A review by stephen_on_a_jet_plane
House Harkonnen by Kevin J. Anderson, Brian Herbert

4.0

These prequels are readable and scratch the itch for a casual dune fan. They lack the portentous prose of a Frank Herbert novel and the focussed plotting instead going for a miniseries style where the reader dips into the early lives of familiar characters. There are surprises and clever twists all to distract from the fact that we know where all this is going and that is welcome. A couple of subplots particularly with Hallick and the Baron’s benevolent brother which drew me in mostly because they’re likeable characters facing up against difficult challenges and making interesting choices. The universe of dune is a ruthless one and therefore it’s not a series for everyone but I feel quite satisfied with this particular trilogy because the story of feuding demagogs with he power of minor deities recalls classic Hollywood epics, real world history and the most memorable sci fi and fantasy series. I think the writers lean a bit heavily on fridging as a plot device which means you could sometimes have skipped the book and just assumed correctly why josh brolin was so angry in that movie but the female characters for the most part have agency and are as important in moving the political landscape forward in the Duniverse. Good airport reads/listens and indeed I got through big chunks of the first two volumes of the prelude to Dune trilogy in Hamburg airport. Somewhat guilty to admit I found them more engaging than the main series.