The new Dune book The Winds of Dune will debut at number 15 on the New York Times bestseller list after only one week on sale, the book’s co-author Kevin J. Anderson announced this week. But how good are the new books in the series, compared with Frank Herbert’s originals?
In a lengthy and detailed post over at The Wertzone, Adam Whitehead eviscerates the books published since Herbert’s death in 1986 by Anderson and Herbert’s son, Brian Herbert.
Whitehead writes that he had initially been excited to hear about the publication of the new books, due to what he saw as the potential to enter the Dune universe again with canon material coming from Frank Herbert’s own notes. The first new book, he writes, House Atreides, was merely uninspiring, with some weird plot points.
But it was during the Legends of Dune trilogy that Whitehead seems to have become actively angry about the books, describing the quality of the writing as “astonishingly bad” and noting there were many differences between the depiction of the machine/human war known as the Butlerian Jihad in the Dune universe and Frank Herbert’s original vision.
Whitehead was further annoyed when, he claims, Sandworms of Dune and Hunters of Dune were released, with successive interviews putting paid to the idea that Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson were working from unreleased Frank Herbert material:
“The new Dune books were revealed to be what, in fairness, a lot of less-invested SF commentators had been saying for years: a cynical cash-grab designed to exploit a respected intellectual property and turn it into a franchise … The worst part of all of this is that when I went to reread the original Dune itself a couple of years back, I found myself completely unable to get into it. The sound of Frank Herbert spinning in his grave made it impossible to concentrate on the text.”
Of course, not everyone agrees with Whitehead. As Anderson notes on his blog, The Winds of Dune is the fourteenth Dune novel to hit the New York Times bestseller list. Someone’s buying this stuff. It’s “a winning streak unmatched by any other original science fiction series,” the author writes. “Our publicist wrote us to say that not even Robert Jordan or Terry Goodkind have matched that. Tor sent us a bottle of champagne to celebrate.”
“Great Winds of Dune signing and talk at Washington DC Borders,” the author added on Twitter this week, referring to his current tour with Brian Herbert. “Six members of 501st in full costume, about 70 people in audience.”
There’s also plenty of positive reviews for the new Dune books to be found.
“Unquestionably, Herbert & Anderson can spin a great yarn; while technically producing a vivid, mystifying universe, filled with characters that are both endearing, and loathsome.” writes Ken on BookSpotCentral. “I recommend this one highly, but be warned, if this is the first Dune book you are reading, get ready to hit the bookstore, because I promise you, it will not be the last!”
And from Library Journal, a brief plaudit:
“Fill[s] in the gaps between the late Frank Herbert’s classic Dune and its sequels Dune Messiah and Children of Dune . . . This sequel to Paul of Dune is an important addition to the Dune chronology and will be in demand by Herbert fans.”
Even some more traditional sci-fi/fantasy review sites have enthusiastic reviews. On SFCrowsnest.com, Rod MacDonald writes about the audio version of The Butlerian Jihad: “This is interesting and essential listening for all those immersed in the ‘Dune’ universe!”
Commentary
As I’ve noted in a previous article, I don’t think the new Dune books live up to Frank Herbert’s original vision. However I am puzzled by their success. Is it just due to the Dune “brand”? Or is there something here that hardcore Dune fans like myself are missing, that the wider science fiction fan base is appreciating?
“Is it just due to the Dune “brand”?”
partly.
more due to tweeners & child-like adults w/ a little extra money to spend.
Star Wars books sell, Warhammer, all the easy-reading whizz-bang lasergun-fight stuff kids like. (PEW! PEW! AWESOME!!)
these Silly-books are no more than that now – YA quick-read trash.
has nothing to do with Frank’s books at all.
And I’ll guarantee that those pretards who say they’re “Frank Herbert fans, too” came into the thing via Keith & the Other Guy. Or seeing the Lynch movie. Or the mini-series.
Old fans (And I mean OLD, I’m 62, I first read Dune in ’67) have no interest in the new books. Anybody who read Dune before Keith got his hands on poor Brian’s little brain has no interest in them, except rejection.
So who’s buying this crap?
Kids. Juvenile adults.
Same ones who buy all the crap, go see all the stupid movies, &etc.
No-one anybody has to take real seriously, unless you’re an owner of a trademark and you just want to make money.
I mean, they made GummiWorms of Dune for the last book, lunchboxes & backpacks for this one. When the movie comes out, there’ll be a Happy Meal tie-in.
Just kids.
Dune is Star Wars is Harry Potter is Twilight.
(T-shirts @ Hot Topic !!)
