Sandworms of Dune (Dune 7 Series #2) [NOOK Book]

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Overview


At the end of Frank Herbert's final novel, Chapterhouse: Dune, a ship carrying a crew of refugees escapes into the uncharted galaxy, fleeing from a terrifying, mysterious Enemy. The fugitives used genetic technology to revive key figures from Dune's past--including Paul Muad'Dib and Lady Jessica--to use their special talents to meet the challenges thrown at them.

Based directly on Frank Herbert's final outline, which lay hidden in two safe-deposit boxes for a decade, Sandworms of Dune will answer the urgent questions Dune fans have been debating for two decades: the origin of the Honored Matres, the tantalizing future...
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More About This Book

Overview


At the end of Frank Herbert's final novel, Chapterhouse: Dune, a ship carrying a crew of refugees escapes into the uncharted galaxy, fleeing from a terrifying, mysterious Enemy. The fugitives used genetic technology to revive key figures from Dune's past--including Paul Muad'Dib and Lady Jessica--to use their special talents to meet the challenges thrown at them.

Based directly on Frank Herbert's final outline, which lay hidden in two safe-deposit boxes for a decade, Sandworms of Dune will answer the urgent questions Dune fans have been debating for two decades: the origin of the Honored Matres, the tantalizing future of the planet Arrakis, the final revelation of the Kwisatz Haderach, and the resolution to the war between Man and Machine. This breathtaking new novel in Frank Herbert's Dune series has enough surprises and plot twists to please even the most demanding reader.

Editorial Reviews

Publishers Weekly

Longtime collaborators Herbert and Anderson set themselves a steep challenge-and, in the end, fail to meet it-in this much anticipated wrapup of the original Dune cycle (after 2006's Hunters of Dune). A large cast scattered across the cosmos must be brought together so that the final, all-powerful Kwisatz Haderach may be revealed in the ultimate face-off between humankind and the machine empire ruled by the implacable Omnius. Though pacing is brisk and the infrequent action scenes crackle with tension, only two minor characters-gholas, who are young clones with restored memories, of Suk doctor Wellington Yueh and God-Emperor Leto II-acquire real depth. Everyone else is too busy reacting to mostly irrelevant subplots like sabotage aboard the no-ship Ithaca, a plague devastating the planet of Chapterhouse and the genetic engineering of marine-dwelling sandworms. The lengthy climax relies on at least four consecutive deus ex machina bailouts, eventually devolving into sheer fairy tale optimism. Series fans will argue the novel's merits for years; others will be underwhelmed. (Aug.)

Copyright 2007 Reed Business Information
Library Journal

Twenty years after their escape from the beleaguered Bene Gesserit world of Chapterhouse, as told in the late Frank Herbert's final Dune tale (Chapterhouse: Dune), the Bene Gesserit sisterhood embarks on a bold scheme to create ghola-clones that eventually awaken to the full memories of their original-of some of history's key personalities, in the hope that they can find a way to win an otherwise unwinnable war. Avoiding attempts by the machine world to locate their ship, Ithaca, proves challenging, but even more threatening is the discovery of at least one saboteur aboard the Ithaca. The future of humanity hangs on the abilities of newly created versions of Paul Muad'Dib; his mother, Lady Jessica Atreides; and the young ghola of Dune's notorious God Emperor, Leto II. Complex in structure though never hard to follow, this sequel to Hunters of Duneties together the threads left by Chapterhouse: Dune, bringing closure to a saga of planetary birth and death and human courage and hubris. At the same time, the authors have left room for further explorations of one of the genre's most enduring worlds. Highly recommended for all sf collections. [The publisher is promoting this volume with a $250,000 national marketing plan.-Ed.]


