House Corrino (Dune: House Trilogy, Book 3)
by Brian Herbert, Kevin J. Anderson
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Book Summary Information
Author: Brian Herbert, Kevin J. AndersonIllustrator: Stephen Youll
Edition: Mass Market Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2002-08-27
ISBN: 0553580337
Number of pages: 688
Publisher: Spectra
Product features:
- ISBN13: 9780553580334
- Condition: New
- Notes: BRAND NEW FROM PUBLISHER! 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. Tracking provided on most orders. Buy with Confidence! Millions of books sold!
Book Reviews of House Corrino (Dune: House Trilogy, Book 3)
Book Review: Like the prequels to Star Wars, but without the smooth end
Summary: 2 Stars
I've said this before, and I don't intend to stop saying it, at least not until it becomes not-so-true: the only reason Brian Herbert became so well-renowned as a writer is because of his father. Which makes his attempt at improving a classic even more preposterous: at least George Lucas was the designer (at least, part-designer) of the original Star Wars.
Why am I referring to Star Wars? If you've seen the prequels, you'd know already: Dune and Star Wars are both classic Sci-Fi (some say fantasy) stories. They were both told in the form of trilogies, at least at first. They both began to tell their tale part-way through. And, in creating a prequel, they both failed, in nearly the exact same way.
There's another trilogy that forms a cornerstone of Sci-Fi literature. That trilogy is Foundation. Like Dune, it had stories later written to follow and precede it. However, Isaac Asimov wrote all those stories himself. Unlike in the case of Star Wars, he never had a co-writer when he made the original. And luckily, he was smart enough to write papers condoning authors stupid enough to write another writer's tale. That's why Foundation isn't in this miserable little comparison.
There was something wonderful about the original Dune. Maybe it was that it didn't feel exactly like the future. It was deeply rooted in medieval times, with swordplay and feudalistic empires. You really felt like you knew the characters, and not just love them blindly: you knew their strengths, their weaknesses... the death of Duke Leto affected (and still affects) everybody who reads the original, even though you see it coming from the start.
Prequel To Dune misses that feel. It sticks us in a cookie-cutter future that utterly fails to deliver. The great futuristic intregues, the wonderfully thought-out techno-thrilling plot... it not only shoots for the moon and misses, it falls back to the Earth with a resounding thud. Why can't you authors see? It's a classic because of its style. You can't improve on it, you can only produce more of the same... WHICH IS EXACTLY WHAT WE WANTED ALL ALONG.
I'm digressing from the review a bit here, but this is why the original Dune trumped the Lord of the Rings trilogy (in my opinion). LOTR was great, but now, it is seen as the ultimate cliche, even though it really isn't. Even today, however, there is nothing about Dune that is childish and predictable, at least the first time through. In the back to Dune: House Atreides, Brian brags vainly about how he successfully made his own wheels-within-wheels plot. Please, Brian. Spare us. The Prequels televise their punches even to those of us who haven't read the originals.
Next similarity to Star Wars: the mysterious feel. Dune gives you a sense of wonder, even as you are told that all these things happen because of rational thought. Star Wars had the greatest concept of all time: the Force. The prequel to Star Wars, however, had midichlorians and other high-tech descriptions of this wonder, ruining the idea overall. Prequel to Dune removes the mystery. People can't be explained, Brian. Not even if you write nearly two thousand pages about them, like you did here.
Final comparison: in Dune and Star Wars alike, the characters are complex, Dune even more so than Star Wars. In the prequels to each, the dialogue is horrible and the characters even more so. I LIKED Shaddam, Baron Harkonnen, Piter de Vries... because you feel what they feel, all the way through. They aren't classic villains by any sense. You get the feeling that Shaddam is a great Emperor, Harkonnen is a clever politician (more so that Leto), and that Piter, though evil through and through, is playing at games too complex even for him. Now? Every single one of them is the exact same: a soulless monster that cares about nobody but himself, and that delights in killing. I won't even mention Gaius Mohaim's character here: Bene Gesserit is a mysterious group. DON'T MAKE THEM NORMAL PEOPLE. And Fenring? I won't even tell how how sickened I was.
