Customer Reviews (5)

Father and Son Team
I really enjoyed this book.You can't really identify which author did which sections, but the format and style is that of Frank's other works.This book had a great story line with a mix of emotions.This work isn't like the Dune books in its content, but is still very intuiging for the other twists, turns, and emotions that come out of it.You can definately find yourself relating to the experiences of many different characters in the book.The character development is very good, as you would expect from a book by Frank Herbert.This is a book that I just found difficult to put down and have actually read multiple times.

How could it be better than Dune.
This is a great book.To compare every piece of literature to the masterpiece that was Frank Herbert's crowning achievement is ludicrous.This book stands alone as a great novel.I can see Frank's hand in it aswell as that of his son, Brian; it is this that kept me reading it.It wasincredibly well done on the science fiction front (i.e. Frank's touch), aswell as being incredibly humorous (Brian's input into science fiction).Iloved it when I read "The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy" manyyears ago.After reading and enjoying "Man of Two Worlds" I wentback and reread "Hitchiker". Enjoy this book for what it isworth, not as a comparitive study to the masterpiece that is Dune.

Don't expect Frank Herbert and you'll enjoy this book!
If you've read Frank Herbert and you've loved Frank Herbert and you expected Frank Herbert, you might be disappointed.Just as the main character is the synthesis of a curious alien and a self-indulgent human, Man of Two Worlds is the synthesis of veteran writer Frank Herbert with his less prolific son, Brian Herbert.The best way to enjoy the novel is to read it as if it is Brian Herbert's book, because you won't have all the expectations going into it.This is just like the movie everyone raved about that you didn't think was so great.Block out the pep rally and pick this book up for a very interesting twist to the two strangers on the run theme.

Not a classic, but so what?
This is a book that, out of boredom, I reread after having not been impressed the first time around. While certainly not on the level of "Dune," the novel nevertheless portrays a unique future (profit-driven, of course; move over, cyber-punks!). If you have a few carefree days to spend reading, you could do much worse.

A POOR WRITING FROM A GREAT AUTHOR
Not all books can be winners.MAN OF TWO WORLDS is a pointless story of selfishness without any direction and an unsatisfying ending.Definitely a do not read ... Read more

Product Description
A New World in Embryo

Public Law 10927 was clear and direct. Parents were permitted to watch the genetic alterations of their gametes by skilled surgeons . . . only no one ever requested it.

When Lizbeth and Harvey Durant decided to invoke the Law; when Dr. Potter did not rearrange the most unusual genetic structure of their future son, barely an embryo growing in the State's special vat-the consequences of these decisions threatened to be catastrophic.

For never before had anyone dared defy the Rulers' decrees . . . and if They found out, it was well known that the price of disobedience was the extermination of the human race . . .
... Read more

Customer Reviews (16)

Heisenberg, as in uncertainty

Heisenberg, as in uncertainty, starts this story off and becomes the rationale for all the subsequent actions.
In this far future society, there are grades or castes of people.They are arranged by their genetics: the top are immortals, next come, the almost immortal, at the bottom are the ordinary people.The story starts with some lab preparing to process a zygote for a couple who were lucky enough to be chosen for having a baby.The zygote is examined by the doctor and he sees some unexpected change happen that makes this little one special, even more special than the immortals.He and the technician silently agree to keep the knowledge secret so the zygote will be allowed to grow up.Thus starts the chase for growth and development in this stagnant society.
The immortals are forty thousand (40,000), or more, years old.This age is inconceivable to us, and for most of that time they have ruled and do not allow any change.Anything that reminds them of death or decay is not recognized or spoken of.They are separate from everyone else.They rule by fear and from their little Olympus encampment.They think very little of destroying everyone in an area, they can be replaced, even if it takes a thousand (1,000) years, it is only a little inconvenience to the immortals.
These immortals have a tribunal that rules daily life, and as they come to understand that the zygote is special and try to find it, etc., they bring about their own destruction.You never find out quite what is so special about the little one, but the parents and attending doctor protect it, and, in the end, implant it in the woman for carrying.This becomes the seed for the new society that will be born from all this destruction.(Puns are wonderful, eh?)Everyone has hormone treatments to help them live life to the optimum best.Carrying a baby to term is a natural way to adjust and control hormones in a human, so everyone gets to have a baby to this end.
This is an interesting story because you never know what causes all the commotion (the zygote change), but everything turns out for the better.