—Jackie Cassada
More Reviews (1) Fewer Reviews
Kirkus Reviews
Final installment-chronologically, anyway-in the Dune series (Hunters of Dune, 2006, etc.) begun by the late Frank Herbert in 1965 and continued by his son, Brian, and collaborator Anderson. Thousands of years in the future, the Great Enemy that threatens humanity's survival has been revealed as Omnius, a megalomaniacal intelligent machine that survived the Butlerian Jihad, and his independent-minded sidekick Erasmus. Vengeful Omnius commands hordes of be-weaponed thinking machines and spaceships; Erasmus has consumed thousands of human personal histories in an attempt to understand the human species. The pair have created millions of undetectable Face Dancers (they can mimic any human shape) and placed them in key positions in the Spacing Guild administration, the factories of machine planet Ix and even the Sisterhood-heir to the old Atreides empire-led by Mother Commander Murbella. They have also cloned the evil Baron Harkonnen and the baron's old foe, Paul Atreides, whom the baron has worked assiduously to corrupt. Other than the beleaguered Sisterhood, the machines are opposed by Norma Cenva, the godlike Oracle, inspiration to the traditional spice-addicted Guild Navigators, and a spaceship containing clones of famous figures from the past, including Duncan Idaho, Paul Atreides, Leto II and the Bashar Miles Teg. Everybody agrees that events are shaping up for Kralizec, the long-foretold battle at the end of time. In true Herbertian fashion, everybody has a secret agenda; everyone dreams of defeating all opposition; and each side plots to create and control an omniscient superbeing known as the Kwisatz Haderach. Let Kralizec commence. The boys do a great job in investing the plot withheft and complexity and the narrative with pace and momentum, and conveying the sheer ferocity of the betrayals and duplicities. Less felicitous are the bland characters, whose extraordinary abilities rarely come across with much conviction. Dune lite-but for all that, a rare, rattling page-turner that no Dune adherent will pass up. $250,000 ad/promo

Product Details

  • ISBN-13: 9781429917964
  • Publisher: Doherty, Tom Associates, LLC
  • Publication date: 8/7/2007
  • Sold by: ST MARTINS / MPS
  • Format: eBook
  • Edition description: First Edition
  • Edition number: 1
  • Pages: 496
  • Sales rank: 35,984
  • Series: Dune 7 Series , #2
  • File size: 592 KB

Meet the Author

Brian Herbert
Brian Herbert

Brian Herbert, the author of numerous novels and short stories, has been critically acclaimed by leading reviewers in the United States and around the world. The eldest son of science fiction superstar Frank Herbert, he, with Kevin J. Anderson, is the author of Hellhole and continues his father’s beloved Dune series with books including The Winds of Dune, House Atreides, among other bestsellers. He also wrote a biography of his father, Dreamer of Dune. Herbert graduated from high school at age 16, and then attended U.C. Berkeley, where he earned a B.A. in Sociology. Besides an author, Herbert has been an editor, business manager, board game inventor, creative consultant for television and collectible card games, insurance agent, award-winning encyclopedia salesman, waiter, busboy, maid and a printer. He and his wife once owned a double-decker London bus, which they converted into an unusual gift shop. Herbert and his wife, Jan, have three daughters. They live in Washington state.

