Paul of Dune

Heroes of Dune #1

by Brian Herbert

Frank Herbert's Dune ended with Paul Muad'Dib in control of the planet Dune. Herbert's next Dune book, Dune Messiah, picked up the story several years later after Paul's armies had conquered the galaxy. But what happened between Dune and Dune Messiah? How did Paul create his empire and become the Messiah? Following in the footsteps of Frank Herbert, New York Times bestselling authors Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson are answering these questions in Paul of Dune.

The Muad'Dib's jihad is in full swing. His warrior legions march from victory to victory. But beneath the joy of victory there are dangerous undercurrents. Paul, like nearly every great conqueror, has enemies--those who would betray him to steal the awesome power he commands. . . .

And Paul himself begins to have Is the jihad getting out of his control? Has he created anarchy? Has he been betrayed by those he loves and trusts the most? And most of all, he Am I going mad?

Paul of Dune is a novel everyone will want to read and no one will be able to forget.

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction, Fantasy, Audiobook, Science Fiction Fantasy, Ebooks, Space Opera

512 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 16, 2008

About the author

Brian Patrick Herbert is an American author who lives in Washington state. He is the elder son of science fiction author Frank Patrick Herbert.

Reviews

[Bradley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Out of all the Brian Herbert/Kevin Anderson books surrounding the Dune series, I was most afraid of and most interested in reading more about Paul, himself. I mean, he's THE Messiah. But by the same token, I truly avoided this particular book because he was so very EXCELLENT in the original Dune.

Why fix perfection?

Well... here's a good reason to read this book: it supplies us with a wealth of information for the ACTUAL jihad. And while that isn't the main plot for the novel, it was very interesting.

The actual plot is broken up into two. The first is an extensive flashback to when Paul was 12 and it gives us the whole build-up to the Baron, Paul's confirmation as heir, and the tragedy of Leto's marriage and the near-war that followed it. The other is all about Count Fenring and an extensive plot involving the Tleilaxu, which is also very interesting on its own because it's COUNT FENRING. The *almost* Kwizatz Haderach. The one that *could* have killed Paul.

Of course, I have a slight issue with this book because of a certain plot hole revolving JUST THAT, but I forgive it because I'm getting some COUNT FENRING.

Final estimation?

It's light reading. As in Dune-lite. It's not nearly as good as the originals but it does explore some rather cool surrounding aspects and that's the real draw, isn't it? It is what it is.

[♥Milica♥ · Rating 3 out of 5]

This wasn't as bad as some of the reviews led me to believe it would be. Was it exactly like Dune? No. But did it do justice to the series? I think so.

The biggest surprise for me was the writing. I didn't think it would be possible to get the style right, and yet it was. The writing is as close to Frank Herbert's as possible, just less clunky.

And it's so much easier to guess who's thinking what, I think it's organised better.

As for the time periods covered, I have mixed feelings. I liked some parts better than others, and there's still so much left to go over.

I don't know if the rest will be covered in other books (since The Winds of Dune doesn't go back before Dune Messiah but follows events after), but I can hope.

[Wee Lassie · Rating 5 out of 5]

*Inhales* This book is better than the first Dune book… *Ducks flying projectile* Yeah, that’s right I said it - come at me! It’s the truth! This book didn’t put me to sleep!

[Prester · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I first read "Dune" in 1983 I was amazed at how Frank Herbert was able to create an entire universe filled with new planets, alien races, politics and of course, religious fanaticism.

I was deeply saddened by the death of one of the greatest Science Fiction writers of all time.

Then to my delight, the team of Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson catapulted the Sci-Fi fan base back into the world of "Dune" with some of the best written and imagined stories from the early days of the Dune legacy.

"Paul of Dune" is no exception.

This serving of the "Dune" history is a fantastic blend of present and past as it forms volume one of the two part link between "Dune" and "Dune Messiah".

I found the characters, the situations and the end results to be very brilliantly designed and satisfying. And I am one who has always found it tough to find good Science Fiction due to the fact that many authors tend to slide too far to the brink of being down right corny.

Although I know there is a butt for every saddle and that my views are purely my own, I would hope that readers of the new "Dune" books would see fit to not only give these great stories a shot, but also realize that they were all masterfully written for one purpose; To complete one of the greatest adventures of all time.

This book served its purpose with abundance.

[Claudia · Rating 1 out of 5]

Utterly, totally, completely disappointed! :(

I very much liked Dune Chronicles #7 & #8; as for the Legends of Dune & Prelude to Dune series, I found them to be awesome. But this one...