Heisenberg, as in uncertainty

Heisenberg, as in uncertainty, starts this story off and becomes the rationale for all the subsequent actions.
In this far future society, there are grades or castes of people.They are arranged by their genetics: the top are immortals, next come, the almost immortal, at the bottom are the ordinary people.The story starts with some lab preparing to process a zygote for a couple who were lucky enough to be chosen for having a baby.The zygote is examined by the doctor and he sees some unexpected change happen that makes this little one special, even more special than the immortals.He and the technician silently agree to keep the knowledge secret so the zygote will be allowed to grow up.Thus starts the chase for growth and development in this stagnant society.
The immortals are forty thousand (40,000), or more, years old.This age is inconceivable to us, and for most of that time they have ruled and do not allow any change.Anything that reminds them of death or decay is not recognized or spoken of.They are separate from everyone else.They rule by fear and from their little Olympus encampment.They think very little of destroying everyone in an area, they can be replaced, even if it takes a thousand (1,000) years, it is only a little inconvenience to the immortals.
These immortals have a tribunal that rules daily life, and as they come to understand that the zygote is special and try to find it, etc., they bring about their own destruction.You never find out quite what is so special about the little one, but the parents and attending doctor protect it, and, in the end, implant it in the woman for carrying.This becomes the seed for the new society that will be born from all this destruction.(Puns are wonderful, eh?)Everyone has hormone treatments to help them live life to the optimum best.Carrying a baby to term is a natural way to adjust and control hormones in a human, so everyone gets to have a baby to this end.
This is an interesting story because you never know what causes all the commotion (the zygote change), but everything turns out for the better.

Heisenberg, as in uncertainty
Heisenberg, as in uncertainty, starts this story off and becomes the rationale for all the subsequent actions.
In this far future society, there are grades or castes of people.They are arranged by their genetics: the top are immortals, next come, the almost immortal, at the bottom are the ordinary people.The story starts with some lab preparing to process a zygote for a couple who were lucky enough to be chosen for having a baby.The zygote is examined by the doctor and he sees some unexpected change happen that makes this little one special, even more special than the immortals.He and the technician silently agree to keep the knowledge secret so the zygote will be allowed to grow up.Thus starts the chase for growth and development in this stagnant society.
The immortals are forty thousand (40,000), or more, years old.This age is inconceivable to us, and for most of that time they have ruled and do not allow any change.Anything that reminds them of death or decay is not recognized or spoken of.They are separate from everyone else.They rule by fear and from their little Olympus encampment.They think very little of destroying everyone in an area, they can be replaced, even if it takes a thousand (1,000) years, it is only a little inconvenience to the immortals.
These immortals have a tribunal that rules daily life, and as they come to understand that the zygote is special and try to find it, etc., they bring about their own destruction.You never find out quite what is so special about the little one, but the parents and attending doctor protect it, and, in the end, implant it in the woman for carrying.This becomes the seed for the new society that will be born from all this destruction.(Puns are wonderful, eh?)Everyone has hormone treatments to help them live life to the optimum best.Carrying a baby to term is a natural way to adjust and control hormones in a human, so everyone gets to have a baby to this end.
This is an interesting story because you never know what causes all the commotion (the zygote change), but everything turns out for the better.

Possible Future in Dune?
I enjoyed this book, though I wish more had been given for the history of this world. It seems entirely plausible that this is a future planet in Frank Herbert's Dune, one of the societies founded in the Scattering. The ideas presented in this book are engaging if sketchy. Overall 4.5/5 stars.

A novella without focus or history...
Frank Herbert is undoubtedly one of the better known science fiction authors.When I stumbled upon this small novella I was eager to read it.A few pages in, though, I knew that it would be a quick and uninteresting novella.

Pros: There really wasn't many pros, with the most obvious one of how Herbert writes and describes the scenes.

Cons: As a literary device Herbert had to have Harvey and Lizbeth communicate without being detected.So he had the two talk to each other by pressing their fingertips into the others hand and, voila, they can now hold entire conversations by the slightest press of their fingertips.This is highly unbelievable even when suspending reality.Add to that that the only way for this to work is that they must always hold hands, no matter the situation, otherwise they couldn't communicate.Beyond the fact that holding hands always is not feasible, whoever they are with would most certainly be suspicious if two "humans" always held hands everywhere they went in a world where touching is frowned upon.

Another con: there is absolutely no history developed at all regarding the Optimen, Cyborgs and humans.We have no clue about anything regarding the Cyborgs, or the Optimen or how the humans came to be where they were.Even the slightest development of each faction would have enhanced the book to a somewhat enjoyable read.Did the book take place on Earth, 40,000 years in the future?After all, most of the cities were spin off names of cities on Earth.Or did this have absolutely nothing to do with Earth and took place on a fictional planet?

