The prequels to the Dune series, a posthumous expansion to Frank Herbert's wild distant future, have been around for awhile
now. These books, including House Corrino, can be seen on the end caps and displays at bookstores everywhere. Though this review is written from a fan's perspective, first time Dune readers will be by no means lost. The prose is fantastic, immediately engaging the imagination and gently transports one to the distant future of humanity. The allusions to future antiquity, technology, and intrigue are presented with a grace and style that goes beyond genre fiction.
Lady Jessica is pregnant with Paul. Chani is just a baby. Feyd Rautha is a toddler. Gurney Halleck is a bit younger, whom I imagine as a younger, punkish Patrick Stewart, inspired by his role in the David Lynch movie (I found it too weird to imagine a baby Sting). And Beast Rabban was even more cruel and stupid than in the first Dune. Princess Irulan is eleven. Duncan Idaho is straight out of Swordmaster School on Ginaz. Duke Leto is in his mid thirties and just coming into his own as a formidable force in the Landsraad.
New worlds are explored, like Beakkal, Zanovar, and Ix. Other cool stuff is more thoroughly explained, like the true nature of the infamous Tleilaxu axlotl tanks, how Baron Harkonnen sired Jessica, and the guilt of failures by Thufir Hawat that serve to fuel his Mentat mind in the originals (and Thufir's guile, that rings back to military brilliance throughout
human history). I feel compelled to hold back other details, yet like a schoolgirl with a secret, can't seem to contain myself...so those who don't want to
know, you may not want to read on...but here's some juicy Imperial gossip for those who can't wait!
Set approximately fifteen years prior to Dune, the Emperor of a Million Worlds Shaddam Corrino IV and childhood friend Count Hassimir Fenring are hatching a nefarious plot that will solidify ultimate control of the universe. Using his Saudaukar death troops indiscrimately, he begins his Great Spice War by brutally enforcing statutes against melange hoarding that have rarely if ever been previously enforced. Meanwhile, the mutilated Prince Rhombur Vernius, rebuilt as a cyborg by Dr. Wellington Yueh, plots to retake his homeworld of Ix. On Ix, the Bene Tleilaxu Master Researcher Ajidica is perfecting a synthetic melange called amal. Shaddam IV and Count Fenring have been heavily funding this research for over two decades, and even aided the Tleilaxu in their invasion, and deposition of House Vernius, of Ix, the ultimate industrial factory planet.
With this synthetic spice, he endeavors to make Arrakis and all the troubles that come with that fiefdom obsolete. Ajidica plots to betray his benefactors for his own megalomaniacal means.Meanwhile, Lady Jessica is supposed to be pregnant with a girl to tie up the bloodlines of the Atreides and Harkonnens to be the mother of the Kwisatz Haderach, the male Bene Gesserit that can be all places at once. Because Leto's son and heir Victor died in the same accident that mutilated Prince Rhombur, Jessica, in the name of love, sired a male instead of a female...and, it turns out that Mohiam was her mother. She copulated with Vladimir Harkonnen, and it seems he was so repulsive that Piter de Vries, the Harkonnen Mentat, had to drug her so Vladimir could rape her.Jessica had no idea that she was as important as she was in the breeding program. She didn't even know much about this deep, dark Bene Gesserit project. And she holds on to her secret until the bitter end.
The clutch of Sisters overseeing the momentous birth is furious. Jessica is petrified that they will murder her and her child, but faced with this, the Sisters have their hands tied. Philosophically, what can they do? The connundrum unfolds like this. The Bene Gesserit aspire to be purely human, to transcend animal nature and gain complete control of their minds, bodies and spirits. The Kwisatz Haderach is the omegal. Because of the enormity of this project, only Sisters high up in the order know the specifics of the breeding program; it is shrouded in many veils of secrecy. Though Jessica was indoctrinated to obey the Sisterhood implicitly and was ordered to conceive a female Atreides, her love for Duke Leto trumped her training. He lost his heir in an accident, which was really an assassination set forth by Piter de Vries of House Harkonnen. For the love of her Duke, as concubine, she sired a male, thinking she could sire females later. Her love, which is a completely human emotion, and some may say that love is what makes humans human, forced her to betray the Sisterhood. What could the Bene Gesserits really do? Left in the dark for the sake of the breeding program, unaware of the importance of her mandate, Jessica acted purely human.
The universe throws many other ironic monkey wrenches into the works of the various machinations of these plotting families. And the last one hundred pages or so are glorious! Enjoy!
Another tid bit: Hassimir Fenring was actually a potential Kwisatz Haderach, but he didn't pan out! This is revealed when Jessica's place is revealed, less than a week before she goes into labor.