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Searching... Amity Public Library | SCI-FIC HERBERT | Searching... Unknown |
Searching... Monmouth Public Library | Fic (sf) Herbert, B. 2002 | Searching... Unknown |
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Summary
Summary
Frank Herbert's "Dune "series is one of the grandest epics in the annals of imaginative literature. Selling millions of copies worldwide, it is science fiction's answer to T"he Lord of the Rings," a brilliantly imaginative epic of high adventure, unforgettable characters, and immense scope.
Decades after Herbert's original novels, the Dune saga was continued by Frank Herbert's son, Brian Herbert, an acclaimed SF novelist in his own right, in collaboration with Kevin J. Anderson. Their "New York Times "bestselling trilogy, "Dune: House Atreides, Dune: House Harkonnen, "and "Dune: House Corrino," formed a prequel to the classic Herbert series that was acclaimed by reviewers and readers alike. Now Herbert and Anderson, working from Frank Herbert's own notes, reveal a pivotal epoch in the history of the Dune universe, the chapter of the saga most eagerly anticipated by readers: "The Butlerian Jihad."
Throughout the Dune novels, Frank Herbert frequently referred to the long-ago war in which humans wrested their freedom from "thinking machines." Now, in Dune: Butlerian Jihad, Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson bring to life the story of that war, a tale previously seen only in tantalizing hints and clues. Finally, we see how Serena Butler's passionate grief ignites the war that will liberate humans from their machine masters. We learn the circumstances of the betrayal that made mortal enemies of House Atreides and House Harkonnen; and we experience the Battle of Corrin that created a galactic empire that lasted until the reign of Emperor Shaddam IV.
Herein are the foundations of the Bene Gesserit Sisterhood, the Suk Doctors, the Order of Mentats, and the mysteriously altered Navigators of the Spacing Guild. Here is the amazing tale of the Zensunni Wanderers, who escape bondage to flee to the desert world where they will declare themselves the Free Men of Dune. And here is the backward, nearly forgotten planet of Arrakis, where traders have discovered the remarkable properties of the spice melange . . . .
Ten thousand years before the events of Dune, humans have managed to battle the remorseless Machines to a standstill . . . but victory may be short-lived. Yet amid shortsighted squabbling between nobles, new leaders have begun to emerge. Among them are Xavier Harkonnen, military leader of the Planet of Salusa Secundus; Xavier's fiancee, Serena Butler, an activist who will become the unwilling leader of millions; and Tio Holtzman, the scientist struggling to devise a weapon that will help the human cause. Against the brute efficiency of their adversaries, these leaders and the human race have only imagination, compassion, and the capacity for love. It will have to be enough.
Author Notes
Brian Herbert is an author and the son of Frank Herbert, the creator of the Dune series.
Brian Herbert has had several stand-alone novels published but he is perhaps most well-known for his books that expand on his father's Dune novels. Written with author Kevin J. Anderson, these novels have been commercially successful and generally well received by the public.
Brian Herbert is the co-author of the Dune novels House Atreides, House Harkonnen, House Corrino, The Butlerian Jihad, The Machine Crusade, The Battle of Corrin, The Road To Dune, Hunters of Dune, Sandworms Of Dune, Paul Of Dune, The Winds Of Dune, and Sisterhood of Dune.