When you get to the end you find that the whole novella was written for the express purpose of the final few pages (spoiler alert) as the Optimen experience change and, what do you know, they start to drop dead.The only saving grace was Herbert's writing, which is why I give it 2 stars.Would not recommend.

2 stars. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Great plot, sometimes thick writing
I like the direction Frank Herbert took the Dune series in his first two sequels. This book has a bit more development than the original Dune. We get to learn more about the inner turmoil of Paul, Alia, and then meet the kids. Frank has a way of creating politically exciting twists and power struggles, without making any one character the villain. Paul and Alia in their own ways are both despots and victims. In terms of storyline, I think this brings the story to a satisfying conclusion (I'm not so big a fan of what happens after Children of Dune (Dune Chronicles, Book 3)).

Frank's writing style can be a bit dense. Sometimes the dialogue is filled with philosophical or nonsensical musings. Some of it is quite deep - but certainly not how people actually talk. It takes some getting used to. I'd recommend only continuing on to this book if you got through the original Dune and liked it.

If you liked the books, I highly recommend Frank Herbert's Children of Dune (Sci-Fi TV Miniseries) (Two-Disc DVD Set) - it's a pretty good film adaptation of Dune Messiah (Dune Chronicles) and Children of Dune (Dune Chronicles, Book 3). ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

A Way of Life
An interesting chronicle of a way of life that is fast becoming lost to us. Worth reading.

Breaking Architectural Rules - Building Usonia 1 !
This personal memoir of building two Frank Lloyd Wright houses is intriguing. Herbert and Katherine Jacobs offer a frank, honest account of their experiences. I have read this book twice. I think the glimpse of thepersonality of Frank Lloyd Wright is the most fascinating part of thisbook. You comprehend what a "pain" he was to work with and then you realizethat he had the big picture and was trying to create a "timeless work ofart" and the Jacobs' were just "not getting it". They didn't seem tounderstand that to make things work out correctly they needed to follow thedetails of the plans. Parts of the book, including chapters 18 and 19 are atrip down memory lane for them and offer the reader little informationabout their building experience. The black and white photos whichillustrate this book were shot from 1936 to 1959. This is not a coffeetable book like 50 Favorite Furnishings by Frank Lloyd Wright , and 50Favorite Rooms by Frank Lloyd Wright by Diane Maddex. This book makes mecurious about the famous architect whose style is timeless. An architectwho could design a house of beauty and style for the common man -"theUsonia".

Breaking architectural rules - Building Usonia 1 !
This personal memoir of building two Frank Lloyd Wright houses is intriguing. Herbert and Katherine Jacobs offer a frank, honest account of their experiences. I have read this book twice. I think the glimpse of thepersonality of Frank Lloyd Wright is the most fascinating part of thisbook. You comprehend what a "pain" he was to work with and then you realizethat he had the big picture and was trying to create a "timeless work ofart" and the Jacobs' were just "not getting it". They didn't seem tounderstand that to make things work out correctly they needed to follow thedetails of the plans. Parts of the book, including chapters 18 and 19 are atrip down memory lane for them and offer the reader little informationabout their building experience. The black and white photos whichillustrate this book were shot from 1936 to 1959. This is not a coffeetable book like 50 Favorite Furnishings by Frank Lloyd Wright , and 50Favorite Rooms by Frank Lloyd Wright by Diane Maddex. This book makes mecurious about the famous architect whose style is timeless. An architectwho could design a house of beauty and style for the common man -"theUsonia".

Building with Frank Lloyd Wrigth - an illustrated memoir
This is an an excellentbook, written by the owners on the construction of their two Wright house designs - Jacob I & Jacobs II Solar Hemicycle.Each chapter outlines the process of design, constructiondrawings , materialsselection and construction itself, Owner built by theowners - to save money- it is full of b & w photos of each stage, andsome of the plans. The book illustrateshow the simple plans are put intoaction and reveal the intricate structural solutionsthat Wrightdeveloped. For the architect in you, you will mullover the photos and plansworking out in you own mind how this was put together. Both extraordinarydesigns for their time, this book will inspire you to have a home likethem. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

From Back Cover
A WORLD OF WATER

In The Jesus Incident Herbert and Ransom introduced Ship, an artificial intelligence that believed it was God, abandoning its unworthy human cargo on the all-sea world of Pandora.Now centuries have passed.The descendants of humanity, split into Mermen and Islanders, must reunite... because Pandora's original owner is returning to life!

