Sigh. Where do we start? The cardboard characters? The plot inconsistencies? The contradictions with Frank Herbert's books?Again, another unnecessary addition to the Dune series. If Brian and Kevin had put all their effort into writing Dune 7 than piddling around with two prequel trilogies, then we MIGHT have a worthy read.But no. They just couldn't stop at Dune 7 and move on to go back to writing their own original series. No. Dune is their cash cow, and they're going to milk it, by gum!Here, we see an wholly unnecessary novel. 'Dune Messiah' was about the consequences of Paul's Jihad. That was what Frank Herbert was concentrating on. He wanted to show us the consequences of Paul's vision, and not waste time with explaining about all of the battles on various planets and what not. And we were happy with that, because Frank Herbert wrote about what was relevant, and though sometimes it's fun to see how things happened or what happened to make things the way they were in the future, in the Dune series this was not missed because Herbert had a greater message to share with us. (which was completely ignored in Hunters/Sandworms of Dune, BTW)Here we are presented with a book that spends a good amount of time in the past in Paul's childhood - entirely unnecessary as the House trilogy was - and all you can do is bang your head in frustration. The Harkonnen/Fenrig offspring that was hinted at in the canon Dune books was supposed to be just that - a tempting little rumor that made us think. Here, it's ridiculous. The Fremen are also very out of character, and the editing mistakes in this book are downright laughable. Contradictions are abound - in this book, Paul has been offplanet several times before the family move to Arrakis, yet in the original Dune novels, Frank Herbert makes it clear that Paul has never been offplanet, and Arrakis was his first trip away from home. This is but one of many mistakes and contradictions that plague this... this... "book".Many things are told, not shown. Frank Herbert was wonderful at putting in details here and there that add up to the greater picture, without wasting time on useless fluff and filler. But here in Paul of Dune, so much time is wasted on so many things, and the characters of Dune are not quite the same here in Paul of Dune, and there were far too many Brian/Kevin-created characters for my liking.The classic Dune was like a lovingly prepared homecooked meal by Mom, who clearly cared about what we were eating and put all her effort into making the meal as best as it could, and boy, do we ever remember these meals with love and fondness! The books by Brian and Kevin are like greasy fast food - easily snarfed down when there's nothing else to eat, hunger momentarily sated, and then stomach cramps and other rather unpleasant effects later on. They even admit themselves that they're making Dune more "accessible" to the reading crowd. Meaning, dumbed-down.Near the end of this book, another disturbing "fact" is revealed to us - that Herbert Sr's works are no longer canon, and are rather an inaccurate history (because Irulan wrote so many books), which is Brian and Kevin's way of saying to us 'We'll retcon whatever we want out of Dune, and you will LIKE IT!'To do this to someone else's work takes unmitigated gall, but after two poorly-written trilogies and a horribly disappointing Dune 7, should we be THAT surprised?If you MUST read this book out of curiosity (or out of masochistic urges), then go to the library. Don't waste a single penny.The six books by Frank Herbert, along with the Dune Encyclopedia, are canon, and nothing but. Brian and Kevin's books are poorly written fanfiction at best, and an utter and complete abomination at worst.Repeat after me, my fellow Dune fans. This is the litany against the False Dune books.I must not fear the false Dune books.The false Dune books is the mind-killer.The false Dune books is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face the false Dune books.I will permit it to pass over me.And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the false Dune books has gone there will be nothing.Only I will remain.(Originally, the fifth line was 'permit it to pass over me and through me', but I do not want the false Dune books to pass through me, no way!)Repeat that Litany, my fellow Dune fans, and do not fear. There are only six (or seven, including the Encyclopedia) Dune books. No more, no less. The books written by Brian and Kevin are nothing but a blasphemy, and I await with bated breath (in disgust) for Jessica of Dune.