Brian Herbert has also edited several works relating to the Dune universe and to his father. In 2003, he authored Dreamer of Dune, the biography of Frank Herbert, a Hugo Award finalist nomination.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (4)
Publisher's Weekly Review
The sands of time have not diminished the impact Dune has had on the evolution of SF, and this new prequel by Frank Herbert's son and bestseller Anderson, following 2001's Dune: House Corrino (the concluding volume of their "House" trilogy), offers the kind of intricate plotting and philosophical musings that would make the elder Herbert proud. Reaching back into the beginnings of Arrakis, the authors show us Selim, a boy cast out by his tribe who discovers how to ride the fearsome giant sandworms. Selim tastes and learns the visionary power of the magical spice, melange, and how the future of Arrakis hinges on who controls it. At the same time, on planets far removed from the desolate dunes of Arrakis, others are involved in a Great Revolt. Free League World humans, led by Tercero Xavier Harkonnen and Serena Butler of Salusa Secundus, battle Omnius, a computer "evermind" intent on extending its dominion. The ominous Omnius seeks to conquer all planets not yet incorporated into his Synchronized Worlds system with the help of servile robotic extensions and colleagues, including Erasmus, a Thinking Machine "Hannibal Lecter" whose whimsical Mr. Spock-ish meditations enliven the proceedings immeasurably. Throughout, key revelations regarding the Zensunni Wanderers and their fight for freedom and other historical Dune elements lend an air of discovery to this fast-paced tale. (Sept. 24) Forecast: A $250,000 marketing campaign, including a national author tour and SF convention appearances, should launch this one onto bestseller lists. (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Kirkus Review
With three Dune books under their collaborative belt (Dune: House Corrino, 2001, etc.), the boys go back 10,000 years to tackle the epic conflict that shaped the entire Dune universe: humanity's struggle with the thinking machines. A mere handful of "cymeks," human brains inside powerful robot bodies, conquered the first human Galactic Empire. But then Omnius, a self-aware machine that replicated itself, built robot armies, and enslaved both the cymeks and humanity. Now, only the disunited and disorganized human-occupied planets hold out against Omnius's Synchronized Worlds. On Salusa Secundus, Xavier Harkonnen ponders ways to challenge the machines in battle; his beloved, firebrand Serena Butler, raises the collective consciousness. On Rossak, inventor Tio Holtzman broods over foldspace technology and personal shields; Sorceress Zufa Cenva trains a cadre of women with extraordinary mental powers to destroy cymeks and machines, while her husband, businessman Aurelius Venport, runs the economy and experiments with strange new drugs. On Earth, the independent robot Erasmus brutally vivisects humans in his study of emotions and creativity; trusted slave Iblis dreams of leading a slave revolt. On Arrakis, outcast Selim learns how to ride sandworms and receives inspiration from God. And young human Vorian Atreides, son of the cymek Agamemnon, loyally serves both cymeks and Omnius as he travels from world to world, updating each copy of Omnius with new information. Battle, be assured, will commence. Ideas aplenty, but shallow, unsubtle, and tepid: the pitch here is precisely Star Wars: Dune. $250,000 ad/promo; author tour
Booklist Review
Working from Dune creator Frank Herbert's notes, Herbert and Anderson begin to reconstruct the galaxywide events that eventuated in the highly specialized societies of the Dune novels: the wars against thinking machines that led to an absolute ban on artificial intelligence, the discovery of the powers of the spice, and the establishment of the Bene Gesserit sisters, among other things. Those thinking machines are a world mind, Omnius; his many copies operating other worlds; and the cymeks, elaborate machines with transplanted human minds. The cymeks woke up the computers of Earth and taught them to rule, not foreseeing the ultimate power that would be used against them. Humans on the machine-run Earth are slaves to an efficient "evermind." Free worlds remain, of course, their human inhabitants relying on circuitry-disrupting shields to protect them from computer-driven attack ships, and on slave labor in place of mechanization. A young Harkonnen officer is clearly the hero of the book, and Vorian Atreides, son of the voraciously cruel cymek, Agammemnon, is on the would-be oppressors' side. The planet Arrakis maintains only a few hardy desert dwellers when an exiled teen stumbles on the secret of riding the giant worms, and the sorceress Zufa trains a select group of young women in telepathic powers on the planet Rossak while rejecting her daughter, a brilliant mathematician. Herbert and Anderson strain to corral the book's many origin stories into a single plotline, and the dialogue can be stiff, but the powerful allure of the Dune mythos overcomes the awkwardness. --Roberta Johnson
Library Journal Review
Ten thousand years before the fall of the Imperial House Corrino, two grand interplanetary organizations ruled the known universe: the Synchronized Worlds, presided over by thinking machines led by the evermind called Omnius, and the League of Nobles, beleaguered survivors of the machines' revolt against the Old Empire. In this era, a few individuals determined to overturn the rule of the machines sought every opportunity to gain insights into ways to defeat the human race's most intractable enemy. Herbert and Anderson (Dune: House Atreides; Dune: House Harkonnen; Dune: House Corrino) continue their prehistory of Frank Herbert's "Dune" series with a new trilogy opener set in the distant past of Herbert's galactic saga. The authors reveal the origins of the Spacing Guild and the Bene Gesserit, as well as the root of the ancient feud between Houses Atreides and Harkonnen. This compelling saga of men and women struggling for their freedom is required reading for Dune fans and an essential purchase for libraries. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.