This book brings to conclusion the trilogy starting with the Butlerian Jihad. It seeds the foundation of the spacing Guild, mentats, the Bene Gisseret and other elements. It also explains the Harkonnen and Atreides animosity. I found it richly rewarding and felt the story came to a strong end with the Battle of Corrin.

Sean ( )

This is my favorite of the trilogy because we start to see some familiar aspects of the Duniverse that Frank Herbert wrote about. The situation between the Atreides and Harkonnens is not as clear as it could be. The path from virtue to vice in the Harkonnens is rushed at the end. Also, the biggest hole in all the Duniverse novels is found between this book and House Atreides, the next in the timeline. I'd like to know what happened to Vorian since he had already been subjected to the life-lengthening treatment that kept him so young. Also, I've noticed that Brian Herbert and KJA tend more toward the violent and gory than Frank did. Some of it borders on gratuitous. I think the writing is gifted just the same. Not the work of amateurs. ( )

The last of the Machine Wars trilogy which sets the foundation myths for Dune. Virtually every institution in place thousands of years later in the time of Dune traces it's roots to the 100 years or so covered by this series. To put things in perspective, that would be akin to us still paying homage to still-ruling Julio-Claudian Caesars, worshipping Greco-Roman gods, and waxing philosophic over the ever-relevant musings of Plato and Aristotle. Dune does give a lot of stories to tell, and I suppose a trilogy is probably the maximum mileage the authors thought they could wring from telling these foundation stories.

What I thought was interesting was the way they turn on it's ear the assumption that Atreides was always the embodiment of good and Harkonnen evil. Vorian Atreides is more of an anti-hero, a figure to be pitied for the decisions history had thrust upon him. In the end, it's his drive to win at all costs that prevents him from having compassion for the ancestral Harkonnen, declaring the family name to be forever a pariah and enemy to his kin. The Harkonnen, meanwhile, was merely trying everything in the power to prevent what he thought to be needless collateral deaths of 2 million people.

The only Dune book I haven't read is the very last one Brian Herbert wrote after his father's death. He is in the midst of a trilogy set between Dune and Dune Messiah, I think I will wait for him to finish this before I re-read the last 5 Frank Herbert books (some which were painful to get through the first time, but may be easier to read now with more "history" behind them). ( )

The legend of dune series give some explanations for things that are an issue in other Dune novels. For example, this is where we learn why the feud between Harkonnen and Atreides exists. And off course we meet the machines, and the independent robot Erasmus. The books in itself are far off from the original Dune novels. Though entertaining, I wouldn't hold against anyone skipping these books. ( )

The final installment of the Dune prequels is on par with its predecessors. ( )