Dune: House Corrino (Prelude to Dune Book 3)

The final installment of the "Dune: House Trilogy", this offering rounds it out acceptably and *does* tie up many loose ends that had been created by the previous two books. However I found the final third of the book to be a rush of bring-up-issue, resolve, repeat.

Also disappointing is that the richness of the characters was neither exploited nor acknowledged. Characters folded into single dimensional entities that acted and re-acted to situations in a way that was simply expedient to move the story along to its conclusion rather than with the greater depth and complexity that Dune readers would expect.

If you have read the preceeding two books of this trilogy then you'll definitely want to read this book to wrap up the series. I would not recommend this as a standalone read, but as a cap it is quite adequate. If you're a die-hard Dune fan, then I expect you'll still enjoy this prequel that leads directly to the original "Dune" book. Personally I found the "Legends of Dune" trilogy vastly more epic and entertaining than the "House Trilogy".

My recommendation? Read Dune first, then any of the other post-Dune books, *then* "Legends of Dune". Only read the "House Trilogy" if you find you are so "Dune" mad that you begin suffering withdrawal without some kind of Dune fix.

Like many, I consider Dune to be the greatest single work of science fiction. I have read and re-read the book many times and with each reading, find new levels of meaning. The world which Mr Herbert created in Dune is a fascinating one which raises far more questions than answers. Although I have read all the progency of Dune, they have always left me feeling unsatisfied. I think the reason is that the sequels abandon the original world of Dune in favor of the new universe created by Paul Atreides. This prequel trilogy goes back to the original world of Dune and fills in the gaps very imaginatively. It provides fascinating answers to the question of what is a Ginaz Swordmaster and how did Baron Harkonnen get so fat. Even better, it gives far more information about two of my favorite characters in Dune who did not survive much beyond the first third of the book: Duke Leto and Duncan Idaho. This is a nice effort which should appeal to true Dune lovers.

Readers of the previous Dune prequels (Atreides and Harkonnen) already know that the prequels fail to live up to original series in terms of complexity and quality. What is most surprising is that Dune: House Corrino fails to live up to the already limited expectations that we have of the prequels.
House Corrino is inconsistent with the original series. Key plot elements, such as the melange project and the existence of no-globes, still violate the original series tenets. Of more concern is the reliance on blood-thristy mass destruction in this new book. Atomic and laser-based warfare enter this book with glee, thus destroying the new martial framework that F. Herbert invented and that B. Herbert and Anderson continued in the first 2 prequels.
Not only is this book inconsistent with the original, it is inconsistent with the other prequels. If you read this book, you will find that the Ressert, Rhombur, and Idaho characters cannot maintain their identity that was established in House Harkonnen. You will also find that this book fails to adopt the multi-year, intricate plotting that Herbert & Anderson tried to draw on before. This book takes only 1 year and attempts to stuff it so full of action and excitement that it reads like a book written after a movie.
More disturbing is the blatant piracy of key scenes from the Star Wars movies. The use of weaponry, the resolution of certain characters, and the chaste romance will remind you more of Luke Skywalker and the crew than they will of any character from the Dune universe.
In short, this book seems to be written in Anderson's Star Wars style with only minimal intervention by Herbert. Brian Herbert is a quality writer, as his efforts in _Man of Two Worlds_ shows. Anderson's reliance on gimmicks, weaponry, and Manichean illustrations come through in this book and make it an unworthy addition to the Dune universe in general and the Herbert/Anderson prequels in particular.

Dune: House Corrino will make for an enjoyable return to the universe created by Frank Herbert, and kept alive by his son and Kevin Anderson. Every Dune fan I know has curiosity about the history and politics in the Dune universe. DHC ties together the events of the earlier two books in this trilogy, laying the groundwork for a very plausible beginning to the original Dune novel. Anderson and the younger Herbert lack some of Frank's deftness with presenting exceptionally unique characters, and Prince Vernius in DHC could be considered by some to be a little "over the top." However, these flaws are minor and will not detract from your enjoyment. Old fans: shake off the dust and embrace the new- pick it up and read it. Newbies: I recommend starting either with the original "Dune" or with "Dune: House Atriedes."

The latest installment from Herbert Jr. and Anderson leaves a lot to be desired. House Atreides and House Harkonnen attempted to open the Dune universe to a larger audience with a more light-hearted style and an easier to follow plot. The entire trilogy makes an effort to fill some of the holes left in the original Dune novels, but the new books are not on the level Dune readers have come to expect.
House Corrino was not the way I expected the trilogy to conclude. The movements of the characters seem childish and less "thought-out." There is more action, yes, but it doesn't flow as well as the previous two novels, considering that this book is supposed to bridge the gap between the trilogy and the first Dune novel. Fans of the Dune universe will no doubt read this book with much anticipation, but I think the outcome they encounter will not mesh well with their expectations.
This book containted far too many irrelevant subplots, the style left much to be desired, and it didn't conclude in a fashion consistent with its place in the series.

