Children of Dune

By: Frank Herbert

Narrated by: Scott Brick, Simon Vance

Length: 16 hrs and 51 mins

Publisher's Summary

The sand-blasted world of Arrakis has become green, watered, and fertile. Old Paul Atreides, who led the desert Fremen to political and religious domination of the galaxy, is gone. But for the children of Dune, the very blossoming of their land contains the seeds of its own destruction. The altered climate is destroying the giant sandworms, and this in turn is disastrous for the planet's economy. Leto and Ghanima, Paul Atreides's twin children and his heirs, can see possible solutions - but fanatics begin to challenge the rule of the all-powerful Atreides empire, and more than economic disaster threatens.

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©1976 Frank Herbert (P)2008 Macmillan Audio

Critic Reviews

"Ranging from palace intrigue and desert chases to religious speculation and confrontations with the supreme intelligence of the universe, there is something here for all science fiction fans." ( Publishers Weekly)
"A major event." ( Los Angeles Times)

great story, more production problems

So the producers seem to have completely given up on the entire dramatization thing that they were doing in the first book of this series, Dune (see my review there). Simon Vance does a good job of narrating this story, but towards the end of the book it becomes very clear that he wasn't available to do some re-dos and missed text. So they end up getting some random guy to finish the project. Its actually the case that sometimes one word in a sentence is dubbed in by this other narrator. Bothersome.
The story in and of itself is good, not as good as Dune, but certainly worth listening to or reading. My only critique is that Herbert sometimes goes on far too long about relatively minor issues or expanding upon points that were made well enough earlier in the text.

30 of 32 people found this review helpful

Good but operatic in flavor

As I run through Frank Herbert's original Dune stories, I think the best adjective for the flavor and pace is "operatic"...a good story with great color and flavor, but paced slowly. Much of the book is spent with people talking about what will before much of anything does happen. That doesn't mean it's boring...understanding the motives and machinations of the principals really are the story, but it's an unusual flavor for sci-fi.

For those who are not familiar with the previous works, this won't make sense. You need to do them in order.

This story centers around Leto II and Ghanima Atriedes (the children of Paul Muad'Dib and imperial heirs presumptive, now aged 9), Alia (their aunt and imperial regent) and the Lady Jessica (mother of Alia and Paul). Alia is struggling against the inner voices from her ancestral memory, while Leto and Ghanima try to avoid the same fate. The mysterious, blind Preacher only adds to the mystery.

Part of the vast Duniverse tapestry, Children of Dune doesn't live up to the high standard of the original Dune (few books by any author do), but improves on Dune Messiah.

Excellently narrated by Simon Vance with an assist from Scott Brick.

19 of 20 people found this review helpful

Storyline drags

What did you like best about Children of Dune? What did you like least?

The story is very pedantic, dragging out and repeating story lines. Not near as good as the original Dune.

4 of 4 people found this review helpful

Continued Good Work

Scott Brick and Simon Vance do a remarkable job bringing the characters and places to life in the Dune series. It has been a while since I have read "Children" and I am impressed with the layers of the Dune world that Herbert describes. I hope Audible continues to translate the original series into the audible format. My second favorite book after "Dune" is the "God Emperor," so I hope the trend continues. "Children" is an enjoyable listen for fans of Herbert.

14 of 17 people found this review helpful

A great job continuing the story of Dune

This is my second favorite of the Dune series. Frank Herbert does an excellent job tying the events in this book to the previous two. He also treats all characters, except a few, with sympathy. The narration of this one is much better than the previous two.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Back to the good stuff

So, I LOVED Dune, and was really disappointed by Dune Messiah - but Children of Dune gets back to the grand, empire defining space opera I was craving.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Brilliant story, brilliant narration

If you're a big fan of Dune, don't hesitate to get the audiobooks. It really adds a whole new level of understanding to the storyline and paints a picture that reading a paper copy alone won't do. I've read the physical copies of the entire series and now listened to the first three. It's truly the best way to solidify the incredible experience that is Frank Herbert's masterpiece.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

I was suprised.

I was surprised to find this book to fit so well with the previous two. Even though you are following a new main character, I found the transition was natural and the story flowed very well.

