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Shvoong Home>Books>Science Fiction & Fantasy>Dune: The Butlerian Jihad Summary

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Dune: The Butlerian Jihad

Book Review by: KVMBooks     

Original Authors: Frank Herbert; Kevin J. Anderson
  • Summary rating: 4 stars (3 Ratings)
  • Visits : 177
  • words:600 
  • Comments : 0
Review of Dune: The Butlerian Jihad, by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson
KVM's review rating: *****
(excellent)
I was skeptical about the prequel Dune books. The original Dune series is an icon of science fiction, and one of the best stories ever written.  So, it was with a critical eye I read the younger Herbert's and Anderson's offering.
I was pleasantly surprised. Forget what you may have been expecting (or heard) about the prequel books. The Butlerian Jihad was fantastic, and well-deserving of being indoctrinated into the Dune pantheon. Brian and Kevin, good authors in their own rights, have weaved together a complex and coherent story of the events leading up to the creation of the unique Dune universe we all know and love.  What Frank hinted at with cryptic innuendoes and pithy colloquialisms this book brings to life.
The Butlerian Jihad takes place 10,000 years or so prior to the original Dune series, in a time when mankind's complacency has enable machines, ruled by the aptly-named Omnius, to take over rule of most of the known galaxy. Humans, within the machine empire called the "Synchronized Worlds" are relegated to slavery. The free humans reside in what will later become the Empire of the original Dune series, complete with the beginnings of the Great Houses of Dune fame – Corrino, Harkonnen, and Atreides.  It also explores the complex relationship between these houses that will one day shape the universe.
The setting is extravagant and interesting. Few of the worlds are as well-described as Dune itself is in later books, but there are many more of them being dealt with. Of particular interest is Earth itself. The mystery of what happened to Earth in the original Dune chronicles is explain at length in these prequel books!
The characters are very well portrayed. Intelligent, witty, and often maddening, the characters of Jihad do justice to their descendants (Paul Atreides, the Padishah Emporer Shaddam, Baron Vladimir Harkonnen, and the rest).
Overall, I was totally engrossed in the history.  An ambitious project well done, I look forward to reading and reviewing the next book: The Machine Crusade.
 
Published: July 17, 2007

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