to re-reading the first four Frank Herbert Dune Novels: Dune, Dune Messiah, Children of Dune and God Emperor of Dune. I enjoyed all of these immensely, rated them 5 Amazing Stars and added them to my personal library.
Favorite Passage:
As he pondered his ancestors, he surmised that each previous Duke had undoubtedly faced challenges that they considered insurmountable. Paul chastised himself for lamenting his own position, for wallowing in pity. It did no good to feel sorry for himself, or to regret the past. But the future, that was another matter. Some of it lay beyond his ability to control, but he did hold a portion of the future in his own hands.
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September 23, 2022Seriously? Have a day off. This is becoming such a milking industry of the beloved Dune world your father created. You simply can't fill the void he left behind. Your prose is horrible compared to your father. I've read the sequels to the original trilogy + the 3 follow ups by your father. Your books don't do Dune justice.
March 4, 2023
Tom and I read this one together. In fact, we read the whole trilogy together. This third book was the best of the three, and indeed one of the best of the entire prequels. it’s a very satisfying end to all the prequels.
March 3, 2024
This book is the third and final in a series featuring individuals from the original Dune book and events that took place immediately preceding the start of Dune. This book continues the storylines of Leto, Jessica and Paul and explains why the Emperor Shaddam Corrino decided to assign the Atreides to Dune replacing their bitter rivals the Harkonnens. An engaging and fast read.
September 1, 2025
"In una trappola complessa a volte è difficile determinare chi è il cacciatore e chi la preda"
May 17, 2023
Awful. Prepare to be disappointed. The characters are shallow, paper versions of those in Fran Herbert’s Dune. The exposition used by the authors is over the top. The plot lines are flat, predictable, moronic, and undermine what needs to happen later. Events and asides are pulled out of thin air on a regular basis to awkwardly drive the story and solve plot dilemmas.
Character arcs that need to be in place later are displaced by inane plot lines. Melange is relegated to being an addictive drug no better than heroin. Dr. Yueh, both as a character and plot line, is a mockery of what will come to pass in Dune. The Jessica plot line makes no sense. So much that happens in this annoying trilogy cannot have occurred and gone unnoticed as these events impacted the characters that would have impacted the later Dune world.
The only value in the book is getting to revisit with admired characters from Frank Herbert’s Dune. Still, this poorly written, poorly thought out and poorly executed dime store novel version left me exasperated and frustrated.
I don’t know if this book and series was worth reading or not and I lean toward not.
Character arcs that need to be in place later are displaced by inane plot lines. Melange is relegated to being an addictive drug no better than heroin. Dr. Yueh, both as a character and plot line, is a mockery of what will come to pass in Dune. The Jessica plot line makes no sense. So much that happens in this annoying trilogy cannot have occurred and gone unnoticed as these events impacted the characters that would have impacted the later Dune world.
The only value in the book is getting to revisit with admired characters from Frank Herbert’s Dune. Still, this poorly written, poorly thought out and poorly executed dime store novel version left me exasperated and frustrated.
I don’t know if this book and series was worth reading or not and I lean toward not.
January 9, 2024
2.5 Stars Rounded Down
This trilogy should've been 1 thin book or novella.
Much of this interferes with the Dune Canon as created by Frank Herbert.
I think the issues with the Landsraad, Emporer Shaddam, and Baron Harkonnen all could've been interesting. Aa background to how Duke Leto I ended up on Arrakis to begin with.
I hate the storyline with Leto & and Jessica, which doesn't add to their story at all.
This makes Dune feel weird as the events of Dune take place months after this book ends.
Leto, Jessica, Duncan, and Thufir all feel inauthentic. 🤷🏾♀️
If the authors are largely dependent on fluff to fill out the story, I do wish they'd chosen better.
Most of these extended Dune Universe novels by Brian Herbert and Kevin J Anderson are largely fan fiction, and sometimes I enjoy it.
This trilogy should've been 1 thin book or novella.
Much of this interferes with the Dune Canon as created by Frank Herbert.
I think the issues with the Landsraad, Emporer Shaddam, and Baron Harkonnen all could've been interesting. Aa background to how Duke Leto I ended up on Arrakis to begin with.
I hate the storyline with Leto & and Jessica, which doesn't add to their story at all.
This makes Dune feel weird as the events of Dune take place months after this book ends.
