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From the Publisher:
Frank Herbert's award-winning Dune chronicles captured the imagination of millions of readers worldwide. By his death in 1986, Herbert had completed six novels in the series, but much of his vision remained unwritten. Now, working from his father's recently discovered files, Brian Herbert and bestselling novelist Kevin J. Anderson collaborate on a new novel, the prelude to Dune—where we step onto the planet Arrakis...decades before Dune's hero, Paul Muad'Dib Atreides, walks its sands.
Here is the rich and complex world that Frank Herbert created, in the time leading up to the momentous events of Dune. As Emperor Elrood's son plots a subtle regicide, young Leto Atreides leaves for a year's education on the mechanized world of Ix; a planetologist named Pardot Kynes seeks the secrets of Arrakis; and the eight-year-old slave Duncan Idaho is hunted by his cruel masters in a terrifying game from which he vows escape and vengeance. But none can envision the fate in store for them: one that will make them renegades—and shapers of history.
From the Critics:
The Barnes & Noble Review: With Frank Herbert's death in 1986, the science fiction phenomenon known as the Dune series seemed fated to end with its sixth volume, Chapterhouse: Dune. However, Herbert's son Brian, working from his father's recently discovered files, now collaborates with bestselling author Kevin J. Anderson to give us the grand narrative themes, star-sweeping political tensions, and impassioned exploits of the original work in its prequel, Dune: House Atreides.
Some background -- or, depending on your current viewpoint, perhaps foreground -- first: Dune is the sprawling and intricate saga of the desert planet Arrakis, also known as Dune, the very heart of a vast galactic empire and all its rebel factions. Dune is the only source of Melange, a spice that grants psychic powers and near-immortality to interstellar pilots. As per the Emperor's orders, Arrakis has traded hands from the violent Harkonnen to House Atreides. Led by the Baron, the Harkonnen scheme, subvert, and viciously murder most opposition in an effort to keep Arrakis for themselves. Eventually young Duke Paul Atreides is exiled on the planet's cruel surface and left to die. There he is rescued by the Fremen, a obscurely religious tribe of desert dwellers, is eventually renamed Muad'dib, and becomes the Fremen's leader in his attempt to regain the planet for House Atreides. Paul is not only mystically enhanced by the mysterious spice itself but might very well be a prophesied messiah.
Dune: House Atreides takes place four decades before the events of the first novel. Emperor Elrood IX of House Corrino, ruler of most of known space, sits upon the Golden Lion throne and orders planetologist Pardot Kynes to Arrakis to study the secrets of the addictive Melange. However, impatient to begin his own tyrannical reign, the Emperor's son, Shaddam, plots to kill his father with the aid of the assassin Hasimir Fenring. The Baron Harkonnen, still in charge of Arrakis and the production of Melange, must also counter the ploys of his enemies from the House Atreides. Paulus Atreides dispatches his teenage son, Leto (who will one day be father of Paul Maud'dib), to the mechanized planet Ix to learn what he can of advanced technology. The eight-year old Duncan Idaho, a slave who is stalked and tortured by his sadistic masters, eventually escapes and seeks his revenge. The religious order of Bene Gesserit "witches" works in secret to breed the "Kwisatz Haderach," a superhuman psychic child who can only be created through the manipulation of both Atreides and Harkonnen genes.
Few undertakings in the science fiction arena could present the formidable challenge that a prequel to Dune would pose. Frank Herbert's original novel won both the Hugo and Nebula awards, capturing the imaginations of readers all over the world and giving them a brand of SF that had never been known before. However, few could be better suited to accept the taxing trials than the team of Herbert and Anderson. Brian Herbert collaborated with his father on the elder's last published novel, Man of Two Worlds. Kevin J. Anderson, author of several Star Wars novels (Darksaber, The Emperor's Plague) and The X-Files novels (Ruins, Ground Zero), has already proven himself highly capable of writing within science fiction universes created by others. In finishing L. Ron Hubbard's Al! Pedrito! When Intelligence Goes Wrong, Anderson also confirmed that he could efficiently work from notes left behind by a true luminary of the science fiction genre.