Background: When I read Dune in the late ‘60s I was fascinated by the depiction of this future(?) society with it’s wonderful technologies mixed with it’s medieval intrigues. The Harkonnens were evil, the Corrinos were corrupt, and I rooted for the noble Atreides. The Bene Gesserits, the Spacing Guild, the Mentats, the Suk doctors, and the other groups provided a sturdy framework for the story.Some of the echoes of our world were interesting, like The Orange Catholic Bible, and some were odd, like the sword wielding noblemen. There were also a few negatives. The pace was slow and turgid, interrupted by occasional “out of the blue” plot twists. I never reconciled the name “Duncan Idaho”, the presence of “Family Atomics”, the grossness of “stillsuits”, and other things I could have just taken at face value.But those were my problems with someone else’s universe, fodder for the college bs sessions where we drew parallels between Arrakis and Arabia, spice and oil, Freman and Muslims, the Vietnam War and the Jihad. It seemed important at the time but detracted from my enjoyment of the other books. By God Emperor I was reading out of habit and not enjoyment.The prequels changed all that with a faster pace, more adventure, and less angst and religion. Good and evil were not so black and white either. The prequels brought the whole Dune universe together in my mind and I finally wanted to read Chapterhouse.The reviewI cringed my way through the first third of this book. I was right back in angst and religion land. Then the adventure started and I enjoyed the ride. Purists might fault some of the books details, but I figure these interquels are really difficult to write and should get some leeway. By my reckoning, the average rating for the original 6 book series, distributed over 20 years, is 3.0 stars with only one 5. My average rating for the other 9 books, distributed over 10 years, is 4.6 stars with six 5s. The synopsisSome new characters appear and some minor ones are developed further. The appealing and unforgettable Princess Irulan returns and the conniving and wily Hasimir and Margot Fenring are updated to “adventure mode.” The War of Assassins is examined and we visit Paul’s grandmother. Old fighters leave the battlefield to younger soldiers, Paul and his palace grow grandiose, and Alia makes a timely decision. Telling more would be spoiling the fun.My rating is 4 stars instead of 5 for making me slog through the first third.
What do You think about Paul Of Dune (2008)?
Boring.Paul is too complex character for Brian's writeing skills so result is not attractive.I had to push myself to finish it.It should never existed.--------------------------------------Pročitano i jedva mala dvojčica, više -2.Knjiga je kronološki smještena između Dune i Dune Messiah te pokušava objasniti nešto Paulovog Jihada, a druga polovica knjige nas vodi u Paulovu mladost s ćaćom Letom te razmiricama s Kućom Moritani (+ prikriveni Harkonneni) s jedne te Ecazima, Verniusima i Atreidisima s druge strane.Sve to je stvarno akcijski nabijeno, no sinek Brian je ovdje zašao u područje daleko, daleko iznad svojih mogućnosti.Paul je ultra kompleksan lik kojeg je tatek Frank savršeno dočaravao s nekoliko rečenica kojih se onda danima sjećate.Brian to nikako nije u stanju niti na 50 stranica. Dobro, nije čovjek kriv. Ima on neke kvalitete pisca i drugi Dune romani koje je napisao daleko bolje funkcioniraju (Great Houses i ,za sada, nešto lošiji Great Schools) no nije (ili je, zbog para) shvatio da ne valja dirati u ništa unutar tatinog ciklusa.Od te silne akcije (stalno se netko naganja, ubija, proganja, reže...) se umorite jer je plošno, blesasto.Ja, silni neprijatelj dvije Velike Kuće hoću ih zatrti na njihovom zajedničkom skupu pa teškim zavjerama instaliram neke leteće žilete koji posijeku desetak bezveznjaka. C'mon pa imam pun sepet atomika, ako sam postavio žilete mogao sam im i planet sterilizirati posebice jer sam bombaš-samoubojica.Neuvjerljivo do bola, povremeno sam se silio čitati.Piši prequele, piši sequele no za ovo nemaš opremu moj Briane.Ništa tu od tatinog "plans within plans within plans" nema.Presuda: pročitati ako ste teški Dune fan kako bi sami vidjeli što i kako (zanimljivo je kako je ova knjiga priličan love/hate na amazonu, slabo sive zone) te opet malo omirisali Svemir Dine.Poučen ovim, "Winds of Dune" ostavljam za malo kasnije jer će "Mentats of Dune" ići prije nječim me šašavi djinn Bartimeus opet oraspoloži svojim uber-ciničnim fusnotama.