Why did I give this two stars instead of one? One reason: you didn't butcher Paul in your series. He is still as awesome as he was before.
I have blasted Brian Herbert throughout this review, but not Kevin J. Anderson. Why? Because I LIKE his stuff. I read most of his Sci-Fi, and also Frankenstein, along with Dean Koontz. I have reached a conclusion about him: alone, he's pretty awesome, though not classics-awesome. With another author, however, he just amplifies what is already there. You can't blame him for taking the chance to make Dune. You blame the greedy, not-so-talented son, who tries to usurp his father's throne.
Finally, a message to Brian Herbert, wherever you are: be a good author. We're buying your stuff no matter what, because it has your father's mark on it. You can just churn out this crud all day long, or you can write what your readers want. It will take longer, sure, and we'll buy it even if it's crap. But you want to please readers, not just make money. Think about it. No matter what you daddy did to you, it's not worth ruining his series's reputation over.
Oh, and on July 10, in San Francisco, there's a convention where they teach new writers to make their stories their own, original and memorable. You might want to check it out. Doubtless, George Lucas is already there.
FINAL GRADE: D+
Summary of House Corrino (Dune: House Trilogy, Book 3)
The triumphant conclusion to the blockbuster trilogy that made science fiction history!In Dune: House Corrino Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson bring us the magnificent final chapter in the unforgettable saga begun in Dune: House Atreides and continued in Dune: House Harkonnen.
Here nobles and commoners, soldiers and slaves, wives and courtesans shape the amazing destiny of a tumultuous universe. An epic saga of love and war, crime and politics, religion and revolution, this magnificent novel is a fitting conclusion to a great science fiction trilogy ... and an invaluable addition to the thrilling world of Frank Herbert?s immortal Dune.
Dune: House Corrino
Fearful of losing his precarious hold on the Golden Lion Throne, Shaddam IV, Emperor of a Million Worlds, has devised a radical scheme to develop an alternative to melange, the addictive spice that binds the Imperium together and that can be found only on the desert world of Dune.
In subterranean labs on the machine planet Ix, cruel Tleilaxu overlords use slaves and prisoners as part of a horrific plan to manufacture a synthetic form of melange known as amal. If amal can supplant the spice from Dune, it will give Shaddam what he seeks: absolute power.
But Duke Leto Atreides, grief-stricken yet unbowed by the tragic death of his son Victor, determined to restore the honor and prestige of his House, has his own plans for Ix.
He will free the Ixians from their oppressive conquerors and restore his friend Prince Rhombur, injured scion of the disgraced House Vernius, to his rightful place as Ixian ruler. It is a bold and risky venture, for House Atreides has limited military resources and many ruthless enemies, including the sadistic Baron Harkonnen, despotic master of Dune.
Meanwhile, Duke Leto?s consort, the beautiful Lady Jessica, obeying the orders of her superiors in the Bene Gesserit Sisterhood, has conceived a child that the Sisterhood intends to be the penultimate step in the creation of an all-powerful being. Yet what the Sisterhood doesn?t know is that the child Jessica is carrying is not the girl they are expecting, but a boy.
Jessica?s act of disobedience is an act of love ? her attempt to provide her Duke with a male heir to House Atreides ? but an act that, when discovered, could kill both mother and baby.
Like the Bene Gesserit, Shaddam Corrino is also concerned with making a plan for the future ? securing his legacy. Blinded by his need for power, the Emperor will launch a plot against Dune, the only natural source of true spice. If he succeeds, his madness will result in a cataclysmic tragedy not even he foresees: the end of space travel, the Imperium, and civilization itself.
With Duke Leto and other renegades and revolutionaries fighting to stem the tide of darkness that threatens to engulf their universe, the stage is set for a showdown unlike any seen before.
From the Hardcover edition.
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