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House Atreides (Prelude to Dune) by: Brian Herbert, Kevin J Anderson

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Publisher: Hodder Paperbacks
Release date: 20th April, 2000
Media: Paperback

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Editorial Review

Acclaimed SF novelist Brian Herbert is the son of Dune author Frank Herbert. With his father, Brian wrote Man of Two Worlds, and later edited The Notebooks of Frank Herbert's Dune. Kevin J Anderson has written many bestsellers, alternating original SF with novels set in the X Files and Star Wars universes. Together they bring personal commitment and a life long knowledge of the Dune Chronicles to this ambitious expansion of a series which transformed SF itself.

House Atreides chronicles the early life of Leto Atreides, prince of a minor House in the galactic Imperium. Leto comes to confront the realities of power when House Vernius is betrayed in an imperial plot involving a quest for an artificial substitute to melange, a substance vital to interstellar trade found only on the planet Dune. Meanwhile House Harkonnen schemes to bring Leto into conflict with the Tleilax, and the Bene Gesserit manipulate Baron Harkonnen as part of a plan stretching back 100 generations. In the Imperial palace treason is afoot, and on Dune itself, planetologist Pardot Kynes embarks on a secret project to transform the desert world into a paradise.

Dune remains the bestselling SF novel ever, such that three decades later no prequel can possibly have the same impact. Yet in House Atrides the authors have written a compelling, labyrinthine, skilfully imagined extension of the world Frank Herbert created, which ably commands the attention for almost 600 pages. It is powerful SF continuing a great tradition, and in itself is a very considerable achievement. --Gary S. Dalkin

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Average rating - (more reviews)

Rating: - This book deserves 5 no-stars!

Please read one chapter from any classic Dune book by Frank Herbert and then read one chapter of any of the prequels (Prelude or Legends) in a bookstore.
The difference will pop up immediately.
Junior and Anderson's writing is poor, weak and uninspired and the quotes at the beginning of each chapter (a Dune trademark) are ridiculous.
House Atreides (book 1) was a pleasant read though, due to the expectations.
It is a shame that the rest of two series do not meet these expectations.
The second trilogy (Legends) ends in a rush with a couple of sub-plots (the origin of Mentats and Face Dancers)half-told which is a contradiction for a story whose purpose is to unveil the origins of every element of the Dune universe.
The other books were painful to read.
They might appeal to teenagers who have not yet read the classic Dune books written by Frank Herbert but they will have a shock when they start to read Dune 1. And they will probably give up before the end of Children.
My advice is that, even though you were told that you'll find seeds of events told in Dune 7, no matter how curious you are to read Hunters & Sandworms, avoid reading House Atreides at all cost because it will lead you to read the next one, and the next one and the second trilogy and there are indeed better books to read these days.
It is a shame that the Herbert Estate has made such a poor choice of writer for the new books.
They needed somebody like Stephen Baxter or George R.R.R Martin and instead they picked a writer of Star Wars stories for teenagers.

Rating: - Hideous

For me the novel falls flat on its face on the first page and never recovers. Dumbed down and beyond all recognition of the original.

The portrayal of Baron Harkonnen as a muscular man is an abomination!! Cause of weight gain - a subtle/undetectable poison administered by a bene Gesserit!!! Frank Herbert's Baron was a far more complex individual who's obesity stemmed from an addictive personality, who's craving for ever more extreme stimulus cause his over feeding of both the stomach and his perverse desires. The ultimate Glutton; both spiritually and physically.

I don't think the authors were up to the task, and looking at the rate they are producing work under the Dune banner, I'm pretty sure they don't care.

Big disappointment, bigger shame!!

