[Sparrow]

As Lord of the Rings is to Fantasy, Dune is to Science Fiction; the epic adventure that all others are judged against.


Last night, having at long last finished the extended Dune Universe with Sandworms of Dune, I found I had mixed feelings with the long, long and windy road this series has taken. I won't go into the ending other than to say there are some surprises and just about every loose end is tied up, and it ends as most things do, bitter sweet.

So, in the final tally how do you rank Brian and Kevin's efforts at extending the story?

[Andols]

I struggled with heretics and chapterhouse, never even attempted the new era additions. this thread my change my mind.

[Sparrow]

I struggled with heretics and chapterhouse, never even attempted the new era additions. this thread my change my mind.

It's spotty, I think Brian & Kevin did a good job on the 'House' novels which are prequel books...
House Atreides
House Harkonnen
House Corrino
... written in a more modern style to appeal to today's audience... not so many "deep thoughts" as Papa Herbert has in those last three Dune novels, which I never made it through. With the 'Legend' books that Brian & Kevin did things begin to go south. While not horrible they just don't flow very well for me... nonetheless they are almost necessary reading for the last two novels... Hunters of Dune and finally, Sandworms of Dune.

If you've followed Dune, even just the original books, and want to know how it all turns out, well, Sandworms of Dune does just that, in spades. It also ends the story, there really is no place to go after 'Sandworms'. The ecology threads are finally bound up, the endless war with the Thinking Machines is covered in depth, the genetics tinkering is made more clear, and if it sounds a bit awkward, it is. Because this is the final chapter in a rather vast epic there are many, many info dumps... guessing that it's an attempt to keep everyone upto snuff on all the various plot lines, some of which I had forgotten about.

[oasis seeker]

I read the original six Dune books - some I loved, some not so much - but couldn't get into the new books.

I tried the first of the new ones and just found it lacking in many respects. I never did finish it.

[NeonKnight]

The originals were the works of a Master.

The prequels and followups? Not so much. Though I really did appreciate learning about the events that occur in the prequels, the Bulterian Jihad for instance was pretty well done.

But as you already stated, the results were spotty and certainly the quality of the writing is just not the same. I am not really the biggest Kevin Anderson fan either. So its a mixed bag.

[Omphalos]

The worst thing that ever happened to SF was the team-up of Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson. I cant stomach any of their books, even the House books, that admittedly sucked less then the others, but were still terrible on their own. Those two ran roughshod over the work of a master.

There are only six Dune books. The rest is badly written fan-fiction.

[itisjustme]

The middle Dune books were weaker than the original, although the last ones do pick up IMO.

The House books are just so incredibly amateurish in comparison. I have nothing against money grabbing in principle, but this is just a sacrilege.

[psikeyhackr]

As Lord of the Rings is to Fantasy, Dune is to Science Fiction; the epic adventure that all others are judged against.

That means ignoring a significant aspect of SCIENCE Fiction.

psik

[Ramirez]

That means ignoring a significant aspect of SCIENCE Fiction.

psik

Frank Herbert was a master at explaining the science involved in his books. The Dune books are filled with expansive technology. The concept of a stillsuit alone is just amazing.

[psikeyhackr]

Frank Herbert was a master at explaining the science involved in his books. The Dune books are filled with expansive technology. The concept of a stillsuit alone is just amazing.

Really?

http://forum.dunenovels.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?p=72007&sid=32dd28f08cfbafa935b84d56ec90bef5

Concept and workability are two different things. People perspire to cool off. How can a suit that covers the entire body to collect the perspiration allow the cooling at the same time?

psik