The characters are totally different: the way Paul Atreides and the Fremens are depicted looks like the Harkonnens! No, I'm wrong. The Harkonnens were strong characters, despicable, they could make you go through the whole range of bad feelings about them. Here, Paul and Fremens are a bunch of idiots, brainless, selfish mother-f***ers. Not to mention Chani and Irulan: is like seeing a very, very bad TV show with illiterate people. Wth?!

As for the writing style - dull, blase, has no substance at all.

I quitted at 25% and limited myself to what I had read so far - I don't want to spoil further the image I have on Dune universe and its characters.

[Susy · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars
Again I found all characters quite unlikable (with the exception of Idaho and Irulan) and I'm starting to dislike this universe more and more. "Thus Paul become not what he wanted to be but what he needed to be...and what human kind needed him to be."No, I don’t like him a bit more and I find it a sorry excuse from the author. The end does not always justify the means!
The first half of the book drags on a bit, only picks up in the second part (therefore half a star more than Dune Messiah) and though it's interesting to get some background stories, i felt that the book could be much shorter (therefore I rounded the rating down to 3 stars).

[Erik · Rating 2 out of 5]

My slight obsession with all things Dune began back when I was thirteen when a good buddy of mine recommended to me Frank Herbert’s first Dune novel – which I promptly borrowed from my dad, who had a first printing copy – and the David Lynch cinematic adaptation which coincidentally came out mere months later. From there, I was enraptured with this future historical epic – much as I once was with Narnia and Middle-Earth.

What I loved most about Herbert’s original six-volume Dune series was how he captured the messianic fervor and fictitious-intellectual underpinnings of a future history in which prophecy is slowly – albeit ambiguously -- revealed. Even subtler, the religiosity of his self-contained universe was never fully explained, with many a plot thread that was left unraveled for the reader to ponder and muse upon – much as the most die-hard Lord of the Ring fans do when they scour his notes and drafts, which are collectively published under the History of Middle-Earth series that are edited by his son Christopher. (I would also argue that this is what I loved about Dan Simmons’ audaciously original series, The Hyperion Cantos and his most recent double-feature, Illium and Olympos.) How and where did the Bene Gesserit, the Guild, the mentats of Bene Theilax originate? What happened to Earth all so long ago? And what is the real history of the Butlerian Jihad that ushered in a new era in which humans forbade themselved from making machines in their image? This is what I loved about the Herbert’s work, and it is this that I alternately love and hate about Brian and Kevin’s novelizations of Frank’s huge accumulation of notes, ideas, and – at least for Hunters and Sandworms of Dune – planned novels after his last, Chapterhouse: Dune.

Although Paul of Dune is to be their last book – according to current-reckoning – Brian and Kevin have published eight other additional Dune books in the last ten years. For the most part, the first in each of their companion trilogies – most notably Dune: House Atreides and The Butlerian Jihad – were the best. Both of these breathed new life into the mysterious world of Arrakis and the coming of the Kwisartz Haderach – the super-being of Bene Gesserit and Fremen prophecy. Jihad, in particular, is probably the best book in the entire prequel/sequel series, as it carefully and theatrically unfolds the dramatic moment in future history – a fulcrum, if you will -- on which the fate of the human race was determined in the moment of one woman’s stand and martyrdom against the machines. (Sarah Connor from the Terminator mythos was never so bold, I suggest.) But these are the highest points in an otherwise mediocre series that leaves too little to the imagination. And by that, I mean that Brian and Kevin pull back the curtain too far to show us every single motivation, explain away every previously unrevealed mystery; all while taking away a little of the magic of Frank’s awe-inspiring future universe.

The best part of Paul of Dune is the one-half of the book that deals with the years in-between Dune and Dune Messiah, as Paul, Alia, and their allies deal with the near-constant machinations of the disgraced former Emperor and his cronies. The other half, which alternates with the main-plotline, gives us a glimpse back in the not-too-far-distant past when Paul, as a young boy, became involved in the War of Assassins which involved no less than the marriage of his father, the Duke, to a fellow noble’s kinswoman. Although this works as a narrative device – both plotlines mirror each other quite effectively in theme and purpose – I can’t help but feel that Brian and Kevin are rewriting the Dune legend, and dulling ever-so-slightly my once starry-eyed imagination.

In short: I enjoy the new Dune books, but I loved the originals even better. And like New Coke, sometimes you just can’t improve upon the original – no matter how sweet you make it.