I have to reply to you, as you think only kids are reading the new Dune books, well I’m 39 and love them. I think they definitely pay homage to the original books but add new levels of story telling. I have reread the original series and well it has compelling characters and ideas I find the style is very boring and a hard read, to the point that it becomes a chore to finish them. while with the new series written with a modern style are a joy to read and I can’t put them down till I’ve finished them and they leave me begging for the next chapter to come out ever sooner.
Thanks for making my point for me.
Frank’s books are “too hard to understand”.
Keith has dumbed them down.
So you’re an adult with a 8th grade reading level.
Good for you, you’ll love Keith, and
won’t understand Frank, anyway, so
RAWK ON, DUDE !!
but hey, I’ve read
“the new series written with a modern style are a joy to read”
somewhere else recently ….
I am a 31 year old, college educated professional and I got into Dune when I was 14 years old and read the original Dune for an literature class. I have read the original series, the Prelude series, and I am 200 pages from the end of The Butlerian Jihad.
While I will not proclaim the Brian Herbert/ Kevin J. Anderson books to be on par with the original series, I will say that they are entertaining books. Which is more than can I can say for some of the other crap that is published today. If I had one complain about the “new generation” of Dune novels is that are a tad long-winded.
Anyway, I just wanted to be a voice of dissension against the people on here who think anyone under the age of 62 could not possibly understand Frank’s works. In fact, I wonder about the intelligence of people who make blanket statements that “guarantee” that someone who buys a book by Brian Herbert is an uneducated child.
Keith’s a “college-educated professional” as well. Hasn’t helped him much, and his “degree” is in physics; you’d think he could get simple light-speed plots right, wouldn’t you ?
You can wonder about my intelligence ’til the cows come home. If you found Keith’s Doon “entertaining”, you’re easily entertained.
By FYI, Brian Herbert had very little to do with this book.
Sandrider,
I appreciate your loyalty to the original series. I agree that these books were more than likely written only with sales in mind. They lack the “something” that made Frank’s series what it is.
That begin said, if you take the “Dune” moniker from the covers, Keith’s (Kevin’s?) books are just as good as any other run of the mill science-fiction novel out there. For $6 they give me something to do in the evenings. I will not apologize for reading (and being entertained by) a series of books. I disassociated these books with the original series and have been able to enjoy them for what they are.
As for me questioning your intelligence let me explain that I am sure you are a relatively intelligent person, but when anyone makes such broad stereotypical comments with no basis in any research or reason it makes them sound obtuse.
Regards
I wouldn’t be so fast to guarantee anything there Sandrider. I first read Dune back in Middle school, along with Lord of the Rings, and Foundation.
You cannot compare the new to the original. It is like comparing apples to oranges.
Go take a look at the Foundation books that have been added to the series since Asimov died. They are alright, but don’t “feel” like the originals, and the three different authors writing styles are not in keeping with Asimov.
Instead of living up to the Talifan label, and jihading all over the web, just don’t read them.
“You cannot compare the new to the original. It is like comparing apples to oranges.”
Nonsense, “Restless Knight” (in shining armor? A more noble monicker than “RedBugPest”?), you can always compare ANY two things, even apples and oranges. (Round, with red, edible peel; also round, orange peel, usually not eaten; etc.)
But thanks for pointing out that the two (REAL Dune and fast-food-franchise-style McDune) are nothing alike. :)
Brian Conway sez:
“I wouldn’t be so fast to guarantee anything there Sandrider. I first read Dune back in Middle school, along with Lord of the Rings, and Foundation.”
And did not understand any of them.
Still, to this day.
RestlessKnight hits it out of the ballpark first time out: Straight out with preek argument #1 – “If you don’t like them, don’t read them.” Only 17 more to go…
The new Dune books are awful, bad writing, no editing, repetitive, ignorant of the source material, disrespecrful of the legacy they’re supposedly continuing. I could go on, but you get my drift.
Brian (not Pherbert) sez :
“Instead of living up to the Talifan label, and jihading all over the web, just don’t read them.”
c’mon, now.
You’ve read my post in the sietch.
You know darn good & well I’ve not read more that a page
of a TehKJAcket books !!
pretard argument #1 has never worked on me for that very reason.
I’ve not read them, won’t read them, and hate them anyway.
(now go grind your teeth & plot your revenge in your batcave …)
I dislike the McDune books with a passion. Following to B.Conway/Redbugpest/restlesskniwght advice I stopped buying and reading the atrocities that has the name Dune printed on the cover.
Just reading the few excerpts available before every publication has been proof enough for me that this franchise has a target audience to which I do not belong.
Unfortunately that comes with a heavy price to pay: the sacrilege of the original series. I find it insulting that the writers/publishers and fans of the McDune books take this sarcrilege for granted and have no consideration for the many fans that are devoted to the original works.