It's not perfect. But what is? Herbert and Anderson are obviously adrenalin junkies, tempered by our modern age of impatience and information overkill. Brian's father, Frank was of a different generation. A generation where it was more common for artists to lock themselves away from the world in order to study it better. Brian and Kevin come from a world of speed and excess, video games and nano-technology in the palm of their hands. Their world - our world - was only conceivable in the imaginations of past generations; Isaac Asimov, Arthur C. Clark, Frank Herbert, etc.
What am I getting at?
I didn't read the Prelude to Dune novels hoping for Frank's insights and inventiveness. I read them not only hoping to see what Brian and Kevin had salvaged of his unwritten work, but also to escape into one of the grandest space opera's ever conceived.
Yes, there are problems as other reviewers have pointed out. Personally, I think collaborative work on this scale is seldom as successful as it could have been if left for one author to anguish over. The best books, and Frank Herbert was well-known for this, offer insights; other ways of seeing the world so that we may be able to see our own world more clearly.
But I couldn't put it down. The short chapters were like so many tasty morsels of finger-food. 600 pages in five days. I amazed myself. When I got to the last 20 or 30 pages, my head spun with all that was about to happen. House Corrino is like a spider web covered in tiny spiders all vying for their place in the scheme of things.
My conclusion is that if you paid to watch any of the Star Wars movies, then happily pay the man and read yourself this book.

Brian Herbert and Kevin Anderson come close to wrapping up the Dune prequel series with a climactic edition in "Dune: House Corrino". This story takes place in less than a year's time, beginning after the conception of Paul Atreides, and finishing just after his birth. The book starts off a little slow; it takes the authors a while to build up the suspense, but the last 150 pages of this work are well worth the wait. The details regarding the Corrino famliy are also enjoyable.
The authors set the stage in the two previous prequel stories ("House Atreides" and "House Harkonnen") and really didn't need to build up interest over such a long novel. FYI, both previous works are musts for devoted Dune fans. However, this is the best book out of the three editions. New readers will find the style smoother and more modern than the original Frank Herbert series, but not quite as creative. These stories fill in the many gaps in Frank Herbert's background, almost as if reading historical fiction.
The final third of the book is excellent, even difficult to put down as the action reaches a crescendo. Though every fan knows what is going to happen, we have been shielded from the truth all this time. You almost feel as if the story were new. However, there is one last story to tell here. Prepare to see "Dune: Bene Gesserit" bridging the birth of Paul Atreides to the relocation of his family to Planet Arrakis.
I have read every book in both Dune series and rate this book 3.80 out of 5.00 stars, rounded up to 4.00 stars, with points for writing style and for nicely wrapping up a lot of pre-history. Still want to read about more workings behind the scenes of the Sisterhood though.

This new Dune series has a lot wanting. The original series, by the original Herbert, was a complex interweaving of politics, religion, and philosophy. This series is nothing more than an adventure story. Also, the characters are all cardboard cut-out stereotypes. Leto is totally good, and the Harkonnens totally bad. There is also much too much filler material, making what could have been one book into three. So many details are given that nothing is left to the imagination. Another problem is that there are inconsistancies between this and the original series, for example, it was Duncan's sister who was killed by the Harkonnens, not Gurney's. Anyway, if you love Dune and would like to return to that world, this story is interesting enough to check out, even though it turns Dune into a new Star Wars. At least it's better than the New Foundation series.

This picks up right where House Harkonnen left off and I would have to say its a better written story. Its almost as good as House Attreides. Book 9 expands upon the Emporer's plans to manufacture synthetic spice, and House Attreides attempts to restore Prince Rhombur back to power on Ix. When House Corrino's rulers are executed and Ix invaded and occupied by Harkonnens, House Attreides makes an effort to put Prince Rhombur, the only surviving heir to House Corrino, back into power. Meanwhile, the Emporer has plans to destroy Dune so that he can corner the spice market with his synthetic melange, 'amal.' The story climaxes when Gurney Halleck runs a Harkonnen blockade setup around planet Ix to get 'medical supplies' to House Corrino. All in all, a well told story and I would certainly recommend this book to all who love Dune.

Even doing my best at not comparing the Dune prequels to Frank Herbert's saga, these books are still a dismal piece of fluff. They read like one of Anderson's utterly awful "Young Jedi Knights" books, with TV-style pacing, two- (or sometimes one-) dimensional characters, and lots of filler.
This one is the worst of the bunch, trying to resolve a situation that couldn't possibly have come from Frank's notes (where the hell did this friendship and bond of honor between House Atreides and Ixians go to in the 16 years between _Dune: House Corrino_ and _Dune_?) in a ridiculous climax and a de rigueur happy ending.

Fans of Frank Herbert's original 'Dune' series will find that the prequels lack any of the emotional resonance and innovative writing style of Herbert senior, but the prequel books are entertaining none the less. Dont expect, well developed characters, exceptional prose or an indepth storyline however, this is Science Fiction 'fluff', fun to read but ultimately mediocre literature. Fans will be satisfied as it does contain all the classic elements of the original series (ie. the Bene Gesserit, melange, Arakkis etc.), but ultimately the Dune prequels represent a disturbing trend in Science Fiction and Fantasy today. That is to say, simply rehashing the same old tired concepts to make a quick buck (the Star Wars novels instantly spring to mind). I am giving this novel 4 stars simply based on the fact that it is a fun, entertaining novel, that to a certain extent recaptures the overall 'feel' of Frank Herberts universe. Anyone looking for indepth, science fiction 'literature' however would do well to re-read the original series or look elsewhere.

