Sandworms of Dune by Brian Herbert, Kevin J. Anderson, and Scott Brick

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Sandworms of Dune
Available from Amazon
Price: $37.77
Updated on 12-28-2008.

Features

Audio CD

Publisher: Macmillan Audio; Unabridged edition (August 7, 2007)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 1427201129

ISBN-13: 978-1427201126

Product Dimensions: 6 x 5.2 x 1.7 inches

Shipping Weight: 1 pounds ()

From Publishers Weekly
Longtime collaborators Herbert and Anderson set themselves a steep challenge—and, in the end, fail to meet it—in this much anticipated wrapup of the original Dune cycle (after 2006's Hunters of Dune). A large cast scattered across the cosmos must be brought together so that the final, all-powerful Kwisatz Haderach may be revealed in the ultimate face-off between humankind and the machine empire ruled by the implacable Omnius. Though pacing is brisk and the infrequent action scenes crackle with tension, only two minor characters—gholas, who are young clones with restored memories, of Suk doctor Wellington Yueh and God-Emperor Leto II—acquire real depth. Everyone else is too busy reacting to mostly irrelevant subplots like sabotage aboard the no-ship Ithaca, a plague devastating the planet of Chapterhouse and the genetic engineering of marine-dwelling sandworms. The lengthy climax relies on at least four consecutive deus ex machina bailouts, eventually devolving into sheer fairy tale optimism. Series fans will argue the novel's merits for years; others will be underwhelmed. (Aug.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Booklist
By the time of this second volume of the third Dune prequel trilogy, battles and plagues have nearly destroyed humans and their planets. Sheanna revives the ghola cloning project to pit genius against numbers. Almost all the saga principals have been re-created—Paul, Jessica, Letos I and II, Chani, Stilgar, even Wellington Yueh and Baron Harkonnen—and are hiding on the no-ship. The eleventh ghola of Duncan Idaho keeps an eye on things. Naturally, such a crew generates intrigue, dissension, and many actions unintentionally at cross-purposes. Some of the re-creations learn from the past, some don't. Meanwhile, Omnius and Erasmus, leaders of the thinking machines, search for the no-ship; failing to find it, they finish the destruction of any planet capable of supporting human life. When the clones and the thinking machines finally confront each other, the conflict proves pretty gripping. Its plot derived from Frank Herbert's notes, Sandworms should fascinate Dune fans. The series' long run by now begs the question of whether, since Sandworms ties up so many loose ends, more of what has been learned about the construction and destruction of ecologies, and about thinking machines, in the 42 years since Dune was first published couldn't figure in the promised ninth prequel volume, Paul of Dune. Murray, Frieda --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Reader Reviews
This review is from: Sandworms of Dune (Hardcover) Brian Herbert and Kevin Anderson's Dune books have been the source of much controversy. Bringing a vastly different narrative style to the late Frank Herbert's sprawling saga has both introduced the series to new readers while simultaneously alienating fans of the original works. The result has been a schism among the fanbase that Herbert himself would have probably found interesting if not outright amusing. Sandworms is the final chapter which brings to a close the Dune saga and resolves events and situations first introduced in Heretics of Dune and Chapterhouse Dune. It also ties in directly to the authors' prequel Dune books that chronicled the human/machine conflict. I've always been a casual fan of the Dune books. I've read them all and enjoyed them quite a bit but the elder Herbert's style never fully resonated with me (I'm more of an Arthur C. Clarke devotee myself). As such, I was able to view the Brian Herbert/Kevin Anderson collaborations with a more neutral eye. I've found all of their books to be good reads yet not particularly memorable. Their style of prose often comes across more as an outline of a novel than an actual novel. Sandworms follows this particular pattern. For the most part, the prose lacked a dramatic edge and climactic and often cataclysmic events were conveyed with a clinical coldness that sometimes robbed them of their power. Many characters were introduced yet turned out to play minor roles given their seeming importance. Others underwent fundamental and sometimes odd shifts in their personality. Still, the whole outweighed the sum of its parts and when all was said and done I found the book to be sufficiently entertaining and the conclusion to be both hopeful and satisfying, even if it flies in the face of Herbert's oft-repeated mantra that we can't place our blind faith in the hands of one person. Sandworms is allegedly based on a final outline prepared by Frank Herbert before his passing. I'm sure such an outline exists and I'm sure the authors mined what they could from it. I'm also sure they added a lot of their own original ideas that the elder Herbert would probably have never pursued. I have a sneaking feeling that the final revelation about Duncan Idaho was Herbert's idea. On the other hand, I doubt seriously he would have resurrected any characters from previous entries in the saga. I also doubt seriously that Omnius, Erasmus or their machine empire were a part of any such outline. The controversial resurrection of key characters like Paul, Chani, Baron Harkonnen and Dr. Yueh (among others) was something of a mixed bag. Many turned out to be red herrings or poorly defined. But I thought the authors handled Dr. Yueh and Leto II, arguably two of the most tragic characters in the entire saga, very very well. Yueh's spiritual journey and attempts at redemption was probably the highlight of the book for me. Leto II's brief return to his full former self was also an entertaining section and one that I re-read several times. Less satisfying was Paul's contribution to the story. Given how little he had to do, it might have been better to simply leave him out of it. Still, the hopeful conclusion to the series and the restoration of so many characters to their former glory brought a smile to my face. For me each of Frank Herbert's Dune books was less satisfying than the last. The further he moved away from Arrakis, the Fremen and the Atreides family, the less I was able to relate with the universe. By Heretics, the series felt like a total stranger to me. As such, it did feel good to revisit some of those old characters again, like catching up with old friends after a long long time and realizing that they hadn't changed as much as you feared they would. I'm a little dismayed and surprised at all the furious recriminations and the "disappointed" reactions of readers. Brian Herbert and Kevin Anderson have been writing Dune books for almost a decade now. At this point, anyone even peripherally familiar with their style and previous works should already have a good clue as to what to expect from Sandworms. To have them suddenly adopt Frank Herbert's style and jettison their own storylines is simply an unrealistic expectation. If you derived any enjoyment from Brian Herbert and Kevin Anderson's previous collaborations then you'll probably get some mileage out of Sandworms. If you've been disappointed by what you've read so far, then my advice would be to stay away. As for me, I read it all the way thru and am glad I did.

Sandworms of Dune
List Price: $59.95
Available from Amazon
Price: $37.77
Updated on 12-28-2008.