Read an Excerpt


Chapter One So many people I knew in the past are not yet reborn. I still miss them, even though I do not remember them. The axlotl tanks will soon remedy that. --Lady Jessica, The Ghola Aboard the wandering no-ship Ithaca, Jessica witnessed the birth of her daughter, but only as an observer. Just fourteen years old, she and many others crowded the medical center, while two Bene Gesserit Suk doctors in the adjacent creche prepared to extract the tiny girl child from an axlotl tank. "Alia," one of the female doctors murmured. This was not truly Jessica's daughter, but a ghola grown from preserved cells. None of the young gholas on the no-ship were "themselves" yet. They had regained none of their memories, none of their pasts. Something tried to surface at the back of her mind, and though she worried at it like a loose tooth, Jessica could not remember the first time Alia had been born. In the archives, she had read and reread the legendary accounts generated by Muad'Dib's biographers. But she couldn't remember. All she had were images from her studies: A dry and dusty sietch on Arrakis, surrounded by Fremen. Jessica and her son Paul had been on the run, taken in by the desert tribe. Duke Leto was dead, murdered by Harkonnens. Pregnant, Jessica had drunk the Water of Life, forever changing the fetus inside her. From the moment of her birth, the original Alia had been different from all other babies, filled with ancient wisdom and madness, able to tap into Other Memory without having gone through the Spice Agony. Abomination! That had been another Alia. Another time and another way. Now Jessica stood beside her ghola "son" Paul, who was chronologically a year older than she. Paul waited with his beloved Fremen mate Chani and the nine-year-old ghola of a boy who had in turn been their son, Leto II. In a prior shuffle of lives, this had been Jessica's family. The Bene Gesserit order had resurrected these figures from history to help fight against the terrible Outside Enemy that hunted them. They had Thufir Hawat, the planetologist Liet-Kynes, the Fremen leader Stilgar, and even the notorious Dr. Yueh. Now, after almost a decade of hiatus in the ghola program, Alia had joined the group. Others would come soon; the three remaining axlotl tanks were already pregnant with new children: Gurney Halleck, Serena Butler, Xavier Harkonnen. Duncan Idaho gave Jessica a quizzical look. Eternal Duncan, with all of his memories restored from all of his prior lives . . . She wondered what he thought of this new ghola baby, a bubble of the past rising up to the present. Long ago, the first ghola of Duncan had been Alia's consort. . . . Concealing his age well, Duncan was a full-grown man with dark wiry hair. He looked exactly like the hero shown in so many archival records, from the time of Muad'Dib, through the God Emperor's thirty-five-century reign, to now, another fifteen centuries later. Breathless and late, the old Rabbi bustled into the birthing chamber accompanied by twelve-year-old Wellington Yueh. Young Yueh's forehead did not bear the diamond tattoo of the famous Suk School. The bearded Rabbi seemed to think he could save the gangly young man from repeating the terrible crimes he had committed in his prior life. At the moment the Rabbi looked angry, as he invariably did whenever he came near the axlotl tanks. Since the Bene Gesserit doctors ignored him, the old man vented his displeasure on Sheeana. "After years of sanity, you have done it again! When will you learn to stop taunting God?" After receiving an ominous prescient dream, Sheeana had declared a temporary moratorium on the ghola project that had been her passion from its inception. But their recent ordeal on the planet of the Handlers and their near capture by the Enemy hunters had forced Sheeana to reassess that decision. The wealth of historical and tactical experience the reawakened gholas could offer might be the greatest weapon the no-ship possessed. Sheeana had decided to take the risk. Perhaps we will be saved by Alia one day, Jessica thought. Or by one of the other gholas . . . Tempting fate, Sheeana had performed an experiment on this unborn ghola in an effort to make it more like the Alia. Estimating the point in the pregnancy when the original Jessica had consumed the Water of Life, Sheeana had instructed Bene Gesserit Suk doctors to flood the axlotl tank with a near-fatal spice overdose. Saturating the fetus. Trying to re-create an Abomination. Jessica had been horrified to learn of it--too late, when she could do nothing about it. How would the spice affect that innocent baby? A melange overdose was different from undergoing the Agony. One of the Suk doctors told the Rabbi to stay out of the birthing creche. Scowling, the old man held up a trembling hand, as if making a blessing on the pale flesh of the axlotl tank. "You witches think these tanks are no longer women, no longer human--but this is still Rebecca. She remains a child of my flock." "Rebecca fulfilled a vital need." Sheeana said. "All of the volunteers knew exactly what they were doing. She accepted her responsibility. Why can't you?" The Rabbi turned in exasperation toward the young man at his side. "Speak to them, Yueh. Maybe they will listen to you." Jessica thought the sallow young ghola seemed more intrigued than incensed about the tanks. "As a Suk doctor," he said, "I delivered many children. But never like this. At least I don't think so. With my ghola memories still locked away, I get confused sometimes." "And Rebecca is human--not just some biological machine to produce melange and a brood of gholas. You have to see that." The Rabbi's voice grew in volume. Yueh shrugged. "Because I was born in the same fashion, I cannot be entirely objective. If my memories were restored, maybe I'd agree with you." "You don't need original memories to think! You can think, can't you?" "The baby is ready," one of the doctors interrupted. "We must decant it now." She turned impatiently to the Rabbi. "Let us do our work--or the tank could be harmed as well." With a sound of disgust, the Rabbi shouldered his way from the birthing creche. Yueh remained behind, continuing to watch. One of the Suk women tied off the umbilical