Of all the DUNE prequels, this is the most useful and interesting of the lot. Overall the oily villians we came to know in the classic DUNE are introduced in retrospect, and we are given an insight into just how manipulative and surrepticious these characters are. Shaddam IV seems inept in almost everything but court politics. He displays a Nixon-like trust in the wrong people. Enjoyable, informative, but not classic. Even though packed with what it takes, Its kind of like I already knew. A lot of "ahh...I thought so(s)"

House Corrino was an entertaining book that very neatly sewed up the trilogy. The writing style is easily read compared to Frank Herbert's Dune. Even though Dune is my all time favorite novel, I enjoyed the hisory of the Dune characters and found the story a little trite perhaps, but very satisfying. All of the prequels are written with scientific and observational flair compared to Dune which purposely left difficult to explain details somewhat vague to inspire mystique.
Brian Herbert tells the prehistory of Dune from a different viewpoint than his father. Even though the style is distinctly different the story has definite merits of it's own. I enjoyed learning about the Baron Harkonen and how he became so large. I also enjoyed learning more about the navigators and how they accomplished space travel. Brian Herbert does an excellent job of explaining these mysteries.
There were some negative points in this novel, however. Brian Herbert spent too much time with several characters receiving various forms of punishment. He missed the point, if he thought by over-emphasizing the continual harsh treatment of the stories heros' were either entertaining or inspired fierce sympathy for these characters. The treament of Gurney Halleck for instance, became monotonous and a little embarassing.
I found it difficult to put this book down because it was light reading, very entertaining and fast paced, compared to Dune which I was forced to put down to absorb what I had read.
If you are the type of reader that loves Dune and only enjoys reading fine literature, or you are a Frank Herbert purist you would be better off re-reading Dune. If you enjoy thoughtful, light sci-fi and can deal with the fact that the author is not Frank Herbert you will very much enjoy this book.

Alright, so this isn't good ole Frank writing, but that'd be too much to ask for.
Overall the prequels weren't up to standard, but as the series developed, it got better, or I got used to Brian and Kevein's writing...
Suffice it to say that this is a good finale to this trilogy, there's enough surprises to keep you interested and the book is well paced. The characters are still not very beleivable, sometimes a bit cartoonish. You'll be left wondering how Shaddam or the Baron ever survived their first years, let alone came to positions of power after reading about their latest blunders, but hey, it is entertaining, albeit mildly irritating sometimes.
My advice: don't take these books too seriously, just enjoy taking a look at an alternate Dune universe.

Of all the DUNE prequels, this is the most useful and interesting of the lot. Overall the oily villians we came to know in the classic DUNE are introduced in retrospect, and we are given an insight into just how manipulative and surrepticious these characters are. Shaddam IV seems inept in almost everything but court politics. He displays a Nixon-like trust in the wrong people. Enjoyable, informative, but not classic. Even though packed with what it takes, Its kind of like I already knew. A lot of "ahh...I thought so(s)"

House Corrino was an entertaining book that very neatly sewed up the trilogy. The writing style is easily read compared to Frank Herbert's Dune. Even though Dune is my all time favorite novel, I enjoyed the hisory of the Dune characters and found the story a little trite perhaps, but very satisfying. All of the prequels are written with scientific and observational flair compared to Dune which purposely left difficult to explain details somewhat vague to inspire mystique.
Brian Herbert tells the prehistory of Dune from a different viewpoint than his father. Even though the style is distinctly different the story has definite merits of it's own. I enjoyed learning about the Baron Harkonen and how he became so large. I also enjoyed learning more about the navigators and how they accomplished space travel. Brian Herbert does an excellent job of explaining these mysteries.
There were some negative points in this novel, however. Brian Herbert spent too much time with several characters receiving various forms of punishment. He missed the point, if he thought by over-emphasizing the continual harsh treatment of the stories heros' were either entertaining or inspired fierce sympathy for these characters. The treament of Gurney Halleck for instance, became monotonous and a little embarassing.
I found it difficult to put this book down because it was light reading, very entertaining and fast paced, compared to Dune which I was forced to put down to absorb what I had read.
If you are the type of reader that loves Dune and only enjoys reading fine literature, or you are a Frank Herbert purist you would be better off re-reading Dune. If you enjoy thoughtful, light sci-fi and can deal with the fact that the author is not Frank Herbert you will very much enjoy this book.

Alright, so this isn't good ole Frank writing, but that'd be too much to ask for.
Overall the prequels weren't up to standard, but as the series developed, it got better, or I got used to Brian and Kevein's writing...
Suffice it to say that this is a good finale to this trilogy, there's enough surprises to keep you interested and the book is well paced. The characters are still not very beleivable, sometimes a bit cartoonish. You'll be left wondering how Shaddam or the Baron ever survived their first years, let alone came to positions of power after reading about their latest blunders, but hey, it is entertaining, albeit mildly irritating sometimes.
My advice: don't take these books too seriously, just enjoy taking a look at an alternate Dune universe.