Leto, Jessica, Duncan, and Thufir all feel inauthentic. 🤷🏾♀️
If the authors are largely dependent on fluff to fill out the story, I do wish they'd chosen better.
Most of these extended Dune Universe novels by Brian Herbert and Kevin J Anderson are largely fan fiction, and sometimes I enjoy it.
February 20, 2025
It wasn’t until this last installment of the Caladan Trilogy that I noticed the amount of repetitive fluff. This book could’ve been about 150 pages shorter.
However, I am obsessed with Dune, so 5 stars.
However, I am obsessed with Dune, so 5 stars.
June 28, 2024
Bardzo udane zamknięcie trylogii Kaladanu, która stanowi bardzo mocny prequel do oryginalnej Diuny (ostatnia książka kończy się praktycznie chwilę przed oryginalną Diuną).
Jest akcja, są emocje, jest Arrakis oraz większość postaci z oryginalnej Diuny.
Możemy poznać losy przed samym przesunięciem Atrydów na Arrakis, co do tego doprowadziło i po części poznać też, dlaczego zostali potraktowani na Arrakis, tak jak to miało miejsce w Diunie.
Polecam, choć trzy długie książki to trochę dużo na opowiedzianą tutaj historię. Powinny być maksymalnie dwie, albo bardzo gruba jedna.
Całość jest na pewno bardziej przystępna, niż oryginalne teksty Herberta, bardziej nowoczesna, choć wiem, że zagorzali fani oryginału są mocno na nie, jeśli chodzi o prequele i sequele, pisane przez syna Franka Herberta. Ja bawiłem się bardzo dobrze.
Polecam.
Jest akcja, są emocje, jest Arrakis oraz większość postaci z oryginalnej Diuny.
Możemy poznać losy przed samym przesunięciem Atrydów na Arrakis, co do tego doprowadziło i po części poznać też, dlaczego zostali potraktowani na Arrakis, tak jak to miało miejsce w Diunie.
Polecam, choć trzy długie książki to trochę dużo na opowiedzianą tutaj historię. Powinny być maksymalnie dwie, albo bardzo gruba jedna.
Całość jest na pewno bardziej przystępna, niż oryginalne teksty Herberta, bardziej nowoczesna, choć wiem, że zagorzali fani oryginału są mocno na nie, jeśli chodzi o prequele i sequele, pisane przez syna Franka Herberta. Ja bawiłem się bardzo dobrze.
Polecam.
March 14, 2024
Nachdem ich ewig gebraucht habe, um wieder in die Story reinzukommen, muss ich sagen, dass es sich doch lohnt, die Bücher zu lesen, wenn man mehr über die Backstory von Dune erfahren will. Durch die Bücher versteht man die Details in den neuen Filmen sehr viel besser.
Auch die Geschehnisse im Buch an sich werden so beschrieben, dass man eigentlich immer weiß, was abgeht.
Allerdings werden sehr häufig Ereignisse im Buch wiederholt, bei denen ich mir dachte: “Ja, okay, das hab ich so langsam verstanden.” Anstatt also immer wieder das selbe zu schreiben, hätte man das Buch auch einfach 150 Seiten kürzer schreiben können.
Auch die Geschehnisse im Buch an sich werden so beschrieben, dass man eigentlich immer weiß, was abgeht.
Allerdings werden sehr häufig Ereignisse im Buch wiederholt, bei denen ich mir dachte: “Ja, okay, das hab ich so langsam verstanden.” Anstatt also immer wieder das selbe zu schreiben, hätte man das Buch auch einfach 150 Seiten kürzer schreiben können.
January 28, 2024
2 1/2⭐️
While I did enjoy the beginning and the ending of this, the middle part wasn’t really interesting and the ending way too rushed
Lady of Caladan and 90% of this one were build up to that ending and then he squished the resolution into the last 20 pages? Why?
While I did enjoy the beginning and the ending of this, the middle part wasn’t really interesting and the ending way too rushed
Lady of Caladan and 90% of this one were build up to that ending and then he squished the resolution into the last 20 pages? Why?
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 23, 2022
I have mixed feelings about this book, and for a variety of reasons. The first of them is that it’s the last book in the Dune series, at least to date, and so I’m finally all up-to-date. It’s an interesting experience because I thought I’d finished the series already, and then I found out that there was another trilogy that I hadn’t read.
