Heretics of Herbert
Written: Oct 11 '07
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Action, lots of homages to old characters
Cons: Jumps around a lot, trying to wrap up loose ends.
The Bottom Line: If you're a Dune fan who likes the idea of the story but had a hard time with the exposition, you'll like this.
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| xadrian's Full Review: Kevin J. Anderson and Frank Herbert - Hunters of D... |
Is it ok to like Kevin Anderson and Brian Herbert? Is it ok to say that while Dune is a masterwork of science fiction, it was hard to read through all six of them? Is it ok to think that Prelude to Dune and Legends of Dune were more exciting to read?
The universe Frank Herbert created is by far the most in depth and interesting science fiction tale, there's no question about that. What I had a problem with - and I think most people did - is that by Heretics of Dune and Chapterhouse Dune, it felt like a theological thesis and less a science fiction epic. There were times, even at a young age, when I felt as if I could skip whole chapters and not lose the main thread of the story. Of course I'd lose the richness and the color, but there were so many tangents that it felt a bit aimless toward the end.
Like Tolkien before him as well as Asimov and Clarke, Herbert left a lot of his writings unpublished. Notes recovered by his son led to the eventual completion of what was to be Dune 7, or Hunters of Dune and Sandworms of Dune. There is so much to the "Duniverse" that H&A have also gone back in time to Earth before it was an unknown world 10,000 years into the future.
Hunters of Dune differs from the classic Dune novels in that it's a fast paced, action oriented book. It's not a plodding, thought provoking, internalized process for the reader. Don't get me wrong, each type of story has its merits, but I'm going to say if you like Asimov and Tolkien and F. Herbert's style of writing, you may not like Hunters of Dune.
The story takes place shortly after Chapterhouse of Dune. Duncan Idaho and several refugees have fled Chapterhouse aboard the giant no-ship and continue to flee from The Enemy's net for nearly two decades. The Bene Geserit, led by Mother Superior Murbella, work to conquer the Honored Matres on each and every strong hold including the Bene Tleilax homeworld. The Bene Tleilax Masters have been all but wiped out. The mystery of what happens to the Honored Matres in The Scattering and who The Enemy is comes out toward the end when Murbella is able to find a path back through Other Memory on her Honored Matre side.
The crew of the no-ship (the Ithica) are able to grow gholas of many of the original legends from the first Dune story, including Paul Atreides, Duke Leto, Dr. Yueh, Thufir Hawat, Lady Jessica and even Paul's son Leto II. The hope is having the knowledge and power these legends poses, the crew of the Ithica and eventually the Bene Geserit would have a fighting chance against The Enemy.
The Face Dancers are still involved and are much more dangerous than people realize.
My biggest problem with reading Hunters (I've yet to read Sandworms) is that it's been probably 8 years since I've read Chapterhouse - a book I struggled mightily to finish. A lot of what happened in Heretics and Chapterhouse have been forgotten. In that time I - as well as most - have read two other prequels to this universe. The stories of Norma Cenva, Tio Holtzman, Serena Butler and Erasmus the robot are more forefront in our minds than the Scattering or the Face Dancers.
I only bring this up because if you've not read Dune 5 and 6 recently, this will seem like a frustrating read. It's chock full of action which does help, but it also jumps years at a time. From chapter one to page 528 there must have been 20 years passed, something I've never liked in a novel. It seems like a vehicle used by adapting story writers to bring characters out of a certain age and into an age where their story works better. So much can happen literally in just a few days or minutes, that skipping years at a time seems to give the story a fleeting hollowness, almost as if Anderson and Herbert are just doing their best to wrap things up.
I've liked Anderson since his Star Wars novels and I like his style. Had Dune been written in this style originally I don't think it would have survived. The ending of this book seems to me tied in more with the H&A prequel books than it does with the original 6 which makes me feel as though the writers are trying to push their story while using Frank's original theme and characters. "This is how the story SHOULD have been told."
I only write about the problems I have with it because I enjoyed it so much. If it were that bad of a book, I wouldn't have finished it.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
xadrian
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Member: Ben Rollman
Location: Pflugerville, TX
Reviews written: 80
Trusted by: 3 members
About Me:
IT monkey by day, artist and LEGO builder by night.
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