Hunters of Dune
by Brian Herbert, Kevin J. Anderson
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Book Summary Information
Author: Brian Herbert, Kevin J. AndersonEdition: Hardcover
Format: Bargain Price
Published: 2006-08-22
ISBN: N/A
Number of pages: 528
Publisher: Tor Books
Book Reviews of Hunters of Dune
Book Review: Another unjustly condemned Dune book by Brian Herbert & Kevin J. Anderson
Summary: 5 Stars
ATTENTION AMAZON.COM VIEWERS !
Before starting my review per se, I want to say a few words about the Dune novels written by Brian Herbert & Kevin J. Anderson. Anyone giving any of these books a four-star or five-star review is likely to receive a disrespectful comment from one, or more, of amazon.com's resident idol-worshipers of Frank Herbert. Why? Because it was not written by Frank Herbert.
But the idol-worshipers deny this. They say Brian & Kevin's books deserve only low ratings because they are simply bad. And they try to dignify their comment with criticisms commonly found in reviews: "cardboard characters," "text bloated with unnecessary filler," "loaded with inconsistencies," "predictable plot," "dull mechanical narrative," "jumps around and is hard to follow," "soporific...trite...hackneyed...uninspired...unoriginal...insipid...vapid...vain...banal...bland...bla, bla, bla."
If you are a frequent reader of reviews, you can collect these remarks, and others like them. They are easily memorized. If you find someone who has given a high rating to a book you disapprove of, you can light up your cannon and fire off your remarks.
If you are a reviewer who has praised Brian & Kevin's Dune books, as have I, you may be called "stupid," or worse. As have I, you may be accused of belonging to a Brian-and-Kevin fan club, or you may be targeted as an agent of the Herbert-Anderson publishing conglomerate (as if there were such a thing). All because you have praised a Dune book not written by Frank Herbert.
Am I saying that anyone who criticizes a Dune book by Brian & Kevin must be an idol-worshiper of Frank Herbert? No, but I've read fifteen of the sixteen Dune novels, and I am presently reading Brian & Kevin's "Sandworms of Dune," the sixteenth in chronological order according to the Dune universe. At amazon.com I see that the lowest average rating of any of Frank's novels is 4.0. At the moment, "Dune Messiah," "Children of Dune," and "Chapterhouse Dune" each have this average rating. But "The Butlerian Jihad" and "House Atreides" are my two favorites of Brian & Kevin, and they are SIGNIFICANTLY better than ANY of Frank's books except the original "Dune." The average rating for "The Butlerian Jihad" is 3.0. For "House Atreides it is 3.5.
From these ratings, and from numerous, unjustified condemnations of Brian & Kevin's Dune books, I conclude that the higher ratings for Frank's books are influenced by something other than objectivity. I think the ratings are partly the result of prejudice--or, if you will, "idol worshipping--of Frank Herbert. After all, he IS the anointed, one-and-only author of the Hugo and Nebula award winning bestselling science fiction novel of all time, the classic "Dune."
The ultimate judge of a book is you. But you may want some indication as to whether or not a book is worth your time. Should you believe the good things I have to say about Brian & Kevin's Dune books? I think you should at least be open minded. I AM a veteran reader of hundreds of science fiction novels. Also I am a student of English composition, and with respect to judging fiction, I trust no one more than I trust myself.
All of Brian & Kevin's Dune books that I've read are more interesting and are better written than three of Frank's Dune books: "Children of Dune," "God Emperor of Dune," and "Chapterhouse: Dune." These three are laden with discourses about broad subjects like life, government, and religion. It is material that is irrelevant to the story and inappropriate for a novel. ("Heretics of Dune" is somewhat like these three, though not as bad.)
Brian & Kevin's writing skills are more modern than Frank's. Though Frank's books have a few moments that are as good as the best moments in Brian & Kevin's books, overall Brian & Kevin's prose is more lively and their writing NEVER degenerates to the egregious flaw that I have noted in those three books by Frank. The average ratings are unjustly high for Frank's books and unjustly low for Brian & Kevin's.
MY REVIEW:
After reading four straight Dune novels by Frank Herbert--"Children of Dune," "God Emperor of Dune," "Heretics of Dune," "Chapterhouse: Dune"--reading Brian Herbert & Kevin J. Anderson's "Hunters of Dune" was like a breath of fresh air. Though most of "Hunters of Dune" is not exciting, an agreeable part of it is composed of exciting action, and all of the novel is interesting. It is written in light, contemporary prose. None of it asphyxiates as does the prose in some of Frank's books, with their passages of stifling, irrelevant discourse.
Before reading "Hunters of Dune," you will not need to read any other Dune books. It is, however, closely connected to its sequel, "Sandworms of Dune." As explained in the Authors' Note in "Hunters of Dune," these two books together form the so-called "Dune 7," which Frank was to write after "Chapterhouse: Dune." But Frank died. Years later his son Brian found a safe-deposit box with Frank's notes on "Dune 7," which form the basis for the two books by Brian & Kevin.
Before starting, you should look through the timeline in the appendix. (You won't find any spoilers there.) As with other Dune books, the narrative for "Hunters of Dune" is initially calm. Relevant events from other novels are recapped, characters are introduced, the background is laid, and interstellar politics are set. Schemes are devised, players make their moves, and enemies engage. The finale is wholesome and arousing.
It is a good blueprint for a novel, and Brian & Kevin do a good job in filling in the details.
Tor's paperback and hardcover editions of "Hunters of Dune" have attractive cover art, and fortunately you can fairly well tell this particular book by its cover. It gave me what I expect from science fiction: far-out concepts, exciting action sequences, involved plot, colorful characters, and no worse than a tolerable level of implausibility. And it gave me something I have come to appreciate as I have grown older: clean prose--devoid of excessive description, florid diction, and gratuitous reflections, commentary, and philosophizing.
Though I withhold final judgment until I have finished the sequel, having read all six Dune books by Frank, I believe his "Dune 7" would NOT have been as good as Brian & Kevin's. (With due respect, however, we should remember that Brian & Kevin's two-book "Dune 7" was based on Frank's notes.)
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