Is Dune (House Trilogy) Worth My Time?

Dune House Atreides
Dune House Harkonnen
Dune House Corrino


By Brian Herbert 
and Kevin J. Anderson

So, you have read the first six books of Dune, and now you want to know what to expect from the next set of three.  Or maybe you did not read the first six, maybe you wanted to start the series here.  For whatever your reason or how you got here, you need to know a few things.

First, they were not written by Frank Herbert.  It is SO important you know, understand, and are okay with that.  They were written using notes written by Frank.  Also, Brian helped his father with the last few of the first six. Not to mention that Keven has written many science fiction books.  So it is not like the series is continued by nobodies. 

Next, the books do not have the same grand feeling as the others.  They seem less complex, less integrated with social issues of today.  They are a fantastic story, and give you a wonderful history of how things got to be how they were.  There are a tremendous amount of events that fill the books and I never became board, but it just does not have that grandiose feeling of the first six.  The three books roughly cover from Duke Leto as a pre-teen to the birth of Paul.

The first (House Atreides) is the worst of the three.  It slowly gets better and by the end I was happy where it was.  And each book after that got better and better.  By the end of the third (House Corrino) I had completely stopped comparing it to the first six, I did not care that it did not meet my standards of the other books, they were good in their own right, and it is unfair to everyone involved to compare them.

And lastly, they move slow, and that is okay.  They pick up momentum, and their comes a point where you don't want to put it down.  I was worried that they would be so poorly done that it would take away from what Frank as built.  It does not.  It is a great addition to the already mind-blowing series.  It is worth every minute of your time.

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Is Dune (First Six Novels Published) Worth My Time?

Dune
Dune Messiah
Children of Dune
God Emperor of Dune
Heretics of Dune
Chapterhouse Dune

by Frank Herbert

The Dune Series is huge.  Started in 1965 by Frank Herbert, and continued still today by his son.  That being said, I will review the series in sets.  The first set involves all the Dune books written by Frank. (Also the list above.)

Dune, and the books after it, are not light reads. They are complex, involving, and mentally taxing to understand.  They run many parallels to our current society.  They study religion, government, the ability to see into the future, and how all of these forces play upon one another.  There is a huge host of characters, and groups, all trying to obtain different things, both peacefully, and not so peacefully.

The books take awhile to really start moving.  They are slow to get started, and slowly gain momentum.  There comes a time in each book where you won't want to put it down.  Most of them climax at almost the end of the book, with only a chapter or two to wrap things up.  Just about all of them end in a cliffhanger, things do get resolved,  but you always want to know more than Frank tells you.

If you want to read the series, but you are not sure if you will like it.  I recommend starting with Dune.  It is a good complete story in itself.  The books after continue the story, and are not NEEDED to enjoy the first book.  Then, if you enjoy the series, continue it.  Because it only gets better after that book.

As always in such a large series, there is the question, "Where do I start, and in what order do I read them?"  I read them the order they were published (That's the order they are in at the top of this post.)  Start with Dune.

Dune Chapterhouse is not the end of the series.  In fact, it is less than halfway through.  But unfortunately, it is the last one for Frank to write, he dies before he can get more Dune books out.  And this book ends in the biggest cliffhanger yet.

Now I know what your thinking, "Can the books after Frank dies be any good?" Well, for that, you will have to wait for my review on them, or do some more research. 

Do not let the complexity of the series, its length, or its incompleteness scare you away.  It is highly entertaining as well as deep.  The journey is an epic tale across time and space, to a distant future of the human race.  Well worth your time.

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