Then there’s the fact that I’ve historically found that the third books in these trilogies are usually the best. Typically, the first one does a lot of scene setting, the second has a bit of a lull and then the third brings everything together and ties everything up. That happened here too, but I do think it was the weakest third book out of all of the different trilogies.
The reason for that is that it focuses a lot more on Paul Atreides than the first two books, which were more about Leto and Jessica. Don’t get me wrong, Paul is a great character, it’s just that I don’t particularly like him. And that’s kind of the point.
Still, there’s a lot of great stuff here, and The Heir of Caladan does a good job of setting things up for the original Dune books. Paul is even having dreams that are basically prophetic of what’s to come, although it’s admittedly much easier to write things like that when the books are already out there and in existence.
If I had a problem with this book, it would be that I found it hard to suspend my disbelief when it came to Duke Leto trying to infiltrate the rebels. It’s super out of character for him, and even though we as the reader know that it’s all a ruse, it didn’t seem as though enough of the other characters were suspicious of him. It got mentioned here and there, but it all just seemed too easy.
Still, I enjoyed reading this one and I’d definitely recommend it to fans of the Dune series. And let’s face it, if you’ve read this far then you’re unlikely to stop anyway, given that this is the last book in the series, at least for now. I just hope that Herbert and Anderson are planning on working on a few more instalments. Fingers crossed!
Then there’s the fact that I’ve historically found that the third books in these trilogies are usually the best. Typically, the first one does a lot of scene setting, the second has a bit of a lull and then the third brings everything together and ties everything up. That happened here too, but I do think it was the weakest third book out of all of the different trilogies.
The reason for that is that it focuses a lot more on Paul Atreides than the first two books, which were more about Leto and Jessica. Don’t get me wrong, Paul is a great character, it’s just that I don’t particularly like him. And that’s kind of the point.
Still, there’s a lot of great stuff here, and The Heir of Caladan does a good job of setting things up for the original Dune books. Paul is even having dreams that are basically prophetic of what’s to come, although it’s admittedly much easier to write things like that when the books are already out there and in existence.
If I had a problem with this book, it would be that I found it hard to suspend my disbelief when it came to Duke Leto trying to infiltrate the rebels. It’s super out of character for him, and even though we as the reader know that it’s all a ruse, it didn’t seem as though enough of the other characters were suspicious of him. It got mentioned here and there, but it all just seemed too easy.
Still, I enjoyed reading this one and I’d definitely recommend it to fans of the Dune series. And let’s face it, if you’ve read this far then you’re unlikely to stop anyway, given that this is the last book in the series, at least for now. I just hope that Herbert and Anderson are planning on working on a few more instalments. Fingers crossed!
March 14, 2023
Perhaps I'm "Dune'd" out...but I found this to be the weakest book of the trilogy. It's perfectly well-written, but there's an intensity lacking here that was far more prominent in the other books...and I wasn't exactly captivated by Paul's adventures in the wilds of Caladan. A decent enough conclusion, but an anti-climax compared to the previous volumes.
April 12, 2025
Again a filler episode *sigh* Half of the story arches are completely pointless and uninteresting. The book is hard to read, the story is overly dragged out and the whole trilogy could’ve been an email at this point. Also the end does not really fit with the next book which is the literal original Dune story….
March 31, 2024
After finishing the Caladan trilogy, the third of which is titled, “The Heir of Caladan”…I am left with the same mixed feelings characteristic of Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson’s writing in the past. It is middling, at best. Once in a while, they strike a nice chord, but more often than not, these books are an exercise in eye-rolling.
Imagine I have a simple story about an immense bottomless chasm which needs crossing. But rather than build up a cogent plot with meaningful characters and conflict, I decide: let’s send in the Bridge Builder 9000, and have the story center around the bickering management team. Boring. Contrived. Simplistic. And who in the heck even has a Bridge Builder 9000?!
So it went with the overall story in this trilogy. I’m of the opinion that it was wholly unnecessary to the Dune universe, and actually sort of made a mess of things for the main book. Furthermore, this trilogy is RIDDLED with plot holes that are so glaringly obvious that one cannot help but to feel actual annoyance at the authors.