cord from the fleshy tank. Her shorter colleague cut the purplish-red whip; then she wiped off the slick infant and lifted little Alia into the air. The child let out a loud and immediate cry, as if she had been impatient to be born. Jessica sighed in relief at the healthy sound, which told her the girl was not an Abomination this time. The original newborn Alia had purportedly looked upon the world with the eyes and intelligence of a full adult. This baby's crying sounded normal. But it stopped abruptly. While one doctor tended the now-sagging axlotl tank, the other dried the infant and wrapped her in a blanket. Unable to help feeling a tug at her heart, Jessica wanted to reach out and hold the baby, but resisted the urge. Would Alia suddenly start speaking, uttering voices from Other Memory? Instead, the baby looked around the medical center, without seeming to focus. Others would care for Alia, not unlike the way Bene Gesserit sisters took baby girls under their collective wing. The first Jessica, born under the close scrutiny of breeding mistresses, had never known a mother in the traditional sense. Nor would this Jessica, nor Alia, nor any of the other experimental ghola babies. The new daughter would be raised communally in an improvised society, more an object of scientific curiosity than love. "What an odd family we all are," Jessica whispered. Humans are never capable of complete accuracy. Despite all the knowledge and experiences we have absorbed from countless Face Dancer "ambassadors," we are left with a confused picture. Nonetheless, the flawed accounts of human history provide amusing insights into the delusions of mankind. --Erasmus, Records and Analyses, Backup #242 In spite of a decades-long effort, the thinking machines had not yet captured the no-ship and its precious cargo. That did not, however, stop the computer evermind from launching his vast extermination fleet against the rest of humanity. Duncan Idaho continued to elude Omnius and Erasmus, who repeatedly cast their sparkling tachyon net into the nothingness, searching for their quarry. The no-ship's veiling capability normally prevented it from being seen, but from time to time the pursuers caught glimpses, as of something concealed behind shrubbery. At first the hunt had been a challenge, but now the evermind was growing frustrated. "You have lost the ship again," Omnius boomed through wall speakers in the central, cathedral-like chamber in the technological metropolis of Synchrony. "Inaccurate. I must first find it before I can lose it." Erasmus tried to sound carefree as he shifted his flowmetal skin, reverting from his guise as a kindly old woman to the more familiar appearance of a platinum-surfaced robot. Like overarching tree trunks, metal spires towered above Erasmus to form a vaulted dome within the machine cathedral. Photons glittered from the activated skins of the pillars, bathing his new laboratory in light. He had even installed a glowing fountain that bubbled with lava--a useless decoration, but the robot often indulged his carefully cultivated artistic sensibilities. "Do not be impatient. Remember the mathematical projections. Everything is nicely predetermined." "Your mathematical projections could be myths, like any prophecy. How do I know they are correct?" "Because I have said they are correct." With the launch of the machine fleet, the long-foretold Kralizec had begun, at last. Kralizec . . . Armageddon . . . the Battle at the End of the Universe . . . Ragnarok . . . Azrafel . . . the End Times . . . the Cloud Darkness. It was a time of fundamental change, of the entire universe shifting on its cosmic axis. Human legends had predicted such a cataclysmic event since the dawn of civilization. Indeed, they had already been through several iterations of similar cataclysms: the Butlerian Jihad itself, the jihad of Paul Muad'Dib, the reign of the Tyrant Leto II. By manipulating computer projections, and thus creating expectations in the mind of Omnius, Erasmus had succeeded in initiating the events that would bring about another fundamental shift. Prophecy and reality--the order of things really didn't matter. Like an arrow, all of Erasmus's infinitely complex calculations, running trillions of data points through the most sophisticated routines, pointed to one result: The final Kwisatz Haderach--whoever that was--would determine the course of events at the end of Kralizec. The projection also revealed that the Kwisatz Haderach was on the no-ship, so Omnius naturally wanted such a force fighting on his side. Ergo, the thinking machines needed to capture that ship. The first to exert control over the final Kwisatz Haderach would win. Erasmus didn't fully understand exactly what the superhuman might do when he was located and seized. Though the robot was a longtime student of mankind, he was still a thinking machine, while the Kwisatz Haderach was not. The new Face Dancers, who had long infiltrated humanity and brought vital information back to the Synchronized Empire, fell somewhere in between, like hybrid biological machines. He and Omnius had both absorbed so many of the lives stolen by the Face Dancers that sometimes they forgot who they were. The original Tleilaxu Masters had not foreseen the significance of what they had helped create. The independent robot knew he still had to keep Omnius under control, though. "We have time. You have a galaxy to conquer before we need the Kwisatz Haderach aboard that ship." "I am glad I did not wait for you to succeed." For centuries Omnius had been building his invincible force. Using traditional but supremely efficient lightspeed engines, the millions and millions of machine vessels now swept forward and spread out, conquering one star system at a time. The evermind could have made use of the surrogate mathematical navigation systems, which his Face Dancers had "given" to the Spacing Guild, but one element of the Holtzman technology simply remained too incomprehensible. Something indefinably human was required to travel through foldspace, an intangible "leap of faith." The evermind would never admit that the bizarre technology actually made him . . . nervous. Copyright © 2007 by Herbert Properties LLC. All rights reserved.