The lazarus effect review.
In my eyes, this is a very good book. I suggest you spend a week or two to read it. You will feel better after you read is. It makes me wonder my this wasnt a hit instead of Dune. They are both outstanding books and this book gets my gratitude.

The Lazarus Effect
I feel that people everywhere should read the Pandora series. It mixes action, love, literature, and culture into an action packed yet down to earth book. I feel that Frank herbert, and Bill Ransomhave created a marvelous Series that shows how people are nto what they seem.

Voidship strikes again
Unlike Dune, this series has been out of print for some time. Shame! No one does it better than Herbert but Dune-Mania has left too much of his best work unread and unknown. Dune was a masterpiece, no question. But the series devolved into action novels - the work of creating his universe did not have to be re-done so the rest was just what happens next (and as Brian continues the series, what happened before. The Voidship series is different. Beginning with Destination: Void, which establishes the premise, each novel must reestablish the world in which it is set. Each set of characters has very new hurdles and new forms of intelligent life(? at least self-awareness) to deal with, each with their own world view. A good marketing bet would be to reintroduce these novels in paperback, capitalizing on the popularity of the Dune series. Let the new generation of sf readers discover the other worlds of Frank Herbert.

A very good read!
Well I hate long reviews so here's what I have to say about The Lazarus Effect.If you read any of Peter F. Hamiltons books like The Reality Dysfunction then you should enjoy this one. It's Biotechnology vs.Technology, Mermen vs. Mutes ... Read more

Product Description
A bibliography of all Frank Herbert's work up until early 1987, including foreign language publications, fiction and non-fiction works, verse, film and sound recordings, newspaper articles and collaborations. Also included are illustrations of various citations, and lengthy analytical introductions. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

dune master won't cut it
this book is good, but has no content.It's all politics and no action.I don't know about all of the people out there who find politics enjoyable but i hate it! ... Read more

Product Description
5 1/2" x 8 1/2"; black boards, yellow letting on spine; 192 pp. ... Read more

Product Description
The Science Fiction Book Club (SFBC): The Classic Sequels to Frank Herbert's Dune. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Great plot, sometimes thick writing
I like the direction Frank Herbert took the Dune series in his first two sequels. This book has a bit more development than the original Dune. We get to learn more about the inner turmoil of Paul, Alia, and then meet the kids. Frank has a way of creating politically exciting twists and power struggles, without making any one character the villain. Paul and Alia in their own ways are both despots and victims. In terms of storyline, I think this brings the story to a satisfying conclusion (I'm not so big a fan of what happens after Children of Dune (Dune Chronicles, Book 3)).

Frank's writing style can be a bit dense. Sometimes the dialogue is filled with philosophical or nonsensical musings. Some of it is quite deep - but certainly not how people actually talk. It takes some getting used to. I'd recommend only continuing on to this book if you got through the original Dune and liked it.

If you liked the books, I highly recommend Frank Herbert's Children of Dune (Sci-Fi TV Miniseries) (Two-Disc DVD Set) - it's a pretty good film adaptation of Dune Messiah (Dune Chronicles) and Children of Dune (Dune Chronicles, Book 3).

Double the 60's drug culture meets political intrigue
Dune Messiah takes place about 12 years after the previous book Dune so you don't come in in the middle of a twisty plot.These would be fine to read without having read Dune first (I liked both books, but Dune was happier so read that one first anyway.)

Dune Messiah begins with a meeting of conspirators as they plan how to take down the emperor Paul and come out politically ahead.The conspirators are:Irulan, Paul's wife who he married for politics and will never sleep with.She wants an heir.A member of the guild who controls space travel (Paul can't see what goes on in the prescence of a guild member.He wants spice (drugs -yum).The Bene-Geserit mother.She hates Paul personally as well as politically.And a shape shifter.

They agree to the shape shifter's plan of psychological poison for Paul, in the form of the reanimated corpse of his childhood mentor, Duncan Idaho, and present Idaho to Paul as a gift.Idaho has all the old Idaho's memories but knows that he has been tweaked in the reanimation process and that he is meant to set Paul up.He doesn't know how and is consciously trying to protect Paul.