3 of 4 people found this review helpful

Children of Bizarro World

This third installment of the Dune series started out promisingly. Early on I had high hopes. But by the end it seemed to me the story got more complicated and bizarre than it really had to be. I know it’s science fiction and science fiction is expected to take weirdness to new heights. Still, the Dune series seems headed somewhere I’m not interested in going.

I really wanted to like it. I even purchased the next book, Dune Messiah, in advance. I’m undecided at this point whether to return both Children of Dune and Dune Messiah, or to soldier on and hope things improve. My online research indicates the sailing may only get choppier.

On the brighter side, I’m glad I took the time to find out how things wind up for the various surviving characters. I just wished I’d liked those outcomes better.

4 of 6 people found this review helpful

Fabulous readers, compelling story.

As is the case with all of the Dune texts I’ve read, this one stuns in its capacity to tell a compelling story while using challenging language that asks the reader to think. There’s something to be said for simple and imaginative books such as Harry Potter and for series like the Enders Game series, which was compelling and inventive and yet scattered, because of Orson Scott Card’s self-professed carelessness in sketching out his fictive worlds. Yet there is something more profound about Herbert’s works, which hint that the author was a bit of a madman and a genius. His worlds are brilliantly demarcated, consistent, and inventive. In this book—which is fabulously narrated—we see the consequences of some of the actions taken by our favorite characters from Dune. As with all of the books in the series, it is interesting to read Herbert’s philosophical science fiction, which often challenges us to think through murky moral territory and imagine what actions we’d take in a similar universe. It is also fascinating to read about a fictive world with concerns that are so different from our own, while still resonating with our political situation (such as how water and spice is used and consumed, and the parallels in our world of water rights and the sale of drugs and weapons).

4 of 6 people found this review helpful

A different experience

Dune is possibly my favourite book of all time and opened my eyes to many things completely unexpectedly. The Dune saga is something I have read over and over. Listening to Children of Dune was actually a completely new experience of the text for me and I think I absorbed so much more than reading it by hand that I feel I've almost read a different book with a different thrust and am happy to have done so as some side characters seemed to jump into the limelight when before I had almost glossed over them and the following novel has a new gravitas for me that it didn't before.

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

Another great read

I have all the books in this series and have had them for many years, if your in to sci-fi then you can't go wrong.
I must have read this book 10 or more times over the years and never get board of it.

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

Slightly Bizarre but will read #4.

I loved the first two books, but this one made me wonder if Frank had lost the plot a little. It has the usual great machinations of state and family along with some decent action, but in what must have been the last hundred pages, the plot takes a turn, which I will not spoil here, that reveals to some part the destiny of Leto, the child of Paul Atreides. For me, the revelation seemed slightly ridiculous and not in keeping with the previous two books universe. Despite this, it is as well read as ever and the story kept me interested enough to move on to the fourth in the series.

4 of 5 people found this review helpful

Fantastic

I was a bit let down by the second book in the series but this one just blew me out the water. The story is great and I love how the world is evolving more and more.

The audio book performance is on point as usual.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Rambling at times but a worthwhile listen

The series continues its downward trend with this book. Definitely interesting, with some fascinating chapters but the narrative is rambling at times and hard to follow. Not as engrossing as the first two books and I'm not happy with all the character paths. Feels like all the characters are only capable of two emotions: fear and anger. Strangely, though I would definitely recommend it as a read as it closes off the story. Good that it has the same narrater as the first two books too.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Really good listen

Very enjoyable although may possibly improve if greater variety of people are involved in the reading process

Powerful end to an epic trilogy.

Great characters and story set across an epic scope, but it will need your full attention. it's easy to miss key parts of the plot. Be warned.

Great narration.

Again I'm very happy with all the narration. This series is one of my personal favourites so the fact that the narration is great really helps.

Faster paced and yet subtlely more intricate

Well preformed rendition of Children of Dune, been listening to a while series and it's kind of warming to hear the same voices, it ties together well. If you love Dune, but lack the time to properly commit to reading it, (because we all have jobs, fabulous, pet sandworms taking up our free time these days), this is a great way to enjoy one of the most grandiose and richest living worlds in science fiction

A bit dark

I like the dune saga. This book was a bit dark and intensely psychological. I will read the next book but will need a break from Herbert before I do.