After the very long House Harkonnen, this succinct finale leaves one ready to delve back into the original series and experience once again the wonders of Dune. House Corrino succeeds in weaving some rather intricate plots together without burdening the reader. I have yet to refresh myself with the original DUNE since completing this book, but am eager to do so. I cannot account for any discrepancies at the moment and therefore found the book a rather fascinating read (only if you've read ALL of the other DUNE books).

Emperor Shaddam Corrino sees his plan to become the sole ruler of the Million Worlds nearing fruition on the planet Ix. Shaddam may be a maniac, but his plot is rather simplistic yet with a high probability of success. To achieve his goal, he has researchers using slave labor to invent and subsequently produce Amal, a synthetic spice to replace that found on Dune.

Duke Atreides has his own agenda for Ix. He plans to free the planet's population so as to thwart the plan of the Emperor though how remains a mystery. On the other hand, Duke Harkonnen of Dune has his own concept for Ix in which he becomes the great dictator. As the three forces come closer to a final confrontation, a universe hangs in the balance.

The third Dune novel based on the notes of the late Frank Herbert is an entertaining tale that the diehard fans of the series will enjoy. The story line is action packed and filled with political, social, and military confrontations. At times DUNE: HOUSE CORRINO seems forced as if the authors Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson had to remind the audience (or themselves) that this is a Dune tale. Still, the plot draws to a satisfying conclusion the threads left from the previous two novels (see DUNE: HOUSE ATREIDES and DUNE: HOUSE HARKONNEN).

Harriet Klausner

I found Dune Corrino to be the most interesting of the three prequels. The writing has jelled. The story arcs reach their peak and come to a conclusions. Too many dangling arcs in the first two volumes.
At the same time this volume suffers the defects of the first two. The writing is superficial, i.e. you'e read it once, you've read it all. Papa's books had a lot of texture. I find new things re-reading the original Dune for the fifth time, but not Brian's book.
Overall it is enjoyable but wont be a classic.

After waiting about a year since the last prequel I ordered this book from the UK site just so I could read it a month earlier than the US publishing date. The book certainly lives up to its expectations. It is consistent in style and content with the last two installments and it seems most likely we will be seeing a fourth as hinted at in the book. Most interesting are the additional detail of little discussed topics from the original Dune series. I found it especially interesting to see the history of the "No-Ship" unveiled. Learning more about the Tleilaxu race and Ixians makes the book worth reading alone for explanetory purposes. Foreshadowing, as when the Guild Highliner is stranded in foldspace, is used with tremendous force. I only wish this trajectory in the story was explained more in depth but I imagine that will come. I have some problems with inconsistencies such as in the original Dune series the Ghola Tanks were much more of a mystery and it now seems that Shaddam Corrino and Leto Atreides had evidence of their workings and origin from an early stage. I also still do not understand why the Spacing Guild does not claim absolute power over the universe. As seen from the book they can do what they wish and are hardly accountable to the Emperor or Fremen. It is still difficult to understand their motivation in life. Characters such as Guerney, Thuffir and Duncan are fleshed out with effectiveness. All in all a very entertaining and surprisingly quick read.

Just finished HOUSE CORRINO this morning. Final Assessment: Original DUNE: A+; HOUSE CORRINO: B; HOUSE HARKONNEN: C+; HOUSE ATTREIDES: B+
HOUSE CORRINO moved pretty quickly -- a lot of interesting turns and twists. It was better written than HOUSE HARKONNEN. Unfortunately, HOUSE CORRINO ends about a month after Paul is born. So there is STILL a 15 year gap between the end of HOUSE CORRINO and DUNE. Gosh -- do you think there will be yet ANOTHER trilogy?! (sarcasm). I'm unhappy about this -- I wanted the package tied up. The question of how the Harkonnens loose the Arrakis fief to the Atreides (right before DUNE starts) is not even touched on.
In a way, it was hard to read these books. Having read the original series by Herbert, I know ahead of time which characters are going to live and which are going to have to die to prevent them from revealing things which don't get revealed until later in the DUNE timeline. All in all, I think Brian Herbert and his buddy did a sub-par job on these prequels. I liked them -- but a little more effort could have resulted in a far superior read.

I just finished reading the prelude to Dune and have to admit that I enjoyed them - it had been years since I read the original series. I then came up with a novel idea - why not re-read the original series? That's when I found out the disturbing truth: either Brian Herbert and Kevin Anderson never read the original series, didn't conducted adequate research on the originals, or they decided to write novels "based on" the original Dune series. You know, like when you watch a movie, "based on a true story." Usually one or two characters in the story really existed, maybe they were actually in the place depicted in the movie, but after that, all basis in fact is thrown to the winds and the writers take over and create entertainment for the masses. As long as you realize that the movie is fiction and based (somewhat loosely) on a factual event, I guess there is no harm in viewing it for entertainment. You can treat the House series in the same way - the characters, places, and plot are based on the original series, but the writers have developed an alternative that is entertaining, but not true to the original.