[Samuel · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF. My expectations weren’t high, but I could not get through this. Pity, because I’m very fond of the original series by Frank Herbert, and I even quite liked the first book in the Prelude to Dune series House Atreides, also written by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson.

Paul of Dune is divided into seven sections, alternating between Paul Atreides’ youth before the events depicted in Dune, and the early period of his Fremen jihad between Dune and Dune Messiah.

Unfortunately, the writing in Paul of Dune is uninspired and formulaic, and the book lacks the depth and layeredness that so defined the original series. Many beloved characters also come off as one-dimensional, and their actions and speech often had me shaking my head in disbelief. I think I was only able to get halfway through this book, because I was listening to the audio version while doing chores. The narration is pretty good, except for the narrator’s voice for Gurney Halleck, which sounded like an odd version of Scottish (at least I think that’s what he was going for).

Most surprisingly, the book also contains a number of inconsistencies with the original series, the most glaring of which is the young Paul Atreides journeying twice to other worlds despite the fact that, according to Dune, Paul had never left Caladan before moving to Arrakis. Why the authors decided to contradict Dune in this respect baffles me.

I picked up the other two books in the Prelude to Dune series and Hunters of Dune on the cheap before buying Paul of Dune, so I’m really hoping they are more to my liking.

[Elizabeth · Rating 1 out of 5]

So far this is one of the most painful books ever written by Brian Herbert (Frank's son) and Mr. Anderson. I read them only because I know they are working from Frank Herbert's notes, and they do fill in useful information. But frankly, I think if they just published his notes, it would be a lot better reading. Their characterization is nearly non-existent and the dialogue is quite poor.

Final comment: Well, I finished it. God it was torture. I couldn't recommend it to anyone, even a diehard fan--I'd send them to read reviews, and they'd get all they needed to know. What a waste of time.

[Sud666 · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Paul of Dune" is a prequel/sequel all in one. It takes place between the events of "Dune" and "Dune Messiah" (this is the sequel part) and it covers Young Duke Paul's adventures during the War of Assassins (the prequel).

Of all the Brian Herbert books this one was the one, so far, that I liked the least. The parts covering what Paul, as Emperor, did after the events of Dune were merely ok. It filled in some holes in my lore knowledge but, overall, was rather dull until the end which explains the fate of Count Fenring and his final plot to kill Paul.

But I did enjoy the interludes set during Paul's early years. This details the continuing conflict called the War of Assassins between Houses Moritani and House Atreides and House Ecaz. This was rather interesting and explained a lot about not only Paul, and his closeness to Duncan Idaho, but also the infamous actions of Moritani.

Overall not a bad book. I did enjoy it. The post "Dune" events are not that great (save for the end) but the War of Assassins was quite interesting.

[Guillermo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not nearly as bad as I thought this book would be based on reviews I had read before. I know this is going to sound blasphemous to some, but although Frank Herbert is a far superior writer, I wish there was a little more of his son Brian and Kevin Anderson in his books. Frank can be a little long winded and confusing at times. Conversely, I wish there was a lot more Frank in these new "McDune" books- there is nothing profound in this book.

But that's ok. It is what it is, and I enjoyed it as just some light escapism taking place in the Dune universe. It was like eating a bowl of plain rice - nothing offensive or particularly tasty about it.

There were a few cringe worthy moments such as when the writers decided to make the crowd chant a bad pun on a stupidly named character ("Bad Bludd".. ugh, eyes almost rolled right out of my sockets).

The book is divided into 7 parts alternating with sections dealing with he the Jihad directly after the events of Dune, and sections flashing back to a 12 year old Paul. I found some of the young Paul sections dealing with the War of Assassination to be interesting, but the sections where he is already Emperor were somewhat weaker up until the strong, action packed ending. It was nice to see Tleilaxu, but ultimately, the whole plot thread with Thallo just felt kind of flat and unnecessary to the overall story.

So to conclude, haters of the McDune universe are going to be geared to hate this, because these books really aren't anything like Frank Herbert's Dune except they exist in the same universe. Those looking for the profound and intricate musings of man and the universe that Frank is beloved for, will be grossly disappointed, but if you have an open mind, and are just looking for some sci fi escapism, its an entertaining light read. Perfect for the pool.

[Dan Braun · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hopefully the last of Dune. I have read them all. None were as good as "Dune". But then you can't beat the best.

[Paige · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don't know how many of the Brian Herbert/Kevin Anderson books I will end up reading. I love the universe, am captivated by Dune and the mythology of Maud'dib, but... as so many others have noted, this just doesn't have the same something as the original(s).