The authors skillfully meet the demands set for them and continue the tradition of scope, complexity, and multilayered narrative threads. Dune: House Atreides manages to capture the majesty and intensity of Frank Herbert's fascinating and far-reaching epic. However, the authors are not merely expanding upon established story lines but are venturing forward into their own storytelling territory. Some of the series' most perplexing enigmas are answered, while other mysteries are uncovered. Adventurous, labyrinthine, and highly intriguing in its own right, Dune: House Atreides will garner a vast readership. Fans of the original novels will welcome any return to their beloved Arrakis, and new readers will wholeheartedly leap at the chance to delve into the mystical sands of Dune. —Tom Piccirilli
Publishers WeeklyIt was a daunting task to describe the origins and intricacies of the many feuds, alliances, schemes and prophesies of one of the most beloved SF novels ever written. Herbert, the son of Frank Herbert, who wrote the original Dune, and Anderson (coauthor, Ai Pedrito!, etc.) have met the challenge admirably. Within a web of relationships in which no act has simple or predictable consequences, they lay the foundations of the Dune saga. Duke Atreides and his son Leto are faced with an attack by their ancient rival, House Harkonnen. Eight-year-old Duncan Idaho strikes a small blow against the cruel Harkonnens by escaping their territory and defecting into the service of the duke. Emperor Elrood, Ruler of the Known Universe, takes vengeance on the machine planet Ix in retribution for a personal affront. Elrood, in turn, is maneuvered off the throne by his son Shaddam. The Bene Gesserits' 1000-year-old plan for breeding a perfect being--the Kwisatz Haderach--nears completion. And behind it all lies the harsh, desert world of Dune, the only planet in the known worlds to harbor the mysterious and powerful Spice, which everyone wants to control and one man, paleontologist Kynes, seeks to understand in his quest to make Dune flower again. Though the plot here is intricate, even readers new to the saga will be able to follow it easily (minute repetitions of important points help immensely), as the narrative weaves among the many interconnected tales. The attendant excitement and myriad revelations not only make this novel a terrific read in its own right but will inspire readers to turn, or return, to its great predecessor. (Oct.) FYI: Dune: House Atreides launches a proposed trilogy. Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.
KLIATT: Revisit the planet called Dune decades before Frank Herbert's original Dune series. His son has used Herbert's files in collaboration with Anderson to produce this prequel set during the rule of Emperor Elrood IX. The style and sweeping drama are similar to the original. Dune fanatics will probably already have read this in hardback, but fans will rejoice at this edition, and newcomers may become interested enough to check out the original series or continue with the next edition by these two, the House Harkonnen "update." KLIATT Codes: JSA—Recommended for junior and senior high school students, advanced students, and adults.
Library Journl: lFor those of us who think Frank Herbert should have been granted a divine dispensation by which he could write Dune stories in perpetuity, the publication last year of the series prequel, Dune: House Atreides, the first volume in a scheduled trilogy, was manna from heaven. Working from a cache of recently discovered character and plot notes, son and critically praised sf author Brian Herbert and Nebula Award nominee Anderson collaborate on this lush and textured cosmos and its complex sequence of events in the 40 years preceding the inaugural book, Dune. The epic dramas and intrigues interwoven among the numerous subplots are deftly handled and include the history behind the Atreides-Harkonnen feud; the attempts of Emperor Elrood's treacherous son, Shaddam, to usurp the throne; and the maligned and long-suffering slave boy, Duncan Idaho. This work is brilliantly performed by Tim Curry, whose honeyed and stentorian voice is matched in beautiful and elegant synchronicity with the prose. Verily, a gift on all levels, this is one of the stellar audiobook contributions of the season and is an obligatory acquisition for all libraries.
Magazine Editors People: Dune creator Frank Herbert died in 1986. In this gripping prequel cowritten by his son, many of the sci-fi series' most puzzling mysteries are explained.
The New York Times: Captures the sense of seriousness that distinguished the earlier books…Those of us who fondly remember the charged atmosphere and intellectual gravity of the Dune series will rejoice in this chance to return to one of science fiction's most appealing futures.