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A review by melliferareads
House Harkonnen by Kevin J. Anderson, Brian Herbert
4.0
Okay, so I actually liked this book a little bit more than [b:House Atreides|761575|House Atreides (Prelude to Dune #1)|Brian Herbert|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1403181106l/761575._SY75_.jpg|711892]. Now that you understand all the different plotlines that are happening, it's a lot easier to pick up on things in this book. This book went by a lot faster for me and I did enjoy all the adventure, character-building, plotting and scheming.
Just like in [b:House Atreides|761575|House Atreides (Prelude to Dune #1)|Brian Herbert|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1403181106l/761575._SY75_.jpg|711892], I did not care much for the Ixian twin storyline. But it does feel as if it's building up to something for book #3, [b:House Corrino|20252|House Corrino (Prelude to Dune #3)|Brian Herbert|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1298689043l/20252._SY75_.jpg|705991]. Lady Jessica is introduced in this book, and I think her love for Leto is more clear in this book compared to [b:Dune|44767458|Dune|Frank Herbert|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1555447414l/44767458._SY75_.jpg|3634639]. I do feel as the relationship between Leto and Jessica fits in to the larger Dune-iverse.
I also really enjoyed reading more about the backstory of House Harkonnen. We learn more about the Baron's brother, Abulurd and his wife, the parents of both Raban and Feyd-Ratha, and how the Baron ends up raising both of his nephews. Additionally, Liet Kynes is much older in this book, and he begins to take over as the planetologist of Arrakis.
Did not care for Kailea's character development. It didn't seem realistic to me, that this woman would only care about status, her vanity, especially having endured the takeover of their planet by the Tleilaxu. It did not fit into how she was introduced in the first book. In general, I do have issues with several of the female characters only existing in relation to the males around them, but I can usually look past it and try to focus on other qualities of the narrative. I understand that Kalilea needed to become a villain for the plotline to move along and fit into the original Dune books, but I think more thought could have been put into it.
Excited to finish up this trilogy with House Corrino next!
Just like in [b:House Atreides|761575|House Atreides (Prelude to Dune #1)|Brian Herbert|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1403181106l/761575._SY75_.jpg|711892], I did not care much for the Ixian twin storyline. But it does feel as if it's building up to something for book #3, [b:House Corrino|20252|House Corrino (Prelude to Dune #3)|Brian Herbert|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1298689043l/20252._SY75_.jpg|705991]. Lady Jessica is introduced in this book, and I think her love for Leto is more clear in this book compared to [b:Dune|44767458|Dune|Frank Herbert|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1555447414l/44767458._SY75_.jpg|3634639]. I do feel as the relationship between Leto and Jessica fits in to the larger Dune-iverse.
I also really enjoyed reading more about the backstory of House Harkonnen. We learn more about the Baron's brother, Abulurd and his wife, the parents of both Raban and Feyd-Ratha, and how the Baron ends up raising both of his nephews. Additionally, Liet Kynes is much older in this book, and he begins to take over as the planetologist of Arrakis.
Did not care for Kailea's character development. It didn't seem realistic to me, that this woman would only care about status, her vanity, especially having endured the takeover of their planet by the Tleilaxu. It did not fit into how she was introduced in the first book. In general, I do have issues with several of the female characters only existing in relation to the males around them, but I can usually look past it and try to focus on other qualities of the narrative. I understand that Kalilea needed to become a villain for the plotline to move along and fit into the original Dune books, but I think more thought could have been put into it.
Excited to finish up this trilogy with House Corrino next!