I enjoyed the subplot of the Fenrings' daughter. That part was well done, and raised some interesting questions about human cloning and biological engineering. The rest of the book, though, fell flat for me. While superficially interesting, and yes it does fill in gaps in the timeline, it just didn't go any deeper than that.

[Andreas · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn’t have high expectations, and certainly didn’t raise the bar up to a Frank Herbert.
There are a lot of repetitions, the style is ok-ish, and the double plot works nicely.
The novel filled a certain need in my reading slump and covered a few details of Paul‘s early life and the time between book 1 and 2.
That’s why I’m fine with this book. But I can fully understand the huge amount of hatred which has been poured over it by other reviewers. In a different mood and time, I might have come to a similar conclusion.

[Avihu · Rating 1 out of 5]

One of the worse books ever written. It really pains me to see that it was allowed to be released. It really shames the Dune series name.

[Yael · Rating 5 out of 5]

Like millions of other people, I loved Frank Herbert's Dune and the five sequels to it that Herbert produced. In general, I've had mixed feelings about the prequels and sequels to Frank Herbert's series of Brian Herbert and Kevin Anderson. It's not that they aren't good -- it's that many of them aren't very . . . Dune, dammit. The difference is something like that between the earliest versions of great movies, e.g., The Poseidon Adventure, and later versions, e.g.,Poseidon -- the originals grab you and don't let go, the sequels fall flat. To do Brian Herbert and Kevin Anderson justice, their writing is a lot better than whoever was responsible for the atrocity that Poseidon turned out to be. It's just that they're not Frank Herbert, and while their contributions to the series constitute excellent writing, and are drawn directly from Frank Herbert's own notes about the novels he had planned to write if he'd lived long enough, they just don't have the Magick.

But there are exceptions. All of them are those which, with respect to the internal chronology of the entire series, occur very close to the time of Dune, the original, within a few decades, at most. This is true of Brian Herbert and Kevin Anderson's Dune: House Atreides, Dune: House Harkonnen, and Dune: House Corrino -- and it's true of their Paul of Dune, as well.

Paul of Dune is a recap of Paul Mua'Dib's life from 10,187 AG to 10,197 AG, spanning the last part of Paul's effective boyhood to his first years as Emperor. It covers incidents that did not appear either in the original Dune novels by Frank Herbert or in any of the prequels written by Brian Herbert and Kevin Anderson, and gives a much richer portrait of the complex, troubled man who was Paul Mua'Dib than was available before from any author. Here is a deeper understanding of the complexities of the Corrino Imperium and the extremely dysfunctional man who led it at the end, of Paul's struggles to come to terms with his prophetic powers and his anguish at not being able to follow a path his father, Duke Leto Atreides, would have approved of, and of the careers of the many characters that have such powerful impacts on Paul, his choices, and the empire that he ultimately created. I think Frank Herbert would have approved heartily.

[Eric Lin · Rating 1 out of 5]

I mean, I didn't finish it, but I'm finished, you know what I mean? Or to quote Bean, from Shadow of the Hegemon: "You don't have to eat the whole turd to know it's not crab cake."

Super bad dialogue and poor writing really makes you feel like these aren't the characters we remembered from Dune. Don't we read sequels to get more of what we want? I don't want to read about this imposter Paul, who takes everything too seriously, and alienates everyone he talks to. I know it's supposed to be the story of his journey back to humanity from the ruthless emperor he's become, but I don't think I have the patience to wait around, or the faith to believe that Brian Herbert can deliver.

[Byron 'Giggsy' Paul · Rating 3 out of 5]

Paul of Dune alternates between telling events of Paul-Muad'Dib's jihad 1 year and 4 year after the events of "Dune" and before "Dune Messiah" and background of Paul and what affected the Atreides clan as a 12 year old boy.

The good of this book is simply that the Dune story at this period is so great that any new background and insight is a joy for fans. The bad of this book is that while it attempts to fill-in between Frank's original novels it becomes just that that - boring historical background filler.

True Dune fans will still enjoy this but I'd recommend putting this lower on the reading list if you are looking for an exciting read.

