Dune: The Battle of Corrin

By: Brian Herbert, Kevin J. Anderson

Narrated by: Scott Brick

Length: 25 hrs and 33 mins

Publisher's summary

Fifty-six hard years after the events of The Machine Crusade, after the death of Serena Butler, the bloodiest decades of the Jihad take place. The human worlds begin to hope that the end of the centuries-long conflict with the thinking machines is finally in sight.

Unfortunately, Omnius has one last, deadly card to play. In a last-ditch effort to destroy humankind, virulent plagues are let loose throughout the galaxy, decimating the populations of whole planets. The war that has lasted many lifetimes will be decided in the apocalyptic Battle of Corrin.

In the greatest battle of science fiction history, human and machine face off one last time....And on the desert planet of Arrakis, the legendary Fremen of Dune become the feared fighting force to be discovered by Paul Maud'Dib in Frank Herbert's classic, Dune.

Don't miss other titles in the Dune series.

©2004 Herbert Properties, LLC (P)2004 Audio Renaissance, a division of Holtzbrinck Publishers, LLC and Books on Tape, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Dune addicts will happily devour Herbert and Anderson's spicy conclusion to their second prequel trilogy." ( Publishers Weekly)

captivating

You will be pulled into the narrative and emotion just as much as the original books. so many unexpected and revealing plots that answer questions from when I read the dune books.

I was a little hesitant to read the prequel trilogy

But man was I wrong. Genuinely fantastic. Realm enjoyed some if the twists and turns they threw at us. Also loved how it explained how the 3 main houses eventually came to be.

The story comes full circle, but very likely not the way most would have expected.

It’s really hard to heap praise on this, without giving away what I think was the most revelatory character in this prequel trilogy — and the real reason to undertake this journey of the mind, and I suppose what some would call God, the Infinite, the Conscious Universe, pick a name.

As I have stated in my other reviews about the complexities of the original Dune series by Frank Herbert, before his son and associate took on the prequel and other stories, there are a lot of topics that come up that while absolutely pertinent to the narrative, are likely to turn many people off.

Either the considerations are too complex, or, they’re stuck in dogma, which the books themselves warn against, and which painfully display the travesties that get heaped upon humanity, and machines, as a consequence.

It is only when we free our minds of this, that we are capable of self-actualization, self-awareness, and if we do it well enough, growth.

I don’t like spoilers, and I won’t do it here, because I think that would be an injustice to anyone thinking of starting these. If you’re having trouble finishing these, I can assure you, the payoff is worth it.

There were sections throughout all three where I did stop, go back, and wonder if certain words, actions or events meant what I thought they did.

By the second book, the hints are less subtle, but it’s not really clear how it will sway.

By the time the third book comes to its conclusion, you’ll realize that the epic battle at the end, as much as we wait the whole book for it — only pushes things to a head for a certain arc to complete. The Battle of Corrin is really not as important, I think, in that context, perhaps even anticlimactic. That’s OK, because this other thread throughout, is a gem.

Yes, there is an astonishing backstory for everything that plays out in Dune 1-6, including the origins of the Guild, the Bene Gesserit, etc. All of that is really quite interesting, unfolds naturally, fits into canon, as does what I think is really the hidden and far more meaningful story at its core.

It’s ironic actually, in the most spectacularly exquisite way.

I became quite invested in this particular character about which I think the trilogies are really concerned. They’re now perhaps among my most favorite in pop literature. However, the character is extraordinarily complex and equally detestable.

The narrator does a great job of giving them a unique voice, it underscores their importance, and is performed beautifully.

By the time “the end” comes, I find it difficult to consider them anything other than redeemable. I won’t lie, I shed a few tears myself. I wanted there to be something more for them, but as parents with their children, what some leave unfinished, children carry on in their name.

That is perhaps the biggest tribute one can have bestowed upon them, especially when their impact is felt across the universe, and likely the closest to immortality without madness we can be granted.

To sustain the complexity of this character, to make you reconsider your thoughts and emotions towards such a heinous being, for all the horrors they have unleashed by others and themselves, is quite the feat.

If you reach the end, and if you have read Dune 1-6, and realize how all these bits and pieces throughout were breadcrumbs of this character’s own development unto redemption and a belated gift of salvation, is probably comparable as a foil of the God Emperor of Dune himself.

If you loved Dune 1-6, then this trilogy prequel is a must, because you get plenty of the backstory, and a fascinatingly epic character I can guarantee you will think about for years to come.

It’s a worthy journey, because it’s one we all undertake alone. One whose true value and worth we can only realize when we know we must finally face The End.

May we all be so lucky to meet that with the grace and gratitude of knowing we grew, and in so doing, be proud of having left the Universe behind a little better than the way we entered into it.

outstanding

very interesting, to get background on house corrine, history of mentats, the sisterhood, the rivalry between house harkinan and atreides, the destruction of thinking machines. highly recommend! excellent story and reading!!!

Enjoying the progression

i am filling in the gaps between each book with Tales of Dune. They jave done a great job with keeping with the Legacy of his original works and bringing so much to the over all arc of Dune. Onto the Sisterhood of Dune

awesome book

loved it and would recommend it to every one. nice reading by Mr brick. thanks!

Another great read/listen

The battle of corrin answered a lot of questions i had after jumping into the series at Dune(2021). I'm excited to start the next book and fill in more blanks.

So far the best of all the DUNE books

I am working my way through the prequels having also listened to the original Dune stories on here, and this was so far the best of them all…
Immersive, complex and paced it lays the ground the divide in the two central houses that would last for generations whilst completing the storyline of the thinking machine history and their thousand year rein…

Excellent reading throughout as one has come to expect from Scott Brick. I am already looking forward to the opportunity to listen to it all again, just not until after completing the series first…

Another Good Dune Prequel

Good story about the end of the war with the machines. Held my interest for the entire book. With this book, all the pieces needed for Dune fall into place, the Bene Gesserits, the Spicing Guild, the Fremen, and the Noble Houses.

laser shield bombs, done

I was glad with how the series ended but I still think too much effort was made to tie in every concept Frank Herbert had in his setting 10,000 years from the events in this book.

however I think the whole bit about nuclear weapons was unnecessary since a simple laser and a shield does the same thing as a nuke. it seems like there were easier ways to destroy the machines.