Hunchback Jack’s Comments (group member since Jul 08, 2012)

Hunchback Jack’s comments from the Dune Fanatics group.

I read the House prequels, half of the first volume if the Jihad trilogy, and the two Dune 7 novels. I stopped after that.

They read like fan fiction. Some of it is entertaining, but none of it is very deep or complex. They add story and characters, but they don't add insight or clarity to the original six books. Where they extend or depart from the framework set up by the original six books, it doesn't ring true, and ceases feeling like the universe of Dune.

And, frankly, they are not very well written. It's all telling and no showing. Plot threads are developed and then abandoned with no resolution or impact to the central story. There is much repetition and recapping of scenes from previous chapters. The characters are stereotypes and have no complexity or nuance. They are good or evil, fat or thin, brilliant or a buffoon. And we are told that in so many words, not shown it through their actions.

As SF novels, they are average at best. Compared to the original six novels, they are entertaining enough but fall well short.

According to this review on the B&N site, KJA's meticulous attention to detail while editing this book really paid off:

"There are so many type-O's in this eBook that I lost count before I was half-way through. Here are two examples: (page 407) "We week to raise humanity above its past heights." (page 452) "Movius felt every sense in his body come was a trap!" Phrases like this leave the reader wondering what the author meant to say and disrupt the flow of the narrative. It appears that the publisher rushed an unpolished manuscript to market with no more editing than a run through the spell-checker. This eBook doesn't do justice to Frank Herbert's legacy. I hope the publisher will recall it for revision."

HBJ