The Road to Dune by Brian Herbert, Kevin J. Anderson, Frank Herbert Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of The Road to Dune
Book Review: My review
Summary: 5 Stars
THE ROAD TO DUNE has rekindled my enthusiasm for the series BIG TIME. I read the short novel about "Duneworld" with reluctance, but I found I enjoyed it. It gave me a view of what a "more-conventional" (ie more readily marketable) DUNE would have been like. The letters back and forth were very interesting (Harlan Ellison calling Herbert 'fuzz-face' was hilarious). And the short story "A Whisper Of Caladan Seas" almost brought a tear to me eye...
This is obviously not a biography of the late Frank Herbert's life when he was writing and trying to sell DUNE. It's a collection of stories, letters, and deleted/alternate passages. I thought I wouldn't like it (I never finished UNFINISHED TALES, for example), but it helps provide more of a backstory to the original DUNE and DUNE MESSIAH.
A lot of the reviewers here state that the prequels by B.Herbert/K.Anderson didn't measure up to the original series. I ask: what could? The original was The Science Fiction Masterpiece. Even it's OWN sequels by Frank Herbert never really measured up. Would you rather we DIDN'T have anymore Dune adventures at all?
The ones I'M waiting for are the post-Chapterhouse: Dune adventures... which are finally being written! HUNTERS OF DUNE, SANDWORMS OF DUNE, and PAUL OF DUNE! About BLOODY time!
Book Review: Not what it could have been
Summary: 2 Stars
The Road to Dune contains some fascinating material, but it fell well below my expectations and hopes. Sadly, only about half the book contains primary source material written by Frank Herbert himself.
The book starts with a moving Foreward by Bill Ransom, who co-authored the excellent Pandora novels with Herbert. Anderson and Brian Herbert then introduce what follows, describing the boxes of draft material, letters, outlines and notes that they had to draw upon. My heart rate doubled and my spirit soared as I read this section, thrilled at the prospect of seeing how the Dune series evolved in Herbert's mind, and of gaining greater insight into his fascinating characters and events.
This promise was not to be fulfilled, however. The first section contains "Spice Planet", a novella written by Brian and Kevin based on Frank Herbert's original concept for Dune. As a ahort advemture story, it's quite enjoyable, and there are moments of real tension. However, any traces of Frank Herbert's original work are all but smothered by his chroniclers' writing style and ham-fisted characterization. Even an incomplete collection of outlines, notes and draft chapters would have been preferable to this disappointment.
The next section contains the true Dune source material: Frank Herbert's letters, and unpublished chapters from Dune and Dune Messiah. This section is fascinating as both a study of Herbert's alternative ideas for Dune, and as a historical account of how Dune came to be published. The unpublished chapters' inconsistencies with the published work only makes them more fascinating. This section is only 150 pages long, but it's the pearl in this oyster. If the whole book had consisted of this kind of content, I would have given it five stars.
The final section contains four short stories by Brian Herbert and Anderson - the first set during the events of Dune, the final three set during the authors' Butlerian Jihad trilogy. These stories have no place in a volume about the genesis of Dune, and are, in any case, available for free on the Internet. Why the authors included them is mystifying to me.
This book was so much less than it could have been. It's clear from their introduction that the authors had enormous amounts of source material to draw from. In different hands, we might have received a study of the evolution of the entire Dune story, much as Christopher Tolkien's "History of Middle-Earth" series was a study of his father's work. Instead, we get this.
Book Review: Peace For All
Summary: 3 Stars
Peace For All
At least its a hope. Anyway, this is my first review of any kind, but I plan to write more. Hopefully people read this review and I hope it helps. I felt compelled to write it for one simple reason: I started to realize that the authors are milking the Dune story, or beating a dead horse, and by the time I started reading the edited chapters, I thought who cares? Let's see how the Dune saga ends. Unlike a review I read earlier, I do not think the authors are hacks. For the most part, I have enjoyed the six prequels and the short stories, and I think its cool that Frank Herbert's son found the safe deposit box full of his dad's notes and outlines, but let's get on with it, let's FINALLY get see the ending. I guess the first part will be out in a year or so, but why, why break it into two books? Then, there is talks of a new trilogy (!) I will read the final two installments, but after that, the ride stops for me. But, it is neat to see that Herbert's son loves and respects his father, but they have made enough money off the story and giving this book three stars is fairly generous. Anyway, if you like these books, the Dark Tower series is good as well as Banewreaker and Godslayer by Jacqueline Carey. Peace be with you always!
Book Review: Pleasantly Surprized...
Summary: 5 Stars
I have to admit "The Road to Dune" was pretty good and that I was pleasantly surprized by its contents. The first 200 pages are an 'Alternate' Dune novel written by the late great Frank Herbert called "Spice Planet." Definately worth reading for all you Dune fans out there. Frank Herbert's son Brian apparently found a locked treasure chest in an attic filled with unpublished writings from the late great author that he shares with us, including actual correspondence from the publishing companies that Frank received when he originally submitted Dune for publication. Very interesting reading indeed. The book publishing companies thought the original Dune was too long and asked Frank to delete several scenes, about 100 pages of which are included in The Road to Dune. There is even an alternate ending to Dune Messiah. Next, the authors treat us to five short Dune stories, three of which have already been published on the internet at [...]
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Book Review: Road to Dune
Summary: 4 Stars
My main excuse for buying Road to Dune was the roughly 150 pages of deleted scenes, from Dune and Dune Messiah. The cut chapters were interesting, but they were frequently incosistent with the canon material--the original Dune trilogy, and the prequels by Brian and Kevin. Examples:
-Road to Dune has it that the spice was found by men working for Dr. Kynes' father. But, in Dune: House Atreides, Pardot Kynes leaves for Arrakis AFTER spice has already been found and is being spread by merchants througout the galaxy.
-Road to Dune puts Paul's age at his departure to Arrakis at "almost twelve", even though in the first few sentences of the final publication of Dune is age is set as fifteen.
-IRULAN DIES....this is a very unclear chapter, complete with an odd final note by Frank Herbert.
There are other problems, too, which might be confusing, but that's why these scenes weren't published with the original novel. Still, this portion of the book is worth reading, and sheds a small amount of light on the Duneiverse as well (why Paul was inspired by the desert mouse, why the Guild controls the stars without competition). But, it isn't enough to justify spending 25 dollars.
The short stories, written by Brian and Kevin, are adventuresome and worth a look. The first story is set during Dune, but the three that follow are set in the Legends of Dune era. "Hunting Harkonenns" is set before The Butlerian Jihad; "Whipping Mek" is set before The Machine Crusade; and "Faces of a Martyr" is set before The Battle of Corrin.
But, there's a flaw here too. "Whisper of Caladan Seas" has appeared in two other places, and get this: YOU CAN READ THE LEGENDS OF DUNE SHORT STORIES FOR FREE ON DUNENOVELS.COM. No need to spend money on free material.
The novel "Spice Planet" is like a parody of Dune but serious. This was a design for the novel Dune that was abandoned, and features alternate names, and events both vaguely familiar and totally unlike the final publication. It's not all that great, and is certain to confuse the fans. Still, it is interesting.
There are also several letters and articles in here about Frank Herbert's journey to get Dune published. Ironic, that the Supreme Masterpiece (and bestselling novel) of Science Fiction was published by some company that did auto repair manuals.
All in all, the Road to Dune only has something to offer for those of you that have already explored the Dune Universe and still want more. It's not a bad installment, but there are so many actual novels out there...