Dune: House Corrino, the last novel of the Prelude to Dune prequel trilogy by Brian Herbert and Kevin Anderson, is the final chance these two writers have to wrap up the storylines that immediately precede Dune. In this respect, the results are mixed. We are treated to some great moments in House Corrino, including an entertaining final battle on Ix and the important birth of Paul Atreides. I will let readers realize the endings for themselves. The book's greatest failing is its inability to properly capture the depth of the brilliant scheming of Emperor Shaddam IV. His dimwittedness is unintentionally comical and is reminiscent of a futuristic version of the 1970's The Bad News Bears baseball comedies. We see our Bad News Corrinos blunder around the galaxy in ridiculous ways that are hardly consistent with the House that out-schemed and destroyed Duke Leto Atreides and his legendary mentat, Thufir Hawat. It is surprising that Emperor Shaddam IV is allowed to stay Emperor at the end of this book. It is even more comical that Count Fenring voices similar comments to Shaddam IV. With respect to the Emperor, the authors seem to confuse ruthlessness with brilliant planning. It is difficult to imagine anyone who attempts what Shaddam endeavors and still remain Emperor! Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson's blunder with respect to the Emperor is not surprising considering the ridiculousness of parts of the previous book, House Harkonnen, as Baron Harkonnen storms Wallach IX without his anti-Voice ear plugs introduced in the first book, House Atreides, that magically makes one immune to the controlling Voice employed by the Bene Gesserit.

Another failing of the book is the ridiculous yet surprising climax that revolves around Harkonnen mentat, Piter. It not only seems foolish, but it makes this reader wonder about the poor security of the Emperor's homeplanet, Kaitan. The ending is indeed surprising and may affect the way Dune fans think of twisted mentats.

There is hardly any mention though of Yueh's wife, and there is certainly no hint of Piter's plan for her in Leto's downfall. This may disappoint some fans of Dune. It disappointed me.

A strength of House Corrino is the introduction of a new character associated with Emperor Shaddam IV. There is an exciting scene involving a play reminiscent of Hamlet's Mouse Trap. The problem though is that the characters seem to be very much aware of Shakespeare's Hamlet and the use of a play within a play. I had always assumed that ancient earth was only known or remembered by those with Other Memories. Apparently every poor surf on every backwater planet of the known universe is aware of William Shakespeare! In addition this part of the storyline is rushed to an early conclusion as is many of the better storylines of the Prelude trilogy.

Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson's Prelude to Dune trilogy is a mixed bag of excitement, inconsistencies, and at times poor preparation. It seems they were not altogether familiar with many of the plots or main characters of Dune; smaller characters such as Count Hasimir Fenring were fleshed out wonderfully at times and add much to the Dune legacy, but they also confound the reader by having the Count utter the exact letter for letter eccentric spoken mannerism without any variation, which is highly annoying; more care should have been taken with his dialogue. The next book by Herbert and Anderson is due in October of 2002 as the first of a Butlerian Jihad Trilogy. It is almost guaranteed that the authors will have less trouble by tackling a time period several millennia prior to Frank Herbert's Dune, the first book of the series. In their Prelude trilogy they seemed to be bogged down in details, which leaves the reader with the impression of reading a rushed outline of a novel. It is a shame that they did not make their outline public for Dune fans to critique so that obvious inconsistencies could be corrected and their better ideas fleshed out and fully realized. Although it is impossibly difficult to fully satisfy any long time fan of the Dune chronicles with respect to characters they feel they know, the glaring inconsistencies of the Prelude trilogy leaves this humble fan of Dune sad that he is refering the writers of the new Dune novels as The Bad News Authors.

The downfall of this book--as with the other Herbert/Anderson Dune prequels--is the ridiculously short chapter length. By failing to focus on individual characters or plotlines for more than a few moments at a time, they fail to provide depth of character, emotion or story.
The average chapter length is three pages, which is hardly enough to give readers a taste of their characters. And instead of this style giving their work a sense of tension, the "quick cut" chapters only left this eager reader deeply unsatisfied.
One of the many strengths of Frank Herbert's writing was the depth with which he explored his characters and settings, giving even his most imaginative creations a strong sense of reality.
By contrast, the Dune prequels including House Corrino, spend too little time on any one character or plot for anything to "stick" in a reader's mind. This vapid style might work for MTV, but fans of the original Dune novels will be disappointed by the lack of substance.

There`s little I can say about House Corrino that hasn`t already been said by all the people who gave this book 4 or 5 star reviews, but my deep enjoyment of the entire `House` trilogy compels me to add my own voice to the collective, particularly given the inexplicably mean reviews posted by some.

I`m a dedicated fan of the original Dune books, and, when I first heard about the new works to be written by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson, I honestly cringed. I did not have high hopes.

How wrong I was! The characters herein are handled superbly, ultimately making me love those that also appear in Frank Herbert`s books even more than I did before. The standard of writing is very high, too. Once you`ve started reading, it just becomes complusive. They have that "Just one more chapter before I go to sleep!" quality. Before you know it, it`s 3am and you just know you`re going to be tired as hell when you get to work.

There`s so much packed into these three books, including some moments that will stay with you long after you finish reading.