Paul sees the world around him entirely through his spice enhanced psychic senses.He can't see a way to escape the futures that he sees and is trying to steer things away from the worst options.He is concerned protecting his wife Chani (not politically recognized).He realizes that she will die after bearing a child, and so has not confronted Irulan about giving her birth control for the last 12 years.Chani is now pregnant, so Paul has a limited amount of time to arrange things.Many of the characters here are driven by the struggle to influence the inevitable but still unpredictable future:Paul's wives are interested in moving before the biological clock stops ticking.Paul sees the future but not all the details further away in time.Idaho realizes he will be used against Paul and is trying to avoid it.

Children of Dune won't make much sense for you unless you read another book in the series first (not a problem here, since you have both together and will probably read them in order).Children of Dune takes place about 8 years after Dune Messiah.The emperor Paul's twin children, Leto and Ghani, are mentally adult (since they are pre-born - born with all of their ancestors' memories and consciousnesses), but physically children.Their regent is also pre-born, and clearly going crazy, and running the country into the ground in the process.The twins have to deal with the possibility of someday going crazy too, and meanwhile trying to be taken seriously so that they can do something about the present.Meanwhile many subplots (for me more interesting than the main plot) play out.

A big theme here is people changing from the inside out.Alia and the twins are trying to find balance so that none of their inner personalities will possess them.Leto eventually begins a different sort of inside out change, but doesn't fully accept it even as he feels it happening.The government has become corrupt and perhaps power will shift as a result.Water is changing the planet.There is enough humidity that extinction of worms is a possibility.The freemen have also changed in response to the water.

I liked Dune Messiah, but not so much Children of Dune.Neither has a happy ending, so if you want that, then look to the first book, Dune.Children of Dune dragged for me, but from reading other reviews of the two books, this is a matter of taste.About half and half prefer one over the other.So if you liked Dune, then you will like one, but probably not both of these books.Right now the two sequels together are cheaper than separate, so this is a good buy. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (34)

If you're a dune fan ... Great Read!
Herbert & Anderson have written the wonderful precursors to Dune, following in the footsteps of the Master & firmly entrenching themselves as his worthy successors; Road to Dune is an impressive adjunct & valuable reference material (for the world of Dune) of itself...

The bottom of the barrel is okay. . .
In looking at the other reviews, it is clear that everyone who reads this comes to the book with a set of prejudices that completely color their take on this book. So let me begin with that. When I was in fifth grade, I fell madly in love with Arrakis. I've always been much more ambivalent about _Dune_ and its sequels. The world itself is so rich that it feels just as real as the moon in the sky. The characters, however, are all cut from the same power-hungry cloth. They might be good or evil (rarely in between) but they're always striving and scheming. It seems like such a narrow take on the human experience. It was all the more shocking to read Herbert's moving description of the end of his wife's life that follows _Chapterhouse_. The short essay left me with a sense that we readers had been robbed of so much of what _Dune_ could have been.

The narrowness of the characterization turned, in my view, into self-parody in the second generation novels by Brian Herbert and Kevin Anderson. They're credible pulp fiction but at the end of the day they're nothing more than light adventure stories and as you get older that loses its hold over you. I stopped reading them when I got tired of the homophobia and the machismo.

I found _The Road to Dune_ remaindered, so I bought it on impulse. It's a mixed bag. It contains four separate parts.

The first is an early attempt at the original _Dune_ novel. As an example of campy pulp fun, it's not bad. It has a glaring plot hole that I'm pretty sure doesn't exist in the classic version of _Dune_ (but would have to reread to double check). In seeing the evolution of the novel, it also makes sense of some of the less explicable parts of what was ultimately published. The replacement of the Harkonnen with the Atreides on Arrakis always struck me as forced, for instance, but seeing its origins in more of a contest in an `action story' at least gives it some context. My main reaction to this short novel is that it gives what a sense of an accomplishment _Dune_ is. It took an enormous amount of work to create such a vivid world in this `Spice Planet' story. To keep working it and working it into _Dune_ was quite the feat.

The second section, rather brief, is a series of letters about the publication of _Dune_. That the novel had such difficult getting published is the stuff of science fiction legends, but the actual story is more interesting than I expected. I hadn't realized that the major objection was really to the length of the novel -- it doesn't seem like that big of a deal today -- and that a number of the publishers who rejected it had a sixth sense that they were making a mistake.

Unless you put the fanatic back into fan or have read _Dune_ or _Dune Messiah_ recently, the deleted scenes that make up the third part of the book generally deal with such minor points and are so hard to put into the time line that they seem like random minutiae. The alternate endings to _Dune Messiah_ are the arguable exception.