Gurney’s message out to the Atreides spy-eyes was inconsistent across the book. In the first instance, he reveals that Leto’s critical message never made it to Shaddam, but in the later message received by Hawat, this fact was omitted. This writing error surely would’ve changed the plot, because Hawat (being a loyal Atreides mentat) would never have placed Gurney’s life over the safety of Leto, and he would’ve gone straight to Shaddam with Gurney’s original message before attempting to arrange a rescue. Paul and Duncan (dumbly) decide to train (at the worst time and without support) on the southern continents of the planet Caladan only to discover the EXACT SAME DRUG LORD that had escaped them on the OTHER SIDE OF THE PLANET within mere days of arriving, and by total accident. (Imagine a detective in New York losing custody of a criminal drug lord who has repeatedly used bombs and pseudo-nuclear explosions to escape, only to discover him while on an unrelated and impromptu vacation in South America just a few months later. But that’s not all! He manages to take the drug lord down with the help of jungle natives who train him how to use bolos over the course of a weekend. That’s how dumb this is.) How many times are we gonna be told that the CHOAM fortress is impregnable, only to reveal that “The Plot-Saving Tunnel Builder 9000” has installed secret tunnels into the area? Not just once into the main “secure” area (which Arithica uses), but even into the “more secure” core area which has NO way in or out (except for the ultra-secret soundproof booby-trapped tunnel which Malina uses to meet with her son at the very end, but neglects to use when it could have actually done some good). Care to guess how Thufir and Gurney escape from Lankiveil, how Jessica escapes to the stables on Elegy, and Leto and Jaxson escape from Nossus? TUNNELS. Everything is tunnels apparently. Moving on, if Malina could jam Jaxson’s signals the whole time (as she did with the earring), why was anyone worried about the data stone in the first place? She could’ve tunneled in (LIKE SHE DID) and made quick work of the whole thing by telling Jaxson she was blocking his signals. Don’t even get me started on the overused “slip an assassin in through the kitchen” trope which they exploited here on Caladan, and also in their newest book, (SPOILERS) Princess of Dune, in two different places: Kaitain and Arrakis. What is it with Great Houses and their poor kitchen security?! The first two books in this trilogy suffer from even more egregious plot holes. How was Arithica able to infiltrate House Corrino and MARRY the Emperor without his Truthsayer Mohiam ever suspecting her of a mistruth even once? Never mind that the Bene Gesserit would spot a forged Great House from MILES away since they’ve been breeding them for thousands of years. And so it goes…
But with my many complaints aside, I still found reasons to enjoy aspects of the trilogy. I liked Viscount Giandro of House Tull. The way they set him up to be a dichotomy to Leto wasn’t half-bad, and it lent a believable human element to the Noble Commonwealth rebellion. I also enjoyed Colonel Bashar Jopati Kolona’s character development. It lended credibility to the idea that House Atreides was rising in favor while House Corrino was on the wane, because here we see that even the famed Sardaukar army was willing to pause long enough to hear House Atreides out in spite of their direct orders to obliterate them. I also appreciated that Shaddam was revealed to be a pawn in his own game…being pushed to honor the Atreides when mere moments before he was ready to wipe them out. Jessica’s internal conflict surrounding the test of Brom sets a real stage for the concern she will later feel for her own son, Paul, with the Gom Jabbar.
In the end, though…this trilogy didn’t truly execute for me. I reluctantly give it 3 stars, because frankly, I just love the world of Dune. It’s just sad that B. Herbert and Anderson can’t truly do it justice, and that the benefit of decades has not improved their craft. Perhaps they can tunnel their way into a cohesive plot in their NEXT book…which is sure to come. Perhaps I should offer them my Bridge Builder 9000 instead.
Imagine I have a simple story about an immense bottomless chasm which needs crossing. But rather than build up a cogent plot with meaningful characters and conflict, I decide: let’s send in the Bridge Builder 9000, and have the story center around the bickering management team. Boring. Contrived. Simplistic. And who in the heck even has a Bridge Builder 9000?!
So it went with the overall story in this trilogy. I’m of the opinion that it was wholly unnecessary to the Dune universe, and actually sort of made a mess of things for the main book. Furthermore, this trilogy is RIDDLED with plot holes that are so glaringly obvious that one cannot help but to feel actual annoyance at the authors.