I can`t recommend them highly enough. The original Dune still stands head and shoulders above anything else except Lord of the Rings (as noted by Arthur C. Clarke), but the `House` trilogy deserves the attention of every Dune fan. Give it a shot.

House Corrino is the third volume in the House trilogy -- a compendium of books that tell the story of Duke Leto Atreides and the events that preceeded Herbert's epic novel Dune. I've already posted reviews for the first two and the same theme runs through this one -- it's a good book, definitely worth the time of Dune fans but probably not for the casual reader.
Corrino is the best of the three books -- wrapping up most (but not all) of the threads from the previous two books into a thrilling conclusion. The best parts deal with the attempt to create a substitute for the spice melange. We finally see the horrible method of the Tleilaxu. Also very strong is the portrayal of Leto Atreides -- who has grown from an uncertain teenaged ruler to a brilliant politician -- by the end of the book you'll wish HE were Emperor instead of reckless Shaddam IV.
Still, the book is not perfect. The style is still a little torpid and irrelevant plot threads are still present. However, both problems are reduced compared to previous books and the relevance of seemingly useless plot threads in the previous two books is explained. Still, I could have done without Baron Harkonnen's attempt to learn polish and protocol.
If you've liked the first two books, you'll be very happy with this one. It won't haunt you like Dune. But it will entertain you for a few hours.

While the second book of the first Dune prequel trilogy trudged along trying to build up suspense, the first book set the stage and was far better. The third book, though inferiour to the first, concludes the set up and end the trilogy's side stories. While interesting, it still suffer from what all prequels suffer from. We know what happens.
I enjoyed the sub plots, the fact that each characters actions will have huge ramifications later on.

I love Dune and the three prequels written by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson are entertaining and an interesting look at the characters. I have Anderson's Star Wars books and like his writing style - but it is vastly different from Frank Herbert's. If you are looking for the dense prose of the elder Herbert, you will not be pleased with these books. If you are looking for a continuation of the stories simply for entertainment, enjoy.

Frank Herbert managed to write a series so good that I read even "House Corrino" (and the other two, for that matter)to the end.
I mean, the discrepancies with the Dune Series (such as when Anirul's Other Memory invite her to join them, like they were some kind of spirits from beyond) and the simplistic and, sometimes, devastating depicting of some characters (the Bene Gesserit reduced to a bunch of petty and conspiring "multi-powers" women) made me stop and sigh every three pages...
Still, Frank Herbert's universe is so incredibly seducing and encompassing that somehow it made up for every time I thought about quiting. Dune fans, if you want to spend some more time in the Dune universe - or something like it -, get ready to "ignore" the screw-ups.
As a better alternative, however, make up your own stories and write them down. You'll probably do better than House Corrino...

I fell in love with Frank Herbert's universe, and the way he allowed the characters, the theme, and the implications of various technological advances to change and adapt over time to paint a broader story across his books.

So, I thought I would give the "prequels" that were co-authored by his son a chance. However, not only did these books fail to capture anything relevant of the universe established by the original books, but they managed to almost feel juvenile in comparison.

The characters were shallow, the dialog was lacking, and the plot progression lacked real insight. It was Dune done in the style of a pulp sci-fi.

It may be unfair to expect any author to do justice to such a rich universe after the golden road the original books paved. But the new books just didn't do anything for me.

I thought that Dune:House Corrino was a good conclusion to the Herbert/Anderson series. I think that because It filled in a lot of the gaps about the characters and their experiances. The discription of the settings and characters was pretty well done, in my opinion. But I think at the begining of chapters insead of having a little leaf symbol there should be a chapter number. That would make it a lot easier know what chapter you are on. But I think the quotes are a nice addition to the book, they make you see things in the book differently. This book probably wouldn't make much sense to you if you havn't read House Atreidies or House Harkonnen. but over all I think this is a valuable addition to Frank Herbert's colection and is well written. So enjoy this one and I hope the next book will be even beter!

I had the highest hopes for the new Dune Trilogy. I was deeply saddened that Herbert and Anderson came so far from delivering. In House Corrino, Herbert and Anderson take characters and ideas inherited from Mr. Herbert's father and drain them of complexity and interest. The nuanced figures of the Red Duke, the conniving Count Fenrig and the Padisha Emperor are turned into good guy, bad guy and inhuman caricature of evil respectively. The mystical Saddukar are turned into common thugs. The eerie and subtle powers of the original Bene Geserit are made the parlor tricks of silly women. The first Dune's delicate play of power between the Spacing Guild, the CHOAM and the BG was mocked by the one dimensional and monolithic rule of the nearly mad Shadam. Maudlin writing and worse plotting makes this one of the least enjoyable books I've read all year. I would encourage shoppers to purchase and re-read the original Dune, rather than waste money here.

After years of reading the Dune books over and over again, I have happily consumed the three prequil books. House Corrino at times seems somewhat forced after expanding plots lines and then having to contract them back to the original Dune. But it is quiet enjoyable and interesting to see how get back to the beginning.
I eagerly awaiting for a four prequil with the Bene Gesserit to bring us the beginning of Dune. And I can image a series dealing with the beginnings of the Great Houses, Guild, Gesserits and the Buterian Jihad. Its a rich universe and moving backward 10,000 years would be great.