The fourth section is four stories by Brian Herbert and Kevin Anderson that others have criticized for already being available for free online. I wouldn't want to read something that long online myself , so their inclusion doesn't seem so baffling to me. One is set during _Dune_; the others are based on the Butlerian Jihad thousands of years before it that the second generation authors have fleshed out (in books I haven't read). My main sense of these three stories is that they are consistent in quality with their other work. So if you like their novels, you'll probably like them. If you've gotten to the point where the relentless violence and scheming seems old or the one-dimensional characterization isn't worth your time, then you won't.
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This review is based on a remaindered trade paperback edition. After having written the review, I realized that it appears to be a UK edition.

The Dune that might have been
Ever want more information about how the books got written?The characters developed?Want to see the original drafts for Dune, drafts that contain significant changes?Want a deeper insight into Dune than ever before?Then prepare to walk The Road To Dune.

A treasure trove!
A treasure trove!Amazing historical stuff from the archives of Frank Herbert, letters, rejection slips, missing chapters, alternate endings.Plus the collected Dune short stories written by Brian and Kevin.I particularly enjoyed the unorthodox collaboration of "Spice Planet" -- a science fiction adventure story that Frank Herbert had outline, a prototype version of DUNE.Something in this book for all Dune fans.

Great Book
Awesome Read for any Dune fan. This duo really did a wonderful job as usual on their books. Thank you Mr. Herbert, and Mr. Anderson for writing this among the many other books you have shared with all of us Dune fans. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

semi-illustrated novel
This Frank Herbert novel will surprise you, since I know of no other novel by him which had occasional pictures (B&W) included. It IS entertaining, and has good continuity over ages of time, and will not require ages to read. Even though this author has passed on, there is still time to discover how GOOD he is!

Not the best of Herbert's works
I have been a huge fan of Dune for a long time, but I have also enjoyed Frank Herbert's other work, such as Santaroga Barrier or The Dosadi Experiment, so I decided to give this a try.

This doesn't really read like a novel as it does a short story. The plot is sparse, and the point of the story in the beginning was rather different from the end. This story started off great and I was wondering what kind of messages or lessons would be imparted, but the story fell very flat. This story feels more like a experiment by Herbert, a literary 'doodle' while he explored ideas and played with them. The illustrations did make a nice touch, though.

Great introduction to science fiction!
Sharp art on cover draws one to this book.Good story and plot, certainly a great introduction to Frank Herbert's writing.Black and white drawings throughout this book are terrific and make it more interesting.I was impressed with this book for young people to enjoy.

for kids
I picked this up at a used bookstore just because of the author.I think it must be for young adults.The writing was simplistic.I think the typeface was even larger than most books ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (6)

Do sandworms have sex?
You'll find the answers to these and other questions in The Science of Dune: An Unauthorized Exploration into the Real Science behind Frank Herbert's Fictional Universe (Science of Pop Culture series). The book is a fun romp for fans of the Dune series. Scientists combine knowledge of terrestrial science and the Dune saga to try to fill the gaps left by Frank Herbert. At the very least, the book will give Dune fans a greater appreciation of the saga and new insights into the story (I thought the speculation on sandworm biology adds a neat twist on how spice is made). I wouldn't say the essays work well. Some don't contribute much to understanding Dune at all, but rather seem to be a primer on certain scientific fields. At other times, I thought the discussion was less than complete. For example, the chapter on biology did't even discuss the possibility of lower gravity or increased oxygen in the atmosphere as possible solutions to the problem of sandworm size (indeed, the latter seems to have contributed to the rise of dinosaurs). I'd recommend reading only those chapters that really interest you - not necessarily the entire book cover to cover.

The Science Fiction trap sprung
To understand this book, and what is wrong with many of its essays within it, you have to understand the original and its author, Frank Herbert.

Herbet was, if evidence will show, a fairly remarkable man who was gifted with a heavy dose, and a fine balance of, hard logic and broad creativity. Smart enough to apply certain fields of science in (based on the understanding of that time) plausible ways and creative enough to flex it when necessary to the needs of his story telling.

The Dune universe is nearly alien in its remoteness, some ten millennia in the future, and there is very little that has a real world connection beyond the intended human experience. Psychology, sociology, anthropology, biology, and civics are what pull the strings in Herbert's work and what makes it so very easy to relate to despite its far flung setting. Everything else, including technology, is presented merely as vague outlines that the human drama passes through and plucks at where needed to move the story along. Its remote setting cannot get away with delving into the details, even speculation really, like that of Star Trek without trapping itself. Herbert understood this and avoided it, as many good Sci-Fi writers do, by creating only those necessary outlines and leaving the rest to the fun of imagination.