—Krbo
My slight obsession with all things Dune began back when I was thirteen when a good buddy of mine recommended to me Frank Herbert’s first Dune novel – which I promptly borrowed from my dad, who had a first printing copy – and the David Lynch cinematic adaptation which coincidentally came out mere months later. From there, I was enraptured with this future historical epic – much as I once was with Narnia and Middle-Earth. What I loved most about Herbert’s original six-volume Dune series was how he captured the messianic fervor and fictitious-intellectual underpinnings of a future history in which prophecy is slowly – albeit ambiguously -- revealed. Even subtler, the religiosity of his self-contained universe was never fully explained, with many a plot thread that was left unraveled for the reader to ponder and muse upon – much as the most die-hard Lord of the Ring fans do when they scour his notes and drafts, which are collectively published under the History of Middle-Earth series that are edited by his son Christopher. (I would also argue that this is what I loved about Dan Simmons’ audaciously original series, The Hyperion Cantos and his most recent double-feature, Illium and Olympos.) How and where did the Bene Gesserit, the Guild, the mentats of Bene Theilax originate? What happened to Earth all so long ago? And what is the real history of the Butlerian Jihad that ushered in a new era in which humans forbade themselved from making machines in their image? This is what I loved about the Herbert’s work, and it is this that I alternately love and hate about Brian and Kevin’s novelizations of Frank’s huge accumulation of notes, ideas, and – at least for Hunters and Sandworms of Dune – planned novels after his last, Chapterhouse: Dune. Although Paul of Dune is to be their last book – according to current-reckoning – Brian and Kevin have published eight other additional Dune books in the last ten years. For the most part, the first in each of their companion trilogies – most notably Dune: House Atreides and The Butlerian Jihad – were the best. Both of these breathed new life into the mysterious world of Arrakis and the coming of the Kwisartz Haderach – the super-being of Bene Gesserit and Fremen prophecy. Jihad, in particular, is probably the best book in the entire prequel/sequel series, as it carefully and theatrically unfolds the dramatic moment in future history – a fulcrum, if you will -- on which the fate of the human race was determined in the moment of one woman’s stand and martyrdom against the machines. (Sarah Connor from the Terminator mythos was never so bold, I suggest.) But these are the highest points in an otherwise mediocre series that leaves too little to the imagination. And by that, I mean that Brian and Kevin pull back the curtain too far to show us every single motivation, explain away every previously unrevealed mystery; all while taking away a little of the magic of Frank’s awe-inspiring future universe. The best part of Paul of Dune is the one-half of the book that deals with the years in-between Dune and Dune Messiah, as Paul, Alia, and their allies deal with the near-constant machinations of the disgraced former Emperor and his cronies. The other half, which alternates with the main-plotline, gives us a glimpse back in the not-too-far-distant past when Paul, as a young boy, became involved in the War of Assassins which involved no less than the marriage of his father, the Duke, to a fellow noble’s kinswoman. Although this works as a narrative device – both plotlines mirror each other quite effectively in theme and purpose – I can’t help but feel that Brian and Kevin are rewriting the Dune legend, and dulling ever-so-slightly my once starry-eyed imagination. In short: I enjoy the new Dune books, but I loved the originals even better. And like New Coke, sometimes you just can’t improve upon the original – no matter how sweet you make it.
—Erik
I mean, I didn't finish it, but I'm finished, you know what I mean? Or to quote Bean, from Shadow of the Hegemon: "You don't have to eat the whole turd to know it's not crab cake."Super bad dialogue and poor writing really makes you feel like these aren't the characters we remembered from Dune. Don't we read sequels to get more of what we want? I don't want to read about this imposter Paul, who takes everything too seriously, and alienates everyone he talks to. I know it's supposed to be the story of his journey back to humanity from the ruthless emperor he's become, but I don't think I have the patience to wait around, or the faith to believe that Brian Herbert can deliver.
—Eric Lin
