PAUL OF DUNE

By Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson

I’ve been a DUNE fan since I read the first book in 1977 when I was 17 years old. I was living in San Diego at the time and someone who befriended me there introduced me to it. At the same time he helped me to understand some of it’s more complex themes.

I’ve read every single book in the series since then. At 17 I read DUNE, DUNE MESSIAH, and CHILDREN OF DUNE. I then started buying the books as they came out after that, including GOD EMPEROR OF DUNE, HERETICS OF DUNE, and CHAPTERHOUSE DUNE - all written by Frank Herbert.

Naturally, I was deeply saddened by his death and figured that would be the end of the series. You can imagine how excited I was when his son, Brian Herbert, started collaborating with Kevin J. Anderson on a whole new series of books in 1999, starting with DUNE: HOUSE ATREIDES. I’ve read them all - each as they came out - including DUNE: HOUSE HARKONNEN, DUNE: HOUSE CORRINO, DUNE: THE BUTLERIAN JIHAD, DUNE: THE MACHINE CRUSADE, DUNE: THE BATTLE OF CORRIN, HUNTERS OF DUNE, and SANDWORMS OF DUNE.

They have all intrigued me greatly, and whereas I have to admit that the new series can’t equal with the mastery of Frank Herbert’s original novels, they have all been entertaining on their own, and I always look forward to reading the new ones that come out.

PAUL OF DUNE is a prequel to CHILDREN OF DUNE. It takes place right after the original DUNE novel, and tells stories of both the Emperor Paul in his early reign, and it goes back to tell stories of Paul as a young man.

The universe that Frank Herbert created, and that Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson have expanded on, is brilliant and compelling. The characters are deeply intriguing in their depth, and the scope of the stories is magnificent. I’ve gotten many, many hours of enjoyment from them.

With that said, I have to say that this newest novel is not one of my favorites. I’m afraid they’ve missed the mark in this one. It lacks the intellectualism that I’ve always found appealing it its predecessors. In this novel they seem to rely on sensationalism and a lust for violence that seems shallow to me.

In past novels - both by Frank and by the collaborations of Brian and Kevin - they relied on many facets of personalities to make convincing stories. They relied on science and the force of a good premise to make the books gripping.

In this case, many of the stories are good, but not as innovative as they have been in the past, and I’m not just referring to the Frank Herbert originals. The stories in the LEGENDS OF DUNE series - the battle against the machines in the early history of the Dune universe by Brian and Kevin - are stories that were very well thought out and truly unique. But the stories in PAUL OF DUNE seem contrived and forced, and they lack originality. The petty squabbles between the great houses are really rather uninspiring and lack the depth and intrigue that I’d hoped for.

I’m not saying it’s a bad book. Just the opposite. I’m happy with it on many levels. I think it lays a foundation for the next books in the series, of which several are anticipated, for great stories.

But, on my first reading of this one, I’m left a little wanting.

~ SamSez