Gurney’s message out to the Atreides spy-eyes was inconsistent across the book. In the first instance, he reveals that Leto’s critical message never made it to Shaddam, but in the later message received by Hawat, this fact was omitted. This writing error surely would’ve changed the plot, because Hawat (being a loyal Atreides mentat) would never have placed Gurney’s life over the safety of Leto, and he would’ve gone straight to Shaddam with Gurney’s original message before attempting to arrange a rescue. Paul and Duncan (dumbly) decide to train (at the worst time and without support) on the southern continents of the planet Caladan only to discover the EXACT SAME DRUG LORD that had escaped them on the OTHER SIDE OF THE PLANET within mere days of arriving, and by total accident. (Imagine a detective in New York losing custody of a criminal drug lord who has repeatedly used bombs and pseudo-nuclear explosions to escape, only to discover him while on an unrelated and impromptu vacation in South America just a few months later. But that’s not all! He manages to take the drug lord down with the help of jungle natives who train him how to use bolos over the course of a weekend. That’s how dumb this is.) How many times are we gonna be told that the CHOAM fortress is impregnable, only to reveal that “The Plot-Saving Tunnel Builder 9000” has installed secret tunnels into the area? Not just once into the main “secure” area (which Arithica uses), but even into the “more secure” core area which has NO way in or out (except for the ultra-secret soundproof booby-trapped tunnel which Malina uses to meet with her son at the very end, but neglects to use when it could have actually done some good). Care to guess how Thufir and Gurney escape from Lankiveil, how Jessica escapes to the stables on Elegy, and Leto and Jaxson escape from Nossus? TUNNELS. Everything is tunnels apparently. Moving on, if Malina could jam Jaxson’s signals the whole time (as she did with the earring), why was anyone worried about the data stone in the first place? She could’ve tunneled in (LIKE SHE DID) and made quick work of the whole thing by telling Jaxson she was blocking his signals. Don’t even get me started on the overused “slip an assassin in through the kitchen” trope which they exploited here on Caladan, and also in their newest book, (SPOILERS) Princess of Dune, in two different places: Kaitain and Arrakis. What is it with Great Houses and their poor kitchen security?! The first two books in this trilogy suffer from even more egregious plot holes. How was Arithica able to infiltrate House Corrino and MARRY the Emperor without his Truthsayer Mohiam ever suspecting her of a mistruth even once? Never mind that the Bene Gesserit would spot a forged Great House from MILES away since they’ve been breeding them for thousands of years. And so it goes…
But with my many complaints aside, I still found reasons to enjoy aspects of the trilogy. I liked Viscount Giandro of House Tull. The way they set him up to be a dichotomy to Leto wasn’t half-bad, and it lent a believable human element to the Noble Commonwealth rebellion. I also enjoyed Colonel Bashar Jopati Kolona’s character development. It lended credibility to the idea that House Atreides was rising in favor while House Corrino was on the wane, because here we see that even the famed Sardaukar army was willing to pause long enough to hear House Atreides out in spite of their direct orders to obliterate them. I also appreciated that Shaddam was revealed to be a pawn in his own game…being pushed to honor the Atreides when mere moments before he was ready to wipe them out. Jessica’s internal conflict surrounding the test of Brom sets a real stage for the concern she will later feel for her own son, Paul, with the Gom Jabbar.
In the end, though…this trilogy didn’t truly execute for me. I reluctantly give it 3 stars, because frankly, I just love the world of Dune. It’s just sad that B. Herbert and Anderson can’t truly do it justice, and that the benefit of decades has not improved their craft. Perhaps they can tunnel their way into a cohesive plot in their NEXT book…which is sure to come. Perhaps I should offer them my Bridge Builder 9000 instead.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 15, 2024
The Heir of Caladan was the 3rd book in the Caladan trilogy. It leads right up to Frank Herbert's Hugo winning seminal novel, Dune. As I mentioned in a previous review, I read Dune in 1969 and have read it several times since. I have seen all the films, several times, and am an ardent fan of the Villaneuve releases, Dune and Dune II. Villaneuve decided to make 2 films out of the novel and I'm glad he did because they were both excellent, even though he changed the arc of the story. It still worked.
Back to The Heir of Caladan. In this book we get the resolution to several conflicts that had come up in the first 2 books of the trilogy. Lady Jessica and her battles with the Bene Geserit; Duke Leto's efforts to stop the rebellion against the Imperium before its collateral damage included all of Caladan; Gurney Halleck's kidnapping and torture by the Harkonens; and the infiltration of assassins from renegade Bene Geserits and Feyd-Ratha, at the Baron's suggestion. A lot of plates spinning here so, as you can imagine, the pages were turning pretty fast.
I'm really liking the writing of Brian Herbert and his co-author, Kevin Anderson. They don't necessarily write in the style of Frank Herbert, but they come close. Their books have been action packed and the plots, though complex, move quickly. Again, good book.