There has been countless examples published why these books are not worthy to “carry” the name Dune on their cover. Yet these two hacks of writers, call them money-grabbers, continue to vomit all over the great legacy left by Frank Herbert. Shame on them!
wah wah wah
Never read so much child-like whining in my life.
What a bunch of pretentious w@nkers you all are. You pompous idiots flounce around passing judgement on others. The arrogance and pathetic sadness displayed is amazing (what no trekkie convention for you all to ruin with your vile presence?).
Get a life. If a book (or series of books) doesn’t appeal to you. BUY SOMETHING ELSE and shut your pie holes
my, my.
such bravery from anon.
perhaps you’d like to “shut my pie hole” for me ?
oh, wait.
it’s the comment section of a weblog,
not a saloon. pity.
come on to http://www.jacurutu.com , register, post,
run away …
if you don’t like our child-like whining about some books, well – don’t read it.
Anon fail is fail.
Um … who is this bold ponce prancing about passing judgment, calling us “w@nkers”? (What’s the matter, luv, afraid to spell it out? Still haven’t come … to grips with your … naughty desires yet?)
Mmmm … MASSIVE fail. :D
Another brave Internet Tough Guy. Speaking of “pathetic” …
Hey ! You shut yer pie hole, mister !
I read the original Dune books, I have the ‘House’ prequels (which I don’t like as much, they are too… sensational), but I did like the Butler’s Jihad books. They are quite well written, the only thing is that, indeed, they don’t really fit in with the original Dune books. Yet I thought the same about any of the books starting from Emperor of Dune. The whole speed and ‘colour’ of the story changes there. Brian just pushed it a bit further.
Brian Herbert did not write this book.
[quote]
annoying truth
Posted August 21, 2009 at 2:06 PM
wah wah wah
Never read so much child-like whining in my life.
What a bunch of pretentious w@nkers you all are. You pompous idiots flounce around passing judgement on others. The arrogance and pathetic sadness displayed is amazing (what no trekkie convention for you all to ruin with your vile presence?).
Get a life. If a book (or series of books) doesn’t appeal to you. BUY SOMETHING ELSE and shut your pie holes[/quote]
Preeq argument#1
“If you don’t like it don’t read it.”
hey news for you: to actually know a book you have to read it, so now I’ve had to lay eyes on that pile of crap (you revere in exchange for your soul and a stupid carrier bag), I must flush it out from my system!
And what the fuck is this?
[quote]w[b]@[/b]nkers[/quote]
How fuckin’ sad is that?
And the trekkie bit? What was that about?
Talking of ruining with vile presence, I know some guy who’s been doing that to Dune without anyone of you ass licking idiots saying anything!
sorry for foul language please feel free to edit or delete the post, I went a bit overboard, so much for posting stuff when waking up and reading that agressive ranting(which did contain foul language too btw)
Firstly, i must appologise that you bear the brunt end of this, you are not the first to anger me this way and doubtless will not be the last…
But whoever you are, i am an OH and prequel hater for almost everything about them, and yet NEVER have a “dissed” a person because of their taste in the new books.
I am an 18 month member of jacurutu, and a regular. It is one of my most visited sites on the net. Never online have i had such informative, productive and fun discussions with such a variety of people from around the world. Perhaps 12 months there with an open mind might show you the treasure which is the people who reside at jacurutu.
I dont judge fans of the prequels, but neither do i shield people from my distaste for them. To judge all members of jacurutu on the online comments made on other websites is absurd. Visit jacurutu, read our non-prequel boards. Such a collection of wit, wisdom and duniverse discussion has not existed on the internet since DuneNovels.com was open and free, prior to that Dreamers of Dune.
I have been to many forums, both dune and non-dune, and jacurutu is (with the one possible exception of the passion some members have for pursuing and deriding (sp?) fans of KJA) one of the most open, friendly, and welcoming boards. Perhaps yes some prequelites get the blunt end, but only because, through long experience, we’ve noticed that to date ALL prequelites have failed to hold reasoned debates on any key topics.
To the iduali who read this, I mean every word. Jacurutu is a haven for dune, for the old ways :-). Keep it going, keep it active, and remember to thank Freak regularly for setting it up and maintaining it.
Dune was a masterpiece. Absolutely one of my all time favorite SF fantasy novels. IMO nothing else in the series, including the sequels written by Frank Herbert himself, really lived up to the standard set by it. I haven’t read any of the new series, but I find it hard to believe that they are much worse than some of the positively hokey stuff that FH did over the course of the original series.
oh, believe it.
or browse jacurutu where synopsis are given so you don’t have to actually cloud your mind with Keith’s mumbo-jumbo.
Christ, would it hurt you guys to be polite? Sandrider, at your age, you should know better than to act like a fifteen year-old boy.
