Avg. Customer Rating:(based on 73 reviews) Sales Rank: 5859 Category: Book
Authors:Brian Herbert, Kevin J. Anderson Publisher:Tor Books Studio:Tor Books Manufacturer:Tor Books Label:Tor Books Languages: English (Original Language), English (Unknown), English (Published) Media: Hardcover Edition: 1st Number Of Items: 1 Pages: 512 Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.7 Dimensions (in): 9.5 x 6.5 x 1.8
Frank Herbert's Dune ended with Paul Muad?Dib in control of the planet Dune. Herbert?s next Dune book, Dune Messiah, picked up the story several years later after Paul?s armies had conquered the galaxy. But what happened between Dune and Dune Messiah? How did Paulcreate his empire and become the Messiah? Following in the footsteps of Frank Herbert, New York Times bestselling authors Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson are answering these questions in Paul of Dune.
The Muad?Dib?s jihad is in full swing. His warrior legions march from victory to victory. But beneath the joy of victory there are dangerous undercurrents. Paul, like nearly every great conqueror, has enemies--those who would betray him to steal the awesome power he commands. . . .
And Paul himself begins to have doubts: Is the jihad getting out of his control? Has he created anarchy? Has he been betrayed by those he loves and trusts the most? And most of all, he wonders: Am I going mad?
Paul of Dune is a novel everyone will want to read and no one will be able to forget.
surprisingly OK January 9, 2009 1 out of 2 found this review helpful
Frank Herbert's Dune novels, as major seeds in the "scifi as literature" school (particularly Messiah, Children, and God-Emperor), have repeatedly been brought down to pulp levels over the last decade by the books written since Herbert's death. However, I found Paul of Dune to be much more intriguing.
Of course, it is impossible to reconcile the events of this with the continuity of the original Dune series. And ultimately, it's not worth trying. Frank Herbert explored the depth of his characters as extensively as was appropriate to tell the stories he told, and nothing more needs to be said. Trying to read this novel in that way will simply be infuriating.
That said, this does offer some interesting insights to aspects of the characters. Leto, Paul, and Irulan shine here. Leto drives the flashback sequences and comes off as the kind of hero one would expect the father of Muad'dib to be. I found the development of Emperor Paul to be interesting because the authors seemed to avoid introspection from Paul's point of view, as was heavy in Dune Messiah. In this, I feel that they achieved their stated goal of showing a Muad'dib that went from heroic conquerer to despot by showing him as others saw him. I particularly like Irulan in this novel, in part because she is a more interesting character than in Messiah & Children. There, she was portrayed as short-sighted, selfish, and dense. Here we get something that I feel is more likely from the woman who wrote the epigraphs in Dune chronicling Muad'dib's life. She is strong, clever, and insightful. This makes for a fascinating ground for the conflicting, conflicted, and downright unusual relationship she has with Paul.
Ultimately, though, this is clearly a Brian Herbert and Kevin Anderson novel. If you found their other works irredeemable, this one's entirely not worth picking up. This contains every bit of their pacing, structure, and willingness to alter continuity. If you're okay with that, then this is definitely the best of what they've done.
Wow there are some haters out there... January 8, 2009 0 out of 3 found this review helpful
I think the book is good. I enjoyed it and look forward to the next book. If you are a purist and think that writing a Dune book is like writing a new chapter in the Bible (Blasphemy), then pass on down the aisle to something else. If you want enjoy the characters in a new way then pick it up. It's that simple. My favorite non Frank book was House Atreides and this one is very close to that for me.
I read all the originals multiple times and the have read all the prequels. These reviews have devolved into a complaint session more or less. The number of complainers should decrease as each book is released but it seems to be the same. If you don't like it why do you keep reading them?
Better than some of the others.... January 6, 2009 2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Very forgettable and unnecessary. I would have been ok with this, since I love the Dune universe anyway. I really have been trying to like these new Dune books. Would have been great as fanfiction. In my opinion the writing has gradually improved. If only the authors of Paul of Dune had not contradicted Frank Herbert's original work I might have been able to accept and enjoy this book. Alas! Continuity is apparantly too much to ask for,
End of the line January 4, 2009 4 out of 4 found this review helpful
I give up. I've been slugging through these new Dune books due to my love of the original Dune universe, and that possibly I might be a masochist. Enough is enough though, there is only so much that a person can take. With the rest of the prequels I took all the various inconsistencies, downright contradictions, and simplistic writing thanks to the "joy" of reading something new on Dune. Enough is enough.
I will not give out any spoilers, but what these writers did to justify their various contradictions of Frank Herbert's original books is completely horrifying and outrageous. In the back of my mind as I read that final chapter I was no longer visualizing the Dune universe, I was visualizing the two writers congratulating themselves on their own cleverness at "solving" the neat problem on how to change whatever else they want to change about the universe Frank Herbert created. And to do so calling it the "real" story enabling them to write many more books along the way as well. In my minds eye I saw them slapping each other on the back and that is the vision I held of this book.
As for the actual writing style of the book, it is adequate. I would not complain if it were a stand alone space adventure yarn, set in its own universe and characters. As for a Dune book, like the rest of the prequels everything is flat and two dimensional. The characters of Dune are a far cry from the complex creatures that the father created, they are cardboard characters that can only express a single emotion and whose complexities never delve much deeper than the complexity of putting together a sandwich. I was incredibly surprised (and a little relieved), that some of the characters did not just spontaneously break out into a maniacal laugh to show how evil they were. I was incredibly surprised Shaddam had the brain matter to remember how to breathe.
I would like to write more about the flat plot and characters of the story, how they altered Paul's history, but that would take an entire essay and probably welcome a deletion by Amazon. Needless to say "Paul of Dune" left a taste in my mouth reminiscent of ashes (not that I know what ash tastes like but I am pretty sure that this was close). Their literal dismissal of Frank Herbert's work was outrageous and to me the straw that broke the camel's back. If you're a Dune fan you won't pass this book up because like me you'll read it on the sheer basis it is a Dune book. Otherwise..
Captured the spirit of Dune December 22, 2008 0 out of 4 found this review helpful
This is the first of the Brian Herbert and Kevin Anderson Dune series that I have read. Being a big Frank Herbert fan and of Dune in particular, I was intrigued by the premise of this book. So much time elasped from the end of Dune and the beginning of Dune Messiah. I feel the story the authors tell fills in this time period well and very much captures the spirit of Dune in doing so. The book was an very enjoyable read and I recommend it. It has got me interested in reading their other books in their Dune series.
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