Hunters of Dune (Sci Fi Essential Books) by Brian Herbert, Kevin J. Anderson Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Hunters of Dune (Sci Fi Essential Books)
Book Review: Best one yet by Brian and Kevin
Summary: 5 Stars
This book continues Chapterhouse very well.
I was really pleased with the book, and can't wait for the next one.
As a Dune fan, I consider it a "must have." That simple.
Book Review: Better than the other H/A prequels
Summary: 2 Stars
The first Dune book from the vexing Herbert-Anderson (HA) duo that wasn't a huge pile of stinking fertilizer. At least not initially. Constrained by the plot, technology, and culture already laid out by the real Herbert, HA manage to keep the book on a fairly Dune-ish keel for about the first half of the book. They almost fooled me into thinking they could pull it off.
The problem with all the prequels was HA had to imagine a pre-Dune universe, pre-spice universe. They had to think up a whole bunch of clever ideas on their very own and it was clear from the get go they weren't up to the job. I think after the first Robots of Dune book, HA realized they better rush back all the familiar Dune things (Bene Gesserit, Mentats, etc.). We were forced to accept that "Rome" was built in a day. Every important facet of the Dune universe was gestated in the course of couple decades.
The book does manage to go off the rails at about the half way mark, when they start to resurrect the Dune book characters. Someone needs to sit HA down and carefully explain to them that they're incapable of writing children characters. HA also resurrect all their tired old literary devices. Bad characters commit unspeakable acts of violence and we're given page after page of lurid details. We're reminded constantly of the characters personality traits. We're reminded constantly that there's some evil threat out there and reminded constantly of the unbelievable notion none of the Honored Matres knows what they were actually running from (WTF?). We're reminded constantly of the characters' back story. We get it. HA wouldn't have had to split the story into two novels if they just got rid of all the repetition and lurid pre-teen fantasy violence.
Book Review: Blown Away!
Summary: 5 Stars
I know that there are alot of people worried about the legacy of Frank Herbert. After reading this book I am not worried about it in the least. The story is still going and getting better along the way. If you are just getting into the Dune Universe I would read the orginals and possibly the other prequels done by Brian and Kevin. I think they did an awesome job of (starting to) bring this epic story to its conclusion. Highly recommended! Read this book!Book Review: Bottom line - I was entertained
Summary: 4 Stars
Isn't that what reading is all about? ***no spoilers*** Sure, it wasn't written by Frank. He is dead after all. Franks writting was more a vehicle for his philosophical beliefs (as most great sci-fi writers). BH & KJ are more action/adventure writers. They don't PRETEND to be philosophical so that should be points for. I found the writing of Hunters to actually be better than the last trilogy and much easier to read. I knocked out all 500+ pages in about three days. It took me sometimes weeks to read their others. Plot lines many and involved, but, easier than keeping up with a Clancy book. I do like how the origins of HM & The Old couple were tied in. Sure, saw the Old Couple coming, but, the origin of the HM was pretty good. Read it and enjoy. If you're looking to learn something go to the non-fiction section.Book Review: Burn This Book!
Summary: 1 Stars
I couldn't tell if I was reading a prequel, a sequel or a long summary of the Dune Universe. The authors, I don't know which one, either Brian or Kevin, kept referencing characters almost like we were expected to have read the prequel Dune novels. What if I didn't feel like reading those and decided to just start from after Chapterhouse: Dune instead? Wouldn't it be better to understand what the hell they were trying to write about? There were too many references to the prequel novels, especially the Butlerian Jihad. Hardly much references to Frank Herbert's actual 6 novels which were the most grounded of all. Every single chapter read like a collective summary, references within references within references within references. See, even I could write a Dune novel!
Based on an outline by Frank Herbert. Frank could have written just 1 or 2 lines in this outline of his. I cannot believe that it entails writing 6 Dune Prequel novels and another 2 sequels, that's complete, total and utter BS.
Character development was 1 dimensional, meaning it didn't even have depth in the 2nd or 3rd dimension. Abyssmal writing skills that needed to patronise the reader into explaining every line clearly, almost like we were kiddies reading a new storybook. Frank Herbert wrote his original Dune novels in a way that you needed to imagine events taking places, like the destruction of Dune. He never needed to explain in great detail what he was plotting or planning, almost like most of the stuff were happening in the shadows.
The overuse of titles like Mother Superior, Matre Superior, Proctor Superior, Mother Commander, all these worthless titles, in the entire family of bitches/witches. Just like in the prequel novels, where you had Primero, Bashar, Viscount etc. These were completely unnecessary, we already know who they were and their positions in the family, creating new titles just makes them completely superficial, and covering the fact that the writing skills were simply hideous to begin with!
Too many gholas! I don't EVER think that Frank Herbert would have brought back all those gholas of his previous novels. I can only imagine Frank spinning in his grave! This simply demonstrated to us that they were reaching the very end of the creative think-tank, and scrapping the bottom of the barrel, as the ideas were just becoming too reaching and ridiculous. For every Dune novel Frank wrote, he created new characters and introduced us to them by developing them to be important in that entire novel, see above reference to 1 dimensional characterisation.
I can foresee how Sandworms of Dune will end:
Omnius will be destroyed, probably melted to base-line materials in the Periodic Table, together with Erasmus, let's see, using (come on guess!) those new weapons called -- Obliterators!
The Thinking Machines, with the help of the Oracle of Time, get sent into the star-less universe that the Ithaca ended up after escaping from Chapterhouse.
The Thinking Machines and the humans find peace. (Most unlikely)
The Dune universe ends in a big bang that destroys everything.
A cliffhanger, that leaves even more open-ended questions for a fan-requested Dune 9, that's for the next generation of Dune fans to petition and request for.
Erasmus kills another innocent child and starts another machine-human jihad/war!
There are so many more things that are wrong with Hunters of Dune that I just got tired of pointing out. I might be wrong in jumping to unwanted conclusions above, we might probably see an inkling of what Frank intended his Dune finale to be in the final book Sandworms of Dune. However, we must all remember that we're on the God Emperor's Golden Path, even the most powerful prescient visions couldn't see the ending to this already twisted beyond recognition story - that's probably what they wanted!
Like I said, Frank will be spinning in his grave!
To anyone interested in how the Dune universe ends, read this novel, then burn it, and then wait for Sandworms of Dune with a flamethrower.