The reason some of us read these books is because we were horribly, horribly desperate for new Dune material. It didn’t matter how bad it was, we needed our fix. Some people liked them more than others – I’ve never really been able to stomach KJA’s writing, even when I was fourteen and reading his Jedi Academy series as they were being released (another case of extreme desperation for new material). I couldn’t finish the Legends arc, I was barely able to finish the Prelude arc, but when Sandworms and Hunters came out, I gobbled them up, because I’d been waiting almost twenty years to find out how Dune finally ended. Personally, I felt the writing was not very good; there wasn’t a lot of characterization, and the ending felt contrived, but it was finally over. I no longer have to be pissed off when I finish a reread of Chapterhouse because Frank Herbert had the temerity to go and die before finishing the series.
#1 – There is no “cliffhanger” in Chapterhouse.
(I really need a copypasta for this, get soooo tired of re-stating it)
see the ’68 McNelly interview, read Frank’s own words, cf “Arrakis teaches the attitude of the Knife ….” &etc, &etc.
#2 – “Polite” is for cattle & loveplay. Go post on My Little Pony forums if you are offended.
#3 – people who are “desperate” for more “Doon” and can accept anything Keith has hiked out aren’t fans, they’re fanboys. They are the reason this travesty has continued. Y’all keep feeding the Troll. Go get your whiz-bang pew!pew!pew! fix @ StarWars or Warhammer.
#4 – assuming Frank had intended a “Dune7″ -
if you think “hunters” & “Sandworms” had was what Frank intended, you didn’t read the originals very closely.
Part of the problem is Keith & Brian’s drinking, and the HLP’s greed, but the biggest problem is Slurpy & his ilk, who buy these things & attempt to defend them in public. Die in a fire.
From above:
Personally, I felt the writing was not very good; there wasn’t a lot of characterization, and the ending felt contrived, but it was finally over.
. . .but the biggest problem is Slurpy & his ilk, who buy these things & attempt to defend them in public. Die in a fire.
Sounds like I was criticizing it, not defending it. A bit touchy, aren’t you? Have you considered the possibility that you have Asperger’s Syndrome? Most people out of their teens don’t respond with that much vitriol unless discussing politics.
I’d be interested in hearing your argument that Chapterhouse does not end on a cliffhanger, since the Bene Gesserit have just split, the no-ship is fleeing, we don’t know what the Honored Matres were fleeing from, and we have absolutely no idea whatsoever who the hell the two old people are (that was the one that really bugged me). It sure felt to me like Herbert had not finished the series.
I doubt Hunters and Sandworms are exactly what Frank intended (especially the poor writing part), but they’re undoubtedly closer than the blank paper we had before.
We do have an idea of who Marty and Daniel are, they’re advanced face dancers (not cross dressing robots).
Hi there, Slurpee.
In many ways, this is [i]politics[/i].
And make no mistake about my position – this is
not some fanboy bullshit about some meaningless
comic book crap.
My base premise is that Frank Herbert’s [i]Dune[/i]
is a classic of American Literature, a treasure on
the level of Twain, Hemingway, Faulkner, &etc. These
new “books” are systematically destroying Frank’s
Legacy, cheapening the name “Dune” and lumping it
in with the meaningless comic book crap, like Star
Wars. (and from all accounts, Keith managed to dumb
down that already-silly story …)
Marty & Daniel are independent Face Dancers, it says
so right there in the book. The no-ship is an “open
ending”, not a “cliff-hanger”. You’re used to simple
writers telling you a simple story. I’d tell you
(again) to read Frank’s own words in the McNelly
Interview, but I’m afraid that would just confuse you
further.
Have you every considered that maybe you, and people
like you, are responsible for the declining literacy
and critical thinking that’s evident in America ?
That the reason that the economy is in shambles, 15
million people are out of work, &etc. is because lazy
kids have become lazy adults and accept anything they’re
spoon-fed because they’re lazy ?
Go choke on a Bobba Fett action-figure.
My base premise is that Frank Herbert’s [i]Dune[/i]
is a classic of American Literature, a treasure on
the level of Twain, Hemingway, Faulkner, &etc. These
new “books” are systematically destroying Frank’s
Legacy, cheapening the name “Dune” and lumping it
in with the meaningless comic book crap, like Star
Wars. (and from all accounts, Keith managed to dumb
down that already-silly story …)
We agree on that. Dune is a classic, and the new novels are pale imitations, of depressingly-low quality. They are certainly no Catch-22. But the new books aren’t cheapening Frank’s work – it isn’t changing anything he wrote. KJA & BH are just displaying their lack of skill for the world to see. Dune up to Chapterhouse is still an amazing story.
Marty & Daniel are independent Face Dancers, it says
so right there in the book.