A Quote from Dune, by Frank Herbert: "...And take the most special care that you locate Muad'Dib in his place: The planet Arrakis. Do not be deceived by the fact that he was born on Caladan..." Even before the first chapter begins in the original Dune novel, we are told that Paul was born on Caladan. How could these two writers miss that fact and instead have him born on Kaitain? The quoted lines above are Irulan's words, and according to this duo, Irulan was very much present and aware at the birth of Duke Leto's son. She was a scholar and would not make such an error in her writing of the "Manual of Muad'Dib" some dozens of years later.
Ok, let's preface this review by saying that my first attempt through House Corrino was by reading the first paragraphs of a chapter and the last ones. Essentially I am hypothesizing that 75% of the words in these books by Brian Herbert/Kevin Anderson are unnecessary. The following review will represent my discoveries:
A couple of tedious days later...(I couldn't commit to a straight run of it...)
Yes, I learned everything I needed to know from reading the first 4 or 5 paragraphs of each chapter and then the last 1/2 page or so. With their tendency toward extra-short chapters, I was sometimes reading more than half of a chapter with this method. Some of the chapters were longer than was typical of the first two books in this series...actually some of the longest chapters were really two, three, or four of their other smaller chapters squished together without the typically banal "Herbert thoughtful quote" attempt at the beginning of each section...they were just trying to fool us into thinking they were writing longer chapters!
Most of their chapters say the same thing in the first 5 paragraphs and the last 5 paragraphs. Sometimes nearly word-for-word. I learned from my second read that if it was not repeated in the beginning or end of the same chapter, it was repeated in another. Most of the words in these novels are just....fluff....
A couple of tedious weeks later as I sporadically bear through it a second time... (I really couldn't get enthused about reading anything in this book again...)
Ok, so the big question here revolves around this Amal, fake spice stuff: The Guild can examine its chemical structure and discover that it is not the same as the real stuff, but no one else in the universe has the ability to do that, not even the people making it, the Tlielaxu? So, the Guild has special scientific tools that no one else does? Hmmm, but the Bene Gesserit are able to learn about Amal without scientific tools? Doesn't the Guild have prescient ability, the ability to see the future? If so, why wouldn't they use that to discover the origins of the tainted spice? Herbert Junior and Anderson lead us to believe the Guild are bumbling oafs who make some short sighted conclusions that lead them to think that the Baron Harkonnen has the tainted spice. They use their prescience to guide interstellar transport, they use it later to learn about the disturbance of Paul Atreides and the move of House Atreides from Caladan to Arrakis (see Dune, by Frank Herbert), and they use it throughout Dune Messiah to try to track Paul's movements and predict what he will do next. So, the Guild loses two ships in this book and doesn't even consider using its prescience to track down the origin? And are they not feeling, in the slightest way, any waves of prescient ripples that center around the birth of Paul Atreides on Caladan? Oops, sorry..Kaitian... Nope. The Guild are buffoons.
Ok, so I'll believe the Guild is dense for a moment. But I also have to believe that the Guild has been using spice for their navigation of spaceships for 10,000 years and they don't even test any of it? They just assume everyone has good will toward them and no one would consider a terrorist attack? They never had any trouble in the past with varying levels of spice versus impurities? The spice has always been pure? No one thought to build spice detection devices into the Heighliners, not even in 10,000 years? No one has thought to build any sort of checks and balances into the process at all? And, there is no backup supply of spice on a Heighliner? Let's put all of our eggs into one basket, repeatedly for 10,000 years, and expect that nothing will ever go wrong, ever? How much spice does it take to make one fold space trip? Now, how many trips would a typical Heighliner make before returning to Junction for refueling? Did these "authors" ever think of that?
Here's the tough question of the bunch: How did this Heighliner manage to get to Caladan with a full load of tainted spice, without a secondary or backup supply of spice, how did it make the foldspace trip to Caladan without causing all hell to break loose? So I am to be led to believe that all the good spice was used to get them to Caladan, and all the tainted spice was to be used on their roundabout journey throughout the Imperium for the next several months leading our commando force to Ix as secretly as possible? Why do I feel like I have wasted my time reading these three books only to find this gaping pit that they call a plot?
What a waste of money and a waste of my time. Can I give it zero stars?

What a croc. The original Dune universe was set in a cold and desperate universe where mankind had reverted to a dark ages of religeous fundamentalism and anti-technology suspicions. The son of Frank Herbert has turned this into Flash Gordon! The plot devices are so simple, the characters so monodimensional, that this is realy a book for adolescents. What wacky adventures will the young Paul sneak off too while attending the Freman Academy? Will he save the universe, find the treasure, and get back in time for Gurneys new song? Bah, Humbug!

Like the previous books in the prequel, I find it to be light reading stuff as compared to Herbert senior's work, and taken as a whole, some characters' over-the-top antics seem... juvenille, especially Shaddam; Leto's speech that supposedly inspires wild cheers and standing ovations is hardly inspiring. Phrases such as 'wheel-within-wheels' and many others, which have been used to describe or review Frank Herbert's work, are actually used here as part of the story!
The opening text at the beginning of each chapter in the Dune series served to enhance that chapter and create a sense of depth but in the prequels, it seemed forced and at times laughable.
It seems to this reader that even Dune Revenant, the fan fiction posted on various sites, despite being a first draft, captured the complexity, politics, theology and the heart of Frank Herbert's creation more successfully than the authors of the prequels.