"The Science of Dune" and the essays within are at their best were they address the related human sciences of the Dune universe; real world counterpoints to melange and its effects, the biology of Face Dancers, society, ecology, etc. Where is bogs down, or outright fails (and often does), is when the essays attempt to color in where there is nothing but those aforementioned outlines. Many of the topics have so little to work with that the bulk of the content rapidly wanders off into a primer about the authors background profession with only a crude effort (or not at all) to relate it to "Dune" and the opening topic. At times I had to stop and ask myself why the essay I was reading was even written.

"The Science of Dune" delivers when an essay helps you better appreciate the vision, that is still very relevant some forty years later, within Frank Herbert's "Dune". Where it does not is when after finishing reading you feel you've paid full price for half of a book.

No 'thopters?
Granted, ornithopters are not exclusive to the Dune universe, but they are such a prominent part of the technological background that it's hard to imagine a book on the science of Dune omitting them. Yet somehow this book manages to do it.

An interesting collection of essays
This book is really a collection of essays by various authors about topics of the Dune setting.Obviously, with so many authors the books lacks a single unifying tone or mood as some essays use more humor than others, others are more narrow in focus, etc.The result can be "uneven" especially when read in a couple of sittings.

I think my favorite essay was on "Melange" and the way the author Dr. Carol Hart relates it to LSD and other mind altering drugs is interesting approach.Very much a "you get out of it what you put into it" sort of situation.I also liked the deconstruction of the Stillsuit by John C. Smith.As an engineer I had always wondered about the thermodynamics of the device and was interested in seeing if someone had a plausible method for allowing it to function.

You don't need much "Dune" experience to understand and enjoy this book.If you have read the first novel, seen the movie or Sci-Fi channel mini-series you will know enough to relate to the essays.

A Dune nerd's wet-dream
Do you like Dune?I mean...do you REALLY LIKE Dune?No no...I mean do you like it so much that you've sat around and wondered about how a stillsuit would work, or whether or not a drug like the spice could actually exist?Or how a sandworm is even possible (if at all)?Better yet, have you ever posted on a message board about these things?If you answer yes to any of these last few then you're a huge nerd and this book is for YOU. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Great plot, sometimes thick writing
I like the direction Frank Herbert took the Dune series in his first two sequels. This book has a bit more development than the original Dune. We get to learn more about the inner turmoil of Paul, Alia, and then meet the kids. Frank has a way of creating politically exciting twists and power struggles, without making any one character the villain. Paul and Alia in their own ways are both despots and victims. In terms of storyline, I think this brings the story to a satisfying conclusion (I'm not so big a fan of what happens after Children of Dune (Dune Chronicles, Book 3)).

Frank's writing style can be a bit dense. Sometimes the dialogue is filled with philosophical or nonsensical musings. Some of it is quite deep - but certainly not how people actually talk. It takes some getting used to. I'd recommend only continuing on to this book if you got through the original Dune and liked it.

If you liked the books, I highly recommend Frank Herbert's Children of Dune (Sci-Fi TV Miniseries) (Two-Disc DVD Set) - it's a pretty good film adaptation of Dune Messiah (Dune Chronicles) and Children of Dune (Dune Chronicles, Book 3). ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Hard to find, but worth the search if you're a die hard Dune fan.
Dune is a classic. And this book answers some of the most fundamental questions that Dune fans have always had.What did the characters look like?

In the book there's about 13 illustrations. And about half of them are in color. The illustrations themselves are not terrific by any standards. In fact, I don't even think they're consistent with the Dune series. (In book V Heretics to Dune Chani's hair color is quoted as red.In the Illustrated Dune, it's clearly black.) But I enjoyed them nonetheless.

Other than the few pictures there's nothing to distinguish this book from the original.The illustrations are by John Schoenherr, the same guy who did the original cover art.The copyright is 1977. ... Read more

Product Description
The first book in the magnificent DUNE saga, apparently a first book club edition with 1681 at the bottom of the back flap and Book Club Edition at the bottom of the front flap. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Arrakis & the Spice Wars!Nebula & Hugo Winner for Herbert!
It was great rereading this book.It originally came out in 1965 and several awards and Hugos later still has a lot to say about religious fanaticism, ecology & environmentalism, monopolies and government corruption.

Not to give away the whole plot, but the book starts out rather innocently enough:Paul Atreides was the boy that should not have been.The Duke's consort, Jessica, was supposed to have a girl.Right there we have a reversal of traditional roles, which was fairly daring writing in 1965.

