Dune: House Atreides: House Trilogy, Book 1

By: Brian Herbert, Kevin J. Anderson

Narrated by: Scott Brick

Capturing all the complexity and grand themes of the original, this prequel to the Dune series weaves a new tapestry of betrayal, passion, and destiny into a saga that expands the tale written by Frank Herbert more than 30 years ago.

©2001 Brian Herbert & Kevin J. Anderson (P)2009 Tantor

Critic reviews

" Dune: House Atreides chronicles the early life of Leto Atreides, prince of a minor House in the galactic Imperium. Leto comes to confront the realities of power when House Vernius is betrayed in an imperial plot involving a quest for an artificial substitute to melange, a substance vital to interstellar trade that is found only on the planet Dune. Meanwhile, House Harkonnen schemes to bring Leto into conflict with the Tleilax, and the Bene Gesserit manipulate Baron Harkonnen as part of a plan stretching back 100 generations. In the Imperial palace, treason is afoot, and on Dune itself, planetologist Pardot Kynes embarks on a secret project to transform the desert world into a paradise." (Amazon.com review)
"Though the plot here is intricate, even readers new to the saga will be able to follow it easily (minute repetitions of important points help immensely), as the narrative weaves among the many interconnected tales. The attendant excitement and myriad revelations not only make this novel a terrific read in its own right but will inspire readers to turn, or return, to its great predecessor." ( Publishers Weekly)

Pretty good

Overall it was a decent book, though a couple of things stand out.

Performance-wise, the pause between chapters seemed to vary, sometimes greatly; sometimes, in the middle of a chapter, you would get an occasional long pause that would make you think you were moving into the next chapter. There seemed to be no rhyme or reason to it. Not a big deal, but it did feel a bit disorienting. Otherwise, it was the usual good narrative I've gotten used to and enjoyed with the Dune series.

From the story perspective, the authors introduced minor nuances in language that I'm pretty sure Frank Herbert would have never allowed in his dialogue. For example, never was the word "kid" used in any prior book, nor were there any oft-repeated exclamations of any kind, which this book seemed to be peppered with. The excessive amount of back-slapping going on with a couple of the characters also seemed to stand out quite a bit in the story.

Minor quibbles aside, the book did a fine job providing a cognitive history to the Atreides family history, and I enjoyed following the numerous stories the book tied together.

Excellent start to the prequel.

Great narration.

Why is the book only one 26 hour chapter? Make sure you add bookmarks where you end for the day. Its easy to get lost and be stuck searching around for where you left off last.

Amazing

science fiction perfection. captivating storyline I was on the edge of my seat the entire book

Anderson & Hebert *Did it!*

I was wary, very much so, on the sequels and "prequels" to the original "Dune" books written by Frank Herbert. Usually so far and away different when best-intention authors try to keep the premise fresh & new while retaining the story line to keep the magic going...... and am I happy! Thank you, Brian, for the gift. In my opinion, you've done your father proud and kept the magic going; these books keep the story going and with most excellent success! I've been happily introduced (RE-INTRODUCED) to characters in such a way (a different time and the "younger" version) compleltley captivating readers who stop and figure out that they aren't imagining things--they just met the younger version of a character from "Dune", presented in a fresh way, from BEFORE (Dune) and allowing you to get to know the character from a completely different time (in the character's development ). WOW.

Great Start to a New Prequel Series

Great Start to a new prequel series, Featuring the Atreides, Harkonnen and Fremen Warriors, lot of intrique.