Back to The Heir of Caladan. In this book we get the resolution to several conflicts that had come up in the first 2 books of the trilogy. Lady Jessica and her battles with the Bene Geserit; Duke Leto's efforts to stop the rebellion against the Imperium before its collateral damage included all of Caladan; Gurney Halleck's kidnapping and torture by the Harkonens; and the infiltration of assassins from renegade Bene Geserits and Feyd-Ratha, at the Baron's suggestion. A lot of plates spinning here so, as you can imagine, the pages were turning pretty fast.
I'm really liking the writing of Brian Herbert and his co-author, Kevin Anderson. They don't necessarily write in the style of Frank Herbert, but they come close. Their books have been action packed and the plots, though complex, move quickly. Again, good book.
April 24, 2025
Just when I was about to give up, they stick the landing and have everything click into place ready for your actual Dune with added context and motivation. My overall feeling about the trilogy was that it could have been 2 really good books without Paul's slightly pointless and continuity defying threads, underlined by his storyline here where he gets lost in a hostile environment where he is attacked by snakey things, meets some indigenous people with an embedded scientist who farm a crop that can be turned into a desirable drug and is bewitched by a girl from his dreams then resists saying "Whoa, deja vu" when the exact same things happen to him in the source novel straight afterwards. But Leto and Jessica getting caught up in a rebel/terrorist plot is very satisfying.
February 29, 2024
Wreszcie koniec tej niepotrzebnej trylogii będącej prequelem „Diuny”. Zapewne wszyscy będą zaskoczeni: Leto przeżyje, Paul przeżyje, Jessica… też przeżyje! A w finale zaczną się pakować do wylotu na Arrakis.
Nic w tych fabułach nie budziło emocji. Język i styl - drewno, kanciaste i nieprzyjemne. Na moje nieszczęście, czytałem gorsze rzeczy. Najbardziej bawiły mnie te zdania oznajmujące straszne rzeczy. Dobrze, że autorzy tak podnosili temperaturę, bo inaczej nie zorientowałbym się. Do tego precyzyjnie opisywali czytelnikom uczucia bohaterów.
I nie przestają, ponieważ już napisali jakiś wypełniacz między „Diuną” a „Mesjaszem…”. Już jej nie zaszczycę swoim czasem.
Nic w tych fabułach nie budziło emocji. Język i styl - drewno, kanciaste i nieprzyjemne. Na moje nieszczęście, czytałem gorsze rzeczy. Najbardziej bawiły mnie te zdania oznajmujące straszne rzeczy. Dobrze, że autorzy tak podnosili temperaturę, bo inaczej nie zorientowałbym się. Do tego precyzyjnie opisywali czytelnikom uczucia bohaterów.
I nie przestają, ponieważ już napisali jakiś wypełniacz między „Diuną” a „Mesjaszem…”. Już jej nie zaszczycę swoim czasem.
September 16, 2025
A 3.5 cause the story overshadows the drawn out mess this entire trilogy is. The story is excellent, the full lead up to the first Dune novel. It does break some canon around giving Paul much more experience of ruling than he does in the original books. My criticism is how drawn out these books are. So much extra that brings nothing to the story that has not been heard in previous books. But if you love the Dune world, some great new story to add to the mystic.
February 25, 2024
Duke and Jessica
While this installment in the series purports to focus on Paul there is quite a bit of information about the Duke and the Lady Jessica leading up to the royal house being directed to taking over the spice harvesting operation.
While this installment in the series purports to focus on Paul there is quite a bit of information about the Duke and the Lady Jessica leading up to the royal house being directed to taking over the spice harvesting operation.
September 3, 2024
I’ve officially read every dune book. I’m. Tired. But I do feel so accomplished 💀
October 6, 2024
Nice ending to this trilogy and leads right into the beginning of Dune at the end which was cool. Might be last Dune read for a while got the two early prequel trilogy’s left so I’ll save those for another time.
January 11, 2025
This trilogy wasn’t necessary, but it doesn’t hurt.
August 5, 2025
Love Dune, love the series. For some reason I was losing the threads at the end of the book and needed to go back to relisten. Still, I wholeheartedly recommend anything Dune.
September 1, 2025
Geschichte ist top, aber die Übersetzung enthält viel zu viele Fehler.
September 16, 2025
Great fit into the Dune book. it felt like the rogue one for star wars
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