Product Description

The breathtaking vision and incomparable storytelling of Brian Herbert and Kevin Anderson's Dune: The Butlerian Jihad, a prequel to Frank Herbert's classic Dune, propelled it to the ranks of speculative fiction's classics in its own right. Now, with all the color, scope, and fascination of the prior novel, comes Dune: The Machine Crusade.
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More than two decades have passed since the events chronicled in The Butlerian Jihad. The crusade against thinking robots has ground on for years, but the forces led by Serena Butler and Irbis Ginjo have made only slight gains; the human worlds grow weary of war, of the bloody, inconclusive swing from victory to defeat.

The fearsome cymeks, led by Agamemnon, hatch new plots to regain their lost power from Omnius--as their numbers dwindle and time begins to run out. The fighters of Ginaz, led by Jool Noret, forge themselves into an elite warrior class, a weapon against the machine-dominated worlds. Aurelius Venport and Norma Cenva are on the verge of the most important discovery in human history-a way to "fold" space and travel instantaneously to any place in the galaxy.

And on the faraway, nearly worthless planet of Arrakis, Selim Wormrider and his band of outlaws take the first steps to making themselves the feared fighters who will change the course of history: the Fremen.

Here is the unrivaled imaginative power that has put Brian Herbert and Kevin Anderson on bestseller lists everywhere and earned them the high regard of readers around the globe. The fantastic saga of Dune continues in Dune: The Machine Crusade.

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Stands up very well to the master        Rating:

Having been a huge Dune fan for most of my life, I've always tried to avoid reading the prequels and sequels that I feared were shameless moneygrabs and nothing more. However, I started reading the "House" trilogy and couldn't stop! Brian Herbert is an excellent writer and his books are riveting tales of mankind's struggle with itself and the machine. The utter brutality of the machines only slightly overshadows the atrocities comitted by Atreides, Karkonnen et all. Yes, I have seen the moaning of the "true" fans that consider anything outside the Duniverse of Frank sacriledge. However, as a lighter version of the sometimes Wagnerian grandeur of the original series the pre- and sequels hold their own.

The Machine Crusade picks up where the Butlerian Jihad left off. Serena Butler has escaped the clutches of the evil Erasmus and is now the spiritual force of the Jihad. Here comes the first slight nit-pick; why does the book repeat the preceding events every 100 pages or so? It's not a TV series that needs an intro like "previously on The Machine Crusade". The events on Earth and the death of manion are repeated so often that it makes me think of an anime series like Robotech. As a matter of fact, there is a lot of similarity between epic anime series like Gundam, Robotech and Appleseed and Brian Herberts efforts. A lot of "true" fans shudder at the thought that the Dune name is brought to this. However, as an avid anime and manga fan, I don't see a problem. Just leave out the repeats for when the books are serialized.

The series is lifted to a higher level when it becomes clear that mankind can be just as ignorant as the thinking machines. Comparative morality is a recurring theme in the book. Slavery is an institution on most planets, not because the slave owners are pure evil but because the slaves are seen as "paying a debt to society" for being pacifists. I detect a slight jab at the politics of Bush and cronies who would gladly have reinstated slavery if it would have stopped terrorism. As a matter of fact, Arakis seems set to undergo the same fate as Iraq. If Frank Herbert were Nostradamus, Dune would be seen as a prophesy. Anyway, the absense of pure good and bad makes the whole series the best I've read in a very long time. The manipulations of Iblis and his Jipol are delightful as is the two faced Lord Bludd who shows a machine mindset when it comes to surpressing a slave revolt or two.

One of the best things about the prequels is the "aha" experience I got a few times. The origins of so many of Franks Herberts institutions become clear. Holtzman (who resembles a cowardly Zefram Cochrane) "invents" most of the tools used later on. The sorceresses are the ancestors of the Bene Gesserit. Norma exhibits all the characteristics of a mentat and the origins of the Space Guild and Choam are also made clear.

The separate stories in the book are expertly woven together although there are a few inconsistencies. If I take a step back, I can't understand why mankind is fighting machines with bullets and explosives. If the scrambling fields are effective against pure machines, why not send a few ships with field generators and just pass the Synchronized Worlds through a scrambler field? That should take care of the computers. The Cymeks are a different story but taking them out one by one shouldn't be the only solution. Why not lure them to a distant planet and nuke the hell out of them? Off course, that would make the story too short.

I can't wait to read the Battle for Corrin, it's loaded on my Kindle now but my baby son seems determined to distract me until he can read it himself.

In conclusion; if you're a hardcore Frank Herbert fan, leave these books because they will change your view on the Duniverse. For anyone enjoying a "Dune light" version with all the bloodshed and

A MUST READ        Rating:

Again, as Dune:House Harkonnen was to Dune:House Atreides, The Machine Crusade is to The Butlerian Jihad. Certainly a good read, a Shocking ending!

Worthy to be a prequel        Rating:

I have read the "most helpful critical review" of this book. While i respect it i don't agree with it.

First of all, i had a great time reading this book. This book was epic, not in the physical sense but in the historical sense, an excellent motion capture of events i would call it. It is obviously different than Dune's writing (the writers saying from the beginning they would not try to imitate Frank Herbert because they would fail). The tackled problems are slightly different (or subtly tackled, but differently), which, to me, is veridical, because you can't expect a perspective on a point of history to coincide with another. Problems of period 1 probably differ of the problems of period 2. Details of the original Dune novels are not forgotten because many threads come together - both important and unimportant threads, which gives a sense of total (and accurate) connection with the components of the original Dune series.

Unlike the "most helpful critical review", i felt attachment to characters from this book. One in particular, not a main character, but a character that undergoes a very human transformation and is pointlessly killed towards the end of the novel (i won't spoil :). That particular chain of events, as well as others, prevent this book from being linear as if written by a robot. Random things happened too which is exquisite.

Another thing i liked about this book is that it teaches us about how the world works. Intricate political and military plans, all those happen in reality in a manner similar to what was written, i'm convinced. I could also sense the writers' strong grasp of technology, which is pretty cool - it impressed even me and i'm a Software Engineer :) The technological details aren't intrusive, just right and sometimes subtle.

Bottom line, what i think should be known is that this book ties many threads which also go through the original novels - from that point of view you could enjoy it as you enjoyed "Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith", you know how it ends, but you want to see how it all happens. But, although i haven't read but a few pages of the "The Battle of Corrin", i can safely say that just as the Star Wars prequel, this prequel can easily be read as an independent science-fiction story. (I liked the Star Wars prequel even though it was obviously different, same goes for this). I think considering these books started from mere notes, i think Frank Herbert would be proud of the added value they bring. Even if my eyes hurt, i started reading "The Battle of Corrin" when i finished "The Machine Crusade" - for me that's proof enough this book matches the definition of 'good' good enough. I want to think of a bad thing to say about this book but i can't find one, and i'll leave it at that :)

A Dune Must Have Read!        Rating:

What a wonderful read!!! You can't tell the author isn't Frank Herbert, himself! If you have read and liked any of the Dune books, this one is a MUST HAVE!!

DUNE Machine Crusade        Rating:

I was missing this audio book from my collection. This CD set completes all my DUNE books on audio. Shipping was excellent. No problems. If you are a Duneite, like me, this 3 book Dune prequel answers questions and gives other background info on the Dune series. Dale Luna

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