The Bene Gesseret is the school of mental and physical training for female students, after the destruction of machines and robots many years ago.Paul is a guy though, yet he is looked upon by the natives of the planet Arrakis as their next savior.He plays on that and develops it, especially when their family enemy, the Baron Harkonnen, destroys his father and family.Will there be revenge?How will he build his power base?

Frank Herbert builds a race and a planetary base that is so realistic and it's as if we were transported to this desert planet, where water is as precious as life; your stillsuit collects your body moisture and often you must drink your own body fluids or die.

The main part of the story deals with Spice or Melange, a drug that expands consciousness and is also the a rare substance only found on Arakkis.The sandworms may hold the key to its manufacture which cannot be synthesized.

There have been many books written since Dune, including a major motion picture (which you must read the book first to understand the film) as well as science fiction tributes (Star Wars has a desert planet Tatooine, and you can see a long skeleton on the surface -- a sandworm!).

I enjoyed the expressive writing, the glossaries and histories were very extensive, and after 90 generations of breeding, the Bene Gesserit would actually succeed or fail, depending on Paul Atriedes to close the gap between the Fremen and civilization.Paul though sees the future.Can he avoid the jihad that he keeps seeing in his future?Quite a novel!

Ecology and the Geopolitics of Oil, I mean 'Spice'
In Dune Frank Herbert presents an insightful take on the geopolitics of oil, I mean spice. He wrote about the west's dependence on oil as if it was an addictive drug, "spice." While he got some of the politics right, with the Sardaukar as a fighting force of the imperialist-spice addicts he seems to have bought into the belief, popular among the anti-Zionist Left*, that Israel is solely and completely an expression of western colonialism who's people have no right to freedom or self-determination.

I support the Euston Manifesto which supports the human rights of Israelis and Palestinians.

* Odd but the anti-Zionist Left marches to the same beat as the anti-Semitic right - Pat Buchanan, David Duke and Louis Farakhan may not agree on much, but where I'm concerned it sounds like "You don't eat shrimp and cheeseburger therefore you must die!" To them I say hey, "I'm just your average the Libertarian Progressive Car-Drivin' Meat Eatin' Tree-Huggin' American kid from New York City; Supporter of the Rights of Israelis, Palestinians & Whales."

Behind the Coriolis Wall the Giant Worm Reigns!
The present book is one of my all time favorites regardless of genre!
I've read it more than a dozen times since the first time I did it in the late `60s. Then I proceed to read every new book of the series as soon as published, treasuring the six original in my library.
It was a sad day for me when I read Frank Herbert's obituary.
Frank Herbert (1920-1986) wrote masterpiece "Dune" (1965), generating a recognizable turning point in sci-fi literature.
The variety of themes he touched influenced many genre authors thereafter: ecology, political-religious interaction, genetic manipulation, longevity drugs and secret sisterhoods and brotherhoods.

Dune's universe is fascinating not only as the backdrop to the present story but for all the other issues that are glimpsed in each chapter heading.
This thematic richness allows Frank's son nowadays to produce prequel trilogies deploying those implied scenarios.

The story is as follows.
The Scenery.
There is a Galactic Empire ruled by the Emperor. There are powerful Noble Houses that rule different planetary systems and confront each other in endless struggle, yet subject to strict rules. There is a Guild of interstellar Pilots. There is the Bene Gesserit Sisterhood following their eugenic plans and playing in backstage as advisors to all powers. Computers & AI are forbidden and replaced by human-computers called Mentat. Arrakis is Desert Planet inhabited by fanatical desert dwellers: the Fremen.
The Conflict.
Noble House Atreides is forced out of its Home system under Emperor's command and ordered to take care of the planet Arrakis. It is a two edged task in one hand Arrakis is the only galactic source of "Mélange" a drug that prolongs human life AND allows pilots of the Guild to conduct foldspace traveling ships. Controlling the planet is of supreme importance.
In the other hand Noble House Harkonnen, Atreides' ancestral enemy, was in command of Arrakis and Duke Leto Atreides suspects a trap was laid by them to ruin his House.
The Adventure.
As soon as the Atreides set foot on Arrakis conflicts erupt. Paul, Duke Leto's son & heir, seems to immediately adapt to this planet conditions.
After several issues that I will not disclose, Paul and his mother are left isolated in deep desert. There the will meet the Fremen and their Destiny.

I recommend this book to sci-fi lovers and general public too. I will characterize "Dune" as unforgettable, outstanding and amazing.Do not let it pass by unnoticed!
Reviewed by Max Yofre.
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