Dune: The Machine Crusade

Book Two of the Legends of Dune Trilogy

By: Brian Herbert, Kevin J. Anderson

Narrated by: Scott Brick

The breathtaking vision and incomparable storytelling of Brian Herbert and Kevin Anderson's Dune: The Butlerian Jihad, a prequel to Frank Herbert's classic Dune, propelled it to the ranks of speculative fiction's classics in its own right. Now, with all the color, scope, and fascination of the prior novel, comes Dune: The Machine Crusade.

More than two decades have passed since the events chronicled in The Butlerian Jihad. The crusade against thinking robots has ground on for years, but the forces led by Serena Butler and Irbis Ginjo have made only slight gains; the human worlds grow weary of war, of the bloody, inconclusive swing from victory to defeat.

The fearsome cymeks, led by Agamemnon, hatch new plots to regain their lost power from Omnius--as their numbers dwindle and time begins to run out. The fighters of Ginaz, led by Jool Noret, forge themselves into an elite warrior class, a weapon against the machine-dominated worlds. Aurelius Venport and Norma Cenva are on the verge of the most important discovery in human history-a way to "fold" space and travel instantaneously to any place in the galaxy.

And on the faraway, nearly worthless planet of Arrakis, Selim Wormrider and his band of outlaws take the first steps to making themselves the feared fighters who will change the course of history: the Fremen.

Here is the unrivaled imaginative power that has put Brian Herbert and Kevin Anderson on bestseller lists everywhere and earned them the high regard of readers around the globe. The fantastic saga of Dune continues in Dune: The Machine Crusade.

Worth a listen if you liked the final book of dune

If your a dune fan this is a great set of prequels worth listening to especially if you enjoyed the last 2 books written by these authors that finished the original dune series.

love it

this was a great follow-up to the previous storyline really.looking forward to the next one

The Machine Crusade

Spanning multiple years, The Machine Crusade brings the Butlarian Jihad to its violent crescendo. I can’t wait to hear what happens next.
Brian and Kevin you guys are awesome. Keep up the wonderful work.
Scott you continue to be the voice of the Dune expanded universe.
10/10

Great second book

This second book is amazing and has lots of information that is needed to help understand the time before Dune and helps me to understand the characters, conflicts and places. A history I would say. This book has a lot of excitement and makes me want to see where the next book takes this story.

Dune - How We Love Thee!

Brian Herbert would make his father proud. In collaboration with Kevin J. Anderson, he has 'fleshed out' the vast universe centered around the planet Arrakis. This book, like its predecessor "The Butlerian Jihad", expounds on the events surrounding the war with the Thinking Machines only hinted about in the original novels.

With sweeping strokes, the authors take you on a breathtaking journey through the known galaxy. Their characters are 'real' in the sense that you care deeply about their fates - even the obviously 'evil' ones. No small feat, this. Many large scifi books center around technology and 'gee-whiz" what-ifs without truly giving you characters that you can get emotionally tied to. Strongly framed characters are essential for my suspension of disbelief.

The story takes place some 24 years following the events of the Butlerian Jihad. Both Xavier Harkonnen and Vorien Atreides are now "Premeros" of the Army of the Jihad and the best of friends. Serena Butler serves as an almost Deity-like leader who keeps pushing the multitude of free humans into battle after battle with the Thinking Machines.

You can start to see the beginnings of the staples of the original story - the CHOAM Company, the Spacing Guild, Spice Distribution, the Fremen, etc.

While this installment has a satifactory ending, you are definitely left yearning for more even after 26 or so hours of rapt attention.

The authors, Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson along with the fantastic narrator, Scott Brick, are deserving of great accolades for such incomparable effort on the behalf of we Dune fans - A Dukedom in the League of Nobles, perhaps?