Customer Reviews

Average Rating 3.5
( 56 )

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See All Sort by: Showing 1 – 20 of 56 Customer Reviews

  • Anonymous

    Posted August 24, 2007

    A reviewer

    In Sandworms Brian and Kevin finally succeeded in destroying a man¿s greatest legacy to Science Fiction Literature. One of the main things I always enjoyed about Frank Herbert¿s novels, was the ability of formation of the mind as a separate entity capable of many things, the evolution of mind over matter, without the reliance of other things. Of course one of Herbert¿s main points as well as dilemmas was the trade off of reliance on one thing 'machines' to another 'the spice', in essence the trade off of one addiction for another without getting to the root of the problem. Now while I do believe after finally finishing the last in the Dune Series of novels that indeed an outline did exist for future work, I do also believe that the authors took many liberties with this book including in pulling a lot of it out of thin air. The reason I believe this is the revelation of Duncan Idaho, I have always questioned why he was always a constant in all of the six original novels, that there was something indeed special about him, something more than him than just have fanatical loyalty and devotion to all Atreides he served. Also the question of perhaps machines possibly returning did cross my mind with not only Leto¿s withholding of the spice, but also he himself destroy any Mentat¿s he knew about or of in fact he destroyed many Idaho¿s for this very reason of the Bene Thilex creating gholas with mentant powers. There was a reason for this one that was never answered in the original novels. Also, the face dancers as well they had become so good that even the Bene Gesserit couldn¿t really detect them any longer, why because they had evolved as well had become more human to the point they believed they were indeed the person they were to impersonate. However, this is where the ¿outline¿ of Herbert¿s greatest work ends and the tragedy begins. First off the Atreides were special individuals with abilities once combined with the Harkonnen¿s that made them what they were, to take away from the greatness of Paul who could see what others could not see and his son the God Emperor who could see all but said nothing and accepted the sacrifice oh behalf of humanity, belittles this man¿s work. The true objective of the original novels was to teach the consequences on the reliance on any substance be it organic or synthetic and that in trading one for another they had truly learned nothing even 15,000 years later. To bring back fairytale endings of all the original characters being brought back to life, Paul, Alia, Jessica, Leto I, Leto II, Liet-Kynes, Dr. Yueh, and Stilgar is bringing a Hollywood story where the good guys win in the end which isn¿t the purpose of the books at all. As for Duncan being the true Kwistaz Hadarach in any of the novels he never displayed any supernatural powers at all with the exception of his fanatical loyalty and the importance of his genes that not even the Bene Gesserit seemed with all of the prescience seemed to grasp. It was not only disappointing for them to have brought back Erasmus and Ominus but to have Erasmus turn into something not only human but understanding and then merging with Duncan Idaho to give to him the power of the Kwistaz Haderach the one who could be many places at once because he was now a machine with a HUMAN MIND. You can only fill so much into a shot glass before something spills out and this was a flood of too many characters, too many inconsistencies and too much of a disappointment of fans who loved, lived and shared these novels with others. If you don¿t want to get angry read this novel if you must with a grain of salt or try to look at it as a car wreck that you don¿t want to look at but can¿t help staring at as you drive by ¿

    3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

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  • Posted August 31, 2011

    more from this reviewer

    For anyone familiar with the Dune universe

    Reading this book was like coming home to a friend I didn't even know I'd missed. I fell under the spell of the six original Dune books as a teenager, read two of the prequel books in adulthood. For anyone familiar with the Dune universe, there is a very familiar feel to this book, with integral characters. Yet, several things are different enough to hold a reader's interest. I kept reminding myself to pace, to go to sleep, so I could savor the next chapter, but it was hard to do.

    1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted September 13, 2008

    Falls far short of expectations

    As an avid Dune reader from the Frank Herbert days, I looked forward to the 'conclusion' of the saga. These last 2 books are supposedly based on the master's notes, found long after his death. While I can stretch my imagination to believe that Frank Herbert conceived of this basic storyline, I found the books themselves to be predictable and shallow. The earlier attempts at bringing life to the Dune world were quite good - but they were investigating the past. In looking forward along the original Dune timeline, the authors have failed to live up to the incredible tale that is the original series. Where God Emperor, Chapterhouse and Heretics succeeded in painting a grand universe filled with an infinite variety of mystery and color, these 2 final books shrink it down to something simple and mundane.

    1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted August 21, 2007

    Terrible. Absolutely Terrible

    With every book that the Anderson/Herbert partnership produces, I become more and more disappointed. They have been left a rich universe of potential, and rather than shepherd and enrich it, or even allow it to come to an end, they have strip-mined it to the point where I am no longer sure that I will choose to read their next Dune novel. This novel was poorly written, and so overwhelmingly expositional that I suspect a good editor would have reduced the manuscript by a hundred pages without removing ANY content. After waiting since I was 17 for this book to come out, I was actually physically sick as I finished the last page.

    1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted August 20, 2007

    Not frank's writing but I loved it

    I've read every one of the Dune books several time since the early 80's and while this isn't Franks writing of Dune,it's his sons....and I loved it...couldnt put it down.Normally takes me 3 weeks for a hardcover...took 5 days.Honestly it's the end many people thought it would be...before Brian ever started writing Dune books. If you want 'old school' sci-fi go else where.If your tastes have matured with the years you'll enjoy it.

    1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted August 10, 2007

    terrible

    Terrible book. I just finished reading it, after waiting so many years for the ending, and am very disappointed. If you want to be transported back to the dune universe, read the original books again and use your imagination and make up your own ending. I guarantee it will be better than this book. I am officially done reading anything put out by these authors.

    1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

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  • Posted March 29, 2012

    Finally!

    At last. The book I have waited for for almost 35 years! The "How does it all end" question gets answered, and answered well at that.

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  • Posted February 6, 2010

    Sandworms of Dune

    Finally we have the true sequels to Chapterhouse Dune. I have read all of the Dune books, by both Frank Herbert and his son, some were good most were just ok. I found Hunters of Dune and this book, Sandworms of Dune two of the better ones. I liked the plot and the characters. I recommend it to any Dune devotee as a worthy successor to the Dune series.

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  • Posted December 31, 2009

    more from this reviewer

    Sandworms of Dune

    EXCELLENT reading for SciFi readers. There are several books previously written in this series, so I would recommend reading the first book of the series, before reading this one.

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  • Posted December 31, 2009

    more from this reviewer

    I Also Recommend:

    9780765312921 9780441017218 9780441016778 9780441016310 9780441015900

    Sandworms of Dune

    The Tleilaxu Master Waff, bio-engineers a spice producing worm that not only survives in water, but now lives there instead of the desert sands. The ghola program on "Ithaca" is continued, but there is sabotage when three axlotl tanks are destroyed, along with the baby gholas.
    Both Paul gholas are having the same premonition. The one on the "Ithaca" is killed by the one on planet Caladan, Paolo.
    Mother Commander Murbella is placing false Sheeanas on various planets to lead the human race against the coming war. She has also bargained with the Ixian Face Dancers to construct no ships without Navigators, using mathematical compilers instead. The Guild beaucrats betray the Navigators, and some are killed as they escape to speak with the Oracle of Time, Norma Cenva.
    Waff succeeds in making the sea-worms producing super spice, and demands to be returned to Arrakis. Edrik grants his request since he has fulfilled his obligation to the Navigators, but the super spice is stolen by the Face Dancers and Edrik is murdered.
    The "Ithaca" has a saboteur on board and they are no closer to finding out who it is. Sheeana begins to awaken some of the gholas memories and they re-supply the "Ithaca" on a world that is becoming desert. The Bene Gesserit planted worms on Qelso, so the inhabitants kill any witch they meet, but the others are welcome to stay behind on the planet, increasing the "Ithaca's" chances. When another tank and baby is killed, they believe that they have found their saboteur. But Yueh was tricked into believing that the new ghola Sheeana was keeping secret was Piter de Vries!
    Both the Baron and Paolo are summoned to Sychrony, from Caladan. Chapterhouse is attacked by the Enemy, when the plague is killing all on the planet. The only way Murbella can help the Sisterhood to survive is to force all, whether ready or not, to under go the Agony. Naturally, all that remains are Reverend Mothers, and a large number of the Sisterhood rests in enormous burial pits on the planet.
    Skytale develops a way to detect Face Dancers, and their saboteur is revealed, putting directly in the hands of Omnius and Erasmus!
    On Sychrony, the Paul gholas premonition plays out, and the end result is the revelation of the true Kwisatz Haderach!
    "Sandworms of Dune" answers the long-debated, urgent questions of Dune fans: the origin of the Honored Matres, the tantalizing future of the planet Arrakis, and the resolution to the war between Man and Machine.

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  • Posted October 17, 2009

    more from this reviewer

    Too many loose ends tied up

    I'll admit it right away: The novels by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson are not at the same level as the original Frank Herbert novels. The are not as deep or as well-developed. That being said, they are extremely readable, the kind I read on warm summer evenings. "Sandworms of Dune", however, is at the bottom of the Herbert/Anderson suite of books. The brought out everything including the kitchen sink (although sinks were probably unknown on Arrakis). They used gholas of all of the original characters (Baron Harkkonen, Paul, Chani, Jessica to name a few), a new Kwisatz Haderach, Omnious, and more. The hodgepodge doesn't do justice to what is meant to be the new conclusion to the Dune series. They should have run with the characters brought over from the previous book ("Hunters of Dune") and fashioned a better ending.

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  • Posted January 26, 2009

    Even More Skeptical

    If you're reading this then you've probably read Dune: Chapterhouse and this isn't a spoiler of any sorts.
    Let me say, I grew quite skeptical of this tale of safety deposit boxes and whatnot. Show me a copy of these notes first - I really would like that if they do exist if only to see the true vision for Dune 7 and not this poorly written, concocted piece of drivel!
    Marty and Daniel seemed so obviously to be Face Dancers. Now these books based on Frank Herbert's alleged outline for Dune 7 would try to convince me otherwise. Politely I say Bull****!
    Let us hold fast to the vision of the originals. If you must read these prequels and whatnot, store their information in a separate part of your mind so as not to taint the originals. Because that is what these Dune additions by Brian Herbert and Kevin J Anderson have done - Corrupted the Dune Universