As one who read and adored the original Dune Chronicles, I was excited at the prospect of Frank Herbert's son taking on the project of a trilogy of prequels. A classic series like Dune seems somewhat untouchable, in a sense, but it somehow seemed right that Herbert's son inherit the series.

Herbert brings Kevin Anderson on board for these books. Anderson's background is as a fanfic writer ... Star Wars books, X-Files books, etc. This is Herbert's first mistake. If he wants to collaborate, one would think he could find a genuine author to work with. Anderson's just not very talented, which is why he writes in universes created by other people and not himself.

Still, I was willing to give the duo a shot. I wanted very much to enjoy this first book in the trilogy. Unfortunately, it's very difficult to do at times. The authors try to weave too many threads. We bounce around from young Leto to the young Baron Harkonnen to young Duncan Idaho to Pardot Kynes to young Shaddam ... you get the idea. Too much going on here. Perhaps skilled authors could pull it off, but these two just don't write very well. Much of the dialogue is forced and contrived. Characters say things they would never say in real life in order to provide background information. This is a common device, but it requires a bit of subtlety, and there's none of that here.

Another aspect of House Atreides that is irritating is the constant references to old Earth. In the original Dune Chronicles, Herbert almost never even mentioned old Earth. Only a select few even remembered that it existed. References were so rare that they were a real treat when they came. Not so with this book. The authors seem to work at least one Terra reference in per chapter. It destroys that far-future mystique that Frank Herbert built so effectively. Even commoners seem to have old-Earth history down pat ... it's just not right. It's as if the authors aren't fully comfortable in the vast universe Frank Herbert created, so they keep coming back to a more familiar world.

House Atreides does have some good things going for it. The Duncan Idaho story is very interesting. We also get a closer look at the Baron Harkonnen, which is compelling at times.

This book is only appropriate for those who read and loved the originals. If you're planning to read it, set your expectations low and you might enjoy it. If you've never read any Dune books and want to start, don't start here. Start with DUNE.


Recommended: No