This really wraps up the amazing and ambitious trilogy of prequels. Some genuine surprises -- I did not see the Piter de Vries twist coming! The authors have done a good job polishing the continuity, fixing some of the glitches that inevitably crept into Frank Herbert's originals, and telling a very enjoyable epic story that brings to mind the first (and best) of the Frank Herbert chronicles.

I truly enjoyed Brian Herbert's Dune prequel trilogy, culminating in House Corrino. I really appreciated Frank picking-up where his father left off, and answering many questions that I'd long harbored after reading - and loving - the original "Dune" years ago. I also loved the intricate conspiracies and plots by the key Dune characters. Highly recommended.

A nice finish to the Dune prequel trilogy begun in Dune: House Atreides, and Dune: House Harkonnen.
I agree with previous reviewers that this book takes a bit long to get going, especially since anyone reading it will have read the previous two books. I found myself skimming to get to the good parts, something I hate to do.
But all in all, if you are fascinated by the Dune universe, this prequel is a worthy read.

This was a most dramatic conclusion for this prequel set of books, preceding the Frank Herbert series. All loose ends came interwoven into several plots that worked their way into a grand finale. Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson are to be commended for bringing us, once again, into a universe that seems forever all-encompassing and on an epic scale, yet they have retained all the subtlty, energy, and depth that the characters of Dune deserve. I feel as if I actually know Leto Atreides better than any character written by Shakespear or Tolkien. These three books represent a truly great literary achievement - absolutely AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The authors continue to portray 1 dimensional characters that in any realistic scenario would be complete incompetents.
There is no subtleness/realism/intelligence built into any of the characters.

Just finished this third book of the prequel trilogy. Fabulous! Ok, so they haven't figured out yet by the year 10,000+ AD how to work the comsystems between planets. So what? I loved all three of these books & finishing this last one found me still turning the pages, wanting more, more, more. It is now imperative that I go dig out my original copy of Dune and project myself once again into this phenomenal story......

dune house corrino was a real revelation...
once i started, i had to put down all the other books i was reading :) It adds texture to the whole imperium, with further extentions of characterizations...
the heating up of circumstances, strategies and inner workings of each house were totally out of the world
and at the end... u think about all that could have been and the implications....
GET IT NOW!!!

I will keep it simple. Great Action. If you enjoy Dune, you should enjoy this book. I enjoyed the other 2 books in this series too, but I enjoyed this one the best. For me, it was hard to stop once I got going.

Amazing that the old boring Dune series served as inspiration for these splendid prequels.

Witness the introduction of a [quote] Bene Gesserit makeup specialist [unquote] !

Comic relieve at House Harkonnen featuring an etiquette instructor and a young Feyd Rautha !

Over 300 chapters per volume !

There's so much innovation and addition here that it is hard to believe it's all crammed into 3 volumes.

Whereas the original Dune was difficult to comprehend and really rather bookish this great joint effort reads like a dream. Everything is patiently explained in full detail and there are helpful reminders in every chapter on who, why and what to avoid confusion.
Still, given the overall complexity I can't really recommend this trilogy to anyone under the age of seven.

A solid 6 stars. (The meter stops at 5 so that should read 5 plus 1. Stupid system!)

I can see a parallelism between this book and chapterhouse: dune, especially with the way it ended, it's just a shame that Rhombur never played a significant part (nor any part at all in the original series) ... maybe someone will write about the exploits of IX. Like the tales of the Mos Eisley Cantina type of thing.
If you are a dune fan, you don't want to miss this. Kudos to the writers. Can't wait for the Legends Series.

When I first started reading the dune books most of the reviews were very critical of the books written by Brian. Luckily I need more proof before I make a judgement. It has kept me wanting to see what will happen next, and wanting more when I finished it

House Corrino is the third volume in the House trilogy -- a compendium of books that tell the story of Duke Leto Atreides and the events that preceeded Herbert's epic novel Dune. I've already posted reviews for the first two and the same theme runs through this one -- it's a good book, definitely worth the time of Dune fans but probably not for the casual reader.
Corrino is the best of the three books -- wrapping up most (but not all) of the threads from the previous two books into a thrilling conclusion. The best parts deal with the attempt to create a substitute for the spice melange. We finally see the horrible method of the Tleilaxu. Also very strong is the portrayal of Leto Atreides -- who has grown from an uncertain teenaged ruler to a brilliant politician -- by the end of the book you'll wish HE were Emperor instead of reckless Shaddam IV.
Still, the book is not perfect. The style is still a little torpid and irrelevant plot threads are still present. However, both problems are reduced compared to previous books and the relevance of seemingly useless plot threads in the previous two books is explained. Still, I could have done without Baron Harkonnen's attempt to learn polish and protocol.
If you've liked the first two books, you'll be very happy with this one. It won't haunt you like Dune. But it will entertain you for a few hours.