Rating: - Very disapointing

When I heard that the Dune series was being continued by Frank Herberts son Brian I was delighted and looked forward to reading the prelude books. After reading House Atredies I have been slow to read the other two.
The writeing style is completely different to his fathers. There is none of the deep thought provokeing dialoge between characters that made the original dune series one of the greatest works of Science fiction in history.
He throws in quotes from the original series such as "The spice must flow" at regular intervils in a plot that is completely unbelivable. Brian goes even more overboard then David Lynch does in the Dune movie at makeing the Harkonnens look evil, makeing it too hard to belive.
After reading the first chapter, with a musculer Baron Harkonnen investigateing a new spice find, I was shocked at the way he had distinced himself from his fathers writeing, and fell by the wayside trying to put his own distinct mark on the Dune Series.

While I am gutted to see the franchise now in the hands of someone who only wants to make money out of it instead of createing great works like the original series, I will (indeed have) buy the rest of Brians books on dune, as I am in love with the original series, and at least it's better then no writeing at all.
The other thing is that the new series flys in the face of the Encyclopedia. While even Frank didn't agree with all of Dr. McNellys enterys, Brian has acctivlly gone against it, makeing 8 years of hard work completely opsolete, if we (sadly, as we must) accept Brians word as the deffinitive word on dune.

Rating: - Good plot, pity about the writing

Sadly, I think "Dune" is being seen as a cash cow, and all 6 of the preludes have been rushed out unfinished, or so they seem. The plots generally are pretty good, and if you can just focus on them, the books are enjoyable. But they suffer in a few ways. The bad guys are too evil. Both the Harkonnens in the "Preludes" like this, and the Titans and machines in the "Legends" series are evil tyrants who spend half the books enjoying grisly torture. It's rabidly overdone and dimishes the bad guys in the process. More irritating than that (to me anyway) is that the book doesn't seem to have been proof-read. The number of times a character's name appears where he/she should have been used, making you think that we've changed to a different person when we haven't, are almost beyond count. It's a real pity because there are some good plots and stories here, much better than any of the sequels Frank Herbert wrote, but they just don't seem to have been completed properly before publication.

Rating: - Extending Your Grasp of the Context for Dune

Prequels are unusual novels. They should be written to introduce a book and series for someone who has not yet read any of the material. Yet their prime readership will be from those who have already read the series and want more. So you have to evaluate prequels from both prespectives. Usually, they favor one dimension or the other.

As is the usual case for prequels, Dune: House Atreides will primarily appeal to those who have read the Dune novels. The Harkonnens are beautifully cast as thoroughly nasty, despicable, and incompetent. The tension between the religion of not having thinking machines and the potential to create new technology is nicely developed. You will also get a good sense of Emperor Shaddam IV. Duke Paulus Atreides is a very enjoyable character, and you will delight in the places where he comes into the story.

I found much of the novel to be competent, rather than compelling. Unfortunately, these sections included Duke Leto Atreides, Duncan Idaho, and Pardor Kynes. These characters could have been magnificent, and provided much more fascination for the series. They come across as attractive, but not as people you want to grasp and hold onto because they are so appealing.

As a result, interesting, additional details comprise a reasonably small part of this book.

For those who have not yet read Dune, I felt that the book had one mistake in it. Readers will discover a bit more about physical changes that Guild navigators experience than is desirable for enjoying the whole series. In all other ways, this book will help the new reader anticipate and enjoy the beauties of the Dune series more. The background of much of what is happening will still seem mysterious after reading about it in this book, which is good. The origins of the key power groups are alluded to, but left murky. I think that approach was a good decision, because it encourages the reader to move on to other books in order to learn more.

The lack of illustrations was a missed opportunity. Many of the concepts in Dune lend themselves to pictoral explanations. In fact, each of the covers of the later novels added to my enjoyment.

I do encourage all fans of science fiction to read this book. It is a worthy volume in one of our greatest series.

After you finish reading this book, I suggest that you think about what really is most important to you in your life. As this book shows, you can achieve fame, friendship, wealth, power, family closeness, or prescience. The more someone focuses on one, the less they have of the others. How will you make your choice?

Look forward to enjoying more of what provides the most meaningful satisfaction!

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