Hunters of Dune and the concluding volume, Sandworms of Dune, bring together the great story lines and beloved characters in Frank Herbert’s classic Dune universe, ranging from the time of the Butlerian Jihad to the original Dune series and beyond. Based directly on Frank Herbert’s final outline, which lay hidden in a safe-deposit box for a decade, these two volumes will finally answer the urgent questions Dune fans have been debating for two decades.
At the end of Chapterhouse: Dune--Frank Herbert’s final novel--a ship carrying the ghola of Duncan Idaho, Sheeana (a young woman who can control sandworms), and a crew of various refugees escapes into the uncharted galaxy, fleeing from the monstrous Honored Matres, dark counterparts to the Bene Gesserit Sisterhood. The nearly invincible Honored Matres have swarmed into the known universe, driven from their home by a terrifying, mysterious Enemy. As designed by the creative genius of Frank Herbert, the primary story of Hunters and Sandworms is the exotic odyssey of Duncan’s no-ship as it is forced to elude the diabolical traps set by the ferocious, unknown Enemy. To strengthen their forces, the fugitives have used genetic technology from Scytale, the last Tleilaxu Master, to revive key figures from Dune’s past—including Paul Muad’Dib and his beloved Chani, Lady Jessica, Stilgar, Thufir Hawat, and even Dr. Wellington Yueh. Each of these characters will use their special talents to meet the challenges thrown at them.
Failure is unthinkable--not only is their survival at stake, but they hold the fate of the entire human race in their hands.
Just want to know how it ends. I suffered through this book just to get to the end of the overall story. It's generally not a good thing when a non-writer is thinking of better sub-plots, while reading, than the author has come up with. All the characters and factions have lost the richness and depth that was in the original stories. I wasn't expecting him to live up to his father's standards, but this falls short of all my standards aside from correct spelling and grammar. I have never seen such bad execution of a good story.
The last chapter of Chapterhouse Dune, clearly explains that Marty & Daniel are Face Dancers. Brian & KJA got out from their feverish imagination that they are the thinking machines: "Omnius" & "Erasmus":
From Chapterhouse Dune: "You deliberately let them get away, Daniel!"
The old woman rubbed her hands down the stained front of her garden apron. It was a summer morning around her, flowers blooming, birds calling from nearby trees. There was a misty look to the sky, a yellow radiance near the horizon.
"Now, Marty, it was not deliberate," Daniel said. He took off his porkpie hat and rubbed the bushy stubble of gray hair before replacing the hat. "He surprised me. I knew he saw us but I didn't suspect he saw the net."
"And I had such a nice planet picked out for them," Marty said. "One of the best. A real test of their abilities."
"No use moaning about it," Daniel said. "They're where we can't touch them now. He was spread so thin, though, I expected to catch him easy."
"They had a Tleilaxu Master, too," Marty said. "I saw him when they went under the net. I would have so liked to study another Master."
"Don't see why. Always whistling at us, always making it necessary to stomp them down. I don't like treating Masters that way and you know it! If it weren't for them . . ."
"They're not gods, Daniel."
"Neither are we."
"I still think you let them escape. You're so anxious to prune your roses!"
"What would you have said to the Master, anyway?" Daniel asked.
"I was going to joke when he asked who we were. They always ask that. I was going to say: 'What did you expect, God Himself with a flowing beard?' "
Daniel chuckled. "That would've been funny. They have such a hard time accepting that Face Dancers can be independent of them."
"I don't see why. It's a natural consequence. They gave us the power to absorb the memories and experiences of other people. Gather enough of those and . . ."
"It's personas we take, Marty."
"Whatever. The Masters should've known we would gather enough of them one day to make our own decisions about our own future."
"And theirs?"
"Oh, I'd have apologized to him after putting him in his place. You can do just so much managing of others, isn't that right, Daniel?"
"When you get that look on your face, Marty, I go prune my roses." He went back to a line of bushes with verdant leaves and black blooms as large as his head.
Marty called after him: "Gather up enough people and you get a big ball of knowledge, Daniel! That's what I'd have told him. And those Bene Gesserit in that ship! I'd have told them how many of them I have. Ever notice how alienated they feel when we peek at them?"
Daniel bent to his black roses.
She stared after him, hands on her hips.
"Not to mention Mentats," he said. "There were two of them on that ship-both gholas. You want to play with them?"
"The Masters always try to control them, too," she said.
"That Master is going to have trouble if he tries to mess with that big one," Daniel said, snipping off a ground shoot from the root stock of his roses. "My, this is a pretty one."
"Mentats, too!" Marty called. "I'd have told them. Dime a dozen, they are."
"Dimes? I don't think they'd have understood that, Marty. The Reverend Mothers, yes, but not that big Mentat. He didn't thin out that far back."
"You know what you let get away, Daniel?" she demanded, coming up beside him. "That Master had a nullentropy tube in his chest. Full of ghola cells, too!"
"I saw it."
"That's why you let them get away!"
"Didn't let them." His pruning shears went snick-snick. "Gholas. He's welcome to them."
These Guys Have TALENT YOU HAVE GOT TO READ THIS BOOK! If you love the original Dune series- you will love this.
Frank Herbert's Dune would have been honored far more with no continuation *SPOILERS are included in this review*
By recommendation from a friend, I sat down at read this book though I had zero expectations (after tromping through all of the Bulterian Jihad trilogy). Unfortunately, this novel is by far the worst BH/JKA material out there--except for the next in the series. My problems:
1.) All old characters from Frank Herbert and BH/JKA novels are resurrected because they couldn't think of anything else to do. They're also all flat, undeveloped, and thrown out as if necessary to get the plot rolling. I guess they thought old friend Atreides were quick fixes. 2.) There is absolutely no deep philosophical reading in this. Okay, Frank Herbert's novels after God Emperor were a little tedious with philosophy, but you can't have a Dune book without some universal truths being discussed in religion, politics, life, etc. There would at least be some meat in the book. 3.) The writing style was horrible. It was stilted, stiff, and flat. If this book went through the reading systems, it would probably crank out at 4th-5th grade level language-wise. 4.) No plot. No plot. No plot. People talk, some things happen, but there's no plot. Okay, so we get to meet our great adversaries finally, but when I realized who they were, I was floored by how horribly predictable it turned out to be and BH/KJA's audacity to incorporate those characters as antagonists. 5.) Everything else that was wrong. Which was a lot. Really.
There is only one highlight in this novel, and it's a Leto II/worm reference. I actually smiled when I read it.
If you loved Frank Herbert's Dune series, don't pick this up. It'll put a bad taste in your mouth. If you aren't a big Dune fanatic, you probably won't want to read this anyway because Frank Herbert's implied attachment to the novel is its only selling point.
OK, but not in the same league as Daddy Frank's work This is the first of the Dune books by Brian Herbert and Kevin Anderson that I have read. It's an OK read, which continues the story from Chapterhouse Dune, and leaves the stage set for the suposedly Final episode to follow. However, any reader who is closely familiar with the original Dune series by Frank Herbert will recognize that this book is nowhwere near the same quality of work. They give it a good try, but there's just no substitute for the genuine article.
Anything Goes Trivia
Last Kiss
Megaton Man
Trevor