[Bill Pentland · Rating 4 out of 5]

Paul of Dune filled the gap between Frank Herbert's Dune and his Dune Messiah. Brian Herbert did this by using flashbacks to Paul's youth on Caladan which narrated several events mentioned in Brian Herbert's previous prequels on Paul Atreides. The flashbacks serve to show us the education, brutal and dangerous at times, necessary to the making of a young Duke-to-be. In the current time portion of the book, it shows the Emperor Paul Muad Dib agonizing over the decisions he had to make, knowing those decisions cost billions of lives in the Jihad he ordained. We see the effect of his leadership on those closest to him - Chani, his beloved Fremen woman; Irulan, his wife but not his love; Stilgar, his loyal and faithful Fremen military leader and confidant; Gurney Halleck, now acting Governor on Caladan; Lady Jessica, Paul's mother now living on Caladan; and of course, Alia, Paul's prescient sister, often called the Abomination, with all the past voices of the Reverend Mothers alive in her mind. We see the result of several assassination attempts on Paul's life. We see the beginning of how the name Alia of the Knife got its start.
I did not give this book 5 stars because I felt the flashbacks were a bit of a distraction, even though by themselves they were quite entertaining. I also found the initial parts of Paul's current story were not as interesting. One of the assassination attempts involved wholesale slaughter, which I felt was gratuitous and took away from the story, like it didn't really fit. However, the last attempt on Paul's life, in a plot engendered by Count Fenring and his wife Lady Margot Fenring, was way exciting.
So, a good book, maybe not on the level of some of the others. Now I wait on the arrival of Winds of Dune, which covers the time period between Dune Messiah and Children of Dune. The Dune Universe is vast, complex, and way fascinating.

[Angell · Rating 2 out of 5]

Lord have mercy this was a train wreck. This was supposed to be a direct sequel to Dune, filling in the cool shit that happened between it and Messiah. But no! This is filled with so much nonsense! Ugh. If you haven’t read the prequel trilogy Brian and Kevin wrote, you’ll be hella confused at half the shit that happens. The majority of this book was a flashback to pre-Dune, post House Corrino events. About 1/3 of this book could actually be considered a direct sequel. The shit they did with Margo Fenring and the daughter she conceived with Feyd Routha was utter bullshit and didn’t make any sense to the plot of the story. It came out of nowhere and was just dumb. It felt like they took the writing advice of “make the worst thing happen to you characters and see how they react” to the extreme and it was just annoying. And holy fuck do they hate fat people. There was a fat sword master and he was like “look at the fat fatty mcfatterson. He’s so fucking fat how can he hold a sword. He’s so huge and fat.” I was like damn dude. Chill. I get it. Overall, a lame ass book.

[Florin Constantinescu · Rating 2 out of 5]

So "Hunters of Dune" and "Sandworms of Dune" simply HAD to be written, and were VERY good. And I kinda understand why they did the okay-ish "House" trilogy, and then the good "Legends".
But for Pete's sake... why did we ever need this "bulge" or "inquel"? Enough had been written about Paul already. I didn't think there were any gaps that needed to be filled around the original Dune novel.
The novel is not badly written, and reading about these characters is always fun, but it's reached a point where this is simply dilution. Nothing of use is being added, it only makes the Duniverse look like Star Wars now.

[Peter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson do their best job to capture the beauty of Frank Herbert's classic sci-fi, and in a lot of regards they do a good job. The writing style, although far less archaic and mesmerising, flows well and grips the reader. The biggest downfall is its decision to jump back and forth between present and past which feels a bit like the flow of one story is interrupted for the other. Still a highly enjoyable read and a worthy follow up to Dune.

[Taylor Ellwood · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book a lot. It fills in a gap between Dune and Dune Messiah and fleshes out all of the characters and their motivations accordingly. While its not absolutely necessary for enjoying the original Dune series, I think it enhances the original series and would recommend it to anyone who enjoys the original series.

[Kerry · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book fills part of the 13 year gap between "Dune" and "Dune Messiah" and does an excellent job. I can't believe that I have read all of the Dune books. And I am still having fun with them. Don't start the Dune series here, but if you are a Dune addict, you will like this one, too.

[Mark Henwick · Rating 1 out of 5]

Frank Herbert is spinning in his grave. I have read programming manuals that have engaged me more.
The *idea* is good, the writing is limp, and I just gave up.

[Phillip Lozano · Rating 1 out of 5]

Only if the taste of puke on shit seems appetizing to you.

[Dane Cobain · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was pretty interesting, in part because of the way that it slots into the series. It’s basically set between the events of Dune and Dune Messiah, and it does a pretty good job of building upon Paul’s story and teaching us a little bit more about him.

I suppose my main problem there is that I don’t find Paul to be a particularly interesting character to read about. Luckily, the supporting cast of characters has a lot going for them, and my perennial favourite Duncan Idaho is knocking around too. And at least with Paul, he’s starting to be the tyrant that he becomes and so there are some interesting elements to his character that stop him from being too dry. Alia is coming into her own, too.

