Acceptable.

I feel like the authors got away with some inaccuracies by repeatedly citing that whatever Irulan wrote need not be considered true. A lot of the things in the Irulan write-up of Paul's early life seem very out of character or just doesn't match up with common sense expectations of how Paul became, well, Paul.

I'd have preferred a more in-depth, God-Emperor of Dune-like narrative than what the authors delivered, but I don't think that style of writing appeals to contemporary (narrative-focused) SF readers. ( )

If you are a fan of the Dune Series, this is a must read. Herbert and Anderson do a good job of telling how Paul went from being the Emperor everyone loved to the tyrant everyone despised. I enjoyed this read. ( )

The book was divided into two portions (intertwined throughout the novel); one part taking place shortly after the events of Dune and the other parts taking place when Paul is younger (about 12 or so). I found the portions dealing with young Paul to be more enjoyable than the contemporary sequences (both in terms of story and action). The post-Dune portion of the story was more political in tone, but does help the reader understand While I enjoyed the book and look forward to the next volumes in the series, this book is really only for fans of the Dune series and will not appeal to anyone else. ( )

Brian Herbert's Dune novels are like comfort food. It isn't haute cuisine, but it makes you feel good.

I always wondered what Paul did between Dune and Dune Messiah, and this novel at least partially explains it. I have a feeling one or more subsequent books will yet intervene (the next I guess being Jessica of Dune). As an added bonus, the novel flashes back to Paul's pre-Dune days. It seems he didn't have quite the sheltered upbringing implied in Dune.

In preparation to reading this book, I read Brian's pre-Dune triology (House Atreides, House Harkonnen, House Corrino) and Frank's original Dune (read for the third time). The character's in Paul of Dune are all familiar, the stories mildly interesting, if not shocking. I'm left witrh some interest as to why Hasimir Fenring was allowed to live after an assassination attempt. I'm looking forward to the next book. ( )

I must first point out that in the Dune series I have only read Dune and this book. I read Dune itself shortly before getting this copy actually. This is an inquel in that it fits in between Dune and Dune Messiah written by Frank Herbert.

Good:
Great fitting story. For having a time period the initial author skipped over to work with Herbert does a tremendous job of telling a story that isn't overly predictable.

It can be read directly after Dune or later on. It is a story that does not spoil things to come at all as far as I can tell.

Great new stories from the world of Dune. What Frank Herbert created, much like Tolkien's Middle Earth, is not as much a story, as it is a world. It is a place with tremendous detail that some can't get enough of.

Bad:
The book can be hard to follow and lacks flow. In this story the stories seem to just flow on from one to the next without really a specific path. It has about a dozen different perspectives and 2 time periods been switched between.

It is 512 pages, and can get rather tedious.

Ugly:
I am unable to think of anything truly ugly about this book. It is not an unbelievably great book, but it is a good book. ( )