This is the first Dune book I have read. It was a bit overwhelming with all the different characters and different worlds to keep straight. The beginning of the novel seems a bit slow and a few other spots seemed tedious to read. However it was a very enjoyable read. I’m not much for sci-fi, but this introduction to the Dune universe has me ready to read even more.

The son is not the father, and this book is no true Dune novel. It has almost no redeeming features, except that it takes place in the Dune-Universe.

It actually taints the original cannon by making the myths of Dune, once mysterious and time-lost, flat and droll. Characters evolve in slow, obvious ways. Every archetype is bland and obvious, slowly plodding along to the doldrum of this imbecile who dared to tread where intellectual giants roamed.

Star Rating: 5 stars

Note: Although this is the first Dune book chronologically, it is not in publication order so this will not be an in-depth review.

After reading Dune for the first-time last year, I fell absolutely in love and it is now my favorite book of all time, and I made a point to put as many of the other books in the Dune universe on my 2022 yearly TBR as possible and I also decided to read them in chronological order in order to get the full experience of the scope of this amazing universe. This book takes us all the way back to the very beginning by telling the story of how humanity rebelled against their artificial intelligence oppressors and won their freedom, thus learning the age-old lesson that you should never encourage your technology to develop unchecked sentience.

Because I know that someone is going to bring it up, I am aware of the controversy that surrounds Brian Herbert continuing his father’s world after his death. In my opinion, I think Brian Herbert did an amazing job of continuing his father’s universe in a logical way and even took on the challenge of telling the stories that his father alluded to in his classic Dune, which I love due to the fact that when I was reading Dune, I thought that it would be very cool to get those stories, mostly due to how much depth they would add to the universe. I don’t understand why people are so bothered because I honestly feel that Brian Herbert had respectful intentions and was just trying to continue his father’s legacy.

My favorite part about this book was honestly the information that this book gave when it comes to my understanding of the Dune universe. As previously mentioned, when I was reading Dune, I was really interested to hear the stories of events that Frank Herbert was mentioning/alluding. He would just mention certain events in passing and I always found myself wishing he had taken more time with them. After I finished reading Dune, I got on Goodreads to see what the next book I needed to read was since I enjoyed Dune so much and I learned that even though Frank Herbert hadn’t written those stories that I wanted so much, his son had, and I got super excited and immediately requested that my library buy them for me (My mom works at my local public library so I get most of my books from her since I don’t have the money or space to buy them myself.).

If you loved Dune but wish you could read some of the histories and the legends that inhabit it, then this book is for you. It was for me anyway and I can’t wait to keep reading more in this universe!!!! 5 stars and still my favorite series of all time!!!

People like to review these books like Brian Herbert came through their windows at night, lit their house on fire, and murdered everyone they hold dear. They are entertaining sci-fi pulp. Do they 'deserve' to have the Dune name slapped on them? Who cares.

some delicious literary junk food!