But there’s another problem which held this back from getting a higher rating. It keeps jumping between the past and the present, and I feel as though it would have worked better if they’d just been separated out into two different books. I understand why they did it like that and the narrative aims that they hoped to achieve by doing it, but it didn’t make for a particularly enjoyable read.

I was also a little disappointed because I enjoyed Hunters of Dune and Sandworms of Dune, which were essentially the final two books in the original series. Frank Herbert didn’t live long enough to finish it himself, so who better to get the job done than his son and Kevin J. Anderson?

The problem is that those worked well, while these felt kind of unnecessary, though I’m sure they were writing them based on Herbert’s own original notes. And again, it all comes back to the fact that I don’t find Paul Atreides to be a particularly interesting character, which is perhaps also one of the reasons why I liked the other prequel series that Herbert and Anderson worked on together.

Then there are recurring characters like the emperor Shaddam, who’s like a viper that’s lost its teeth. I’m not sure whether we were ever supposed to feel as though he was a threat, but I didn’t and as it turned out, he wasn’t. He’s just kind of sitting around on Salusa Secundis (I think that’s what it’s called) and watching. Biding his time perhaps, although it’s not as though he’s ever actually going to do anything.

But even with all of these negatives, I still enjoyed reading this book, and by this point I think we can safely say that I’m a fan of the Dune series. I even have “fear is the mind-killer” tattooed on my arm, and I often recite the fear litany to help me to get through anxiety attacks. I used it a couple of days after finishing reading this when I was having a root canal at the dentists and I started to have a panic attack. So yeah.

[Jacek · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kolejna książka o świecie Diuny.
Paul z Diuny to wydarzenia zaraz po pierwszej części, a przed Mesjaszem Diuny, głównie skupiające się na Dżihadzie Paula i próbie podporządkowania sobie planet Imperium. Dodatkowo poznajemy też wydarzenia dziejące się kilka lat wstecz, gdzie wracają znane i lubiane postaci.
Czyta się to dobrze, ale zapewne hardcorowi fani Diuny mogą się rozczarować.
Jak komuś mało tego świata i tych postaci, to śmiało może sięgnąć po tę książkę. Jest też ona napisana w bardziej przystępny (a dla niektórych pewnie zbyt prosty) język niż to miało miejsce w oryginałach Franka Herberta. Ja się dobrze bawiłem i planuję kontynuować, bo sporo tych dodatkowych historii powstało za sprawą syna Franka Herberta.

[Michael Owens · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book splits the story into two time periods. Young Paul Atreides and him older as Emperor Muad’Dib. It is broken up kind of haphazardly in my opinion, that that the young Paul sections seem to just break up the book. The section in the “future” is really good, but the “past” parts bring them down and just feel like poorly inserted filler.

[Michael Dewey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m not a huge fan of Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson. They’re just not great writers, and their plots are thinner than shigawire.

This book is no exception when it comes to silly plot holes, and sometimes downright dumb plot devices. Ribbon shields. Melange polymers. Fogtree prisons shaped by electrical charges. Typical eye-rolling fare by the Kings of Contrivance.

BUT- I think that for what it was (and compared to many of the other BH/KJA books), I really liked this one. I thought the story was enjoyable enough that it warranted reading, and not just because it adds to the Dune lore. Sure, the book directly contradicts a lot of what Frank Herbert wrote, but I think that framing it from the standpoint of Irulan revising history was somewhat passable. I suspended my irritation at the contradictions by adopting this suggestion from the authors, and I would up having a good time.

I loved the War of Assassins. The Fenrings were all equally enjoyable, especially little Marie. The Tleilaxu’s Kwisatz Haderach experiments were interesting, and Thallo was delightfully insane. Alia and Irulan really came through in their respective roles. Whitmore Bludd’s arc, while somewhat unbelievable, was still interesting and rather unexpected. The Moritani-Harkonnen alliance was a nice dichotomy against the Ecazi-Atreides alliance. The “red wedding” was morbid, and yet a fascinating start to the War of Assassins. I loved spending time with Prince Rhombur, one of my favorite characters in the Dune universe. And finally, watching Paul become a tyrant was fitting given the overarching point Frank Herbert was trying to make in the original books. Saviors are a bad idea.

All in all, I really enjoyed the heck out of this book. It might even be my favorite out of the expanded series. I’m looking forward to reading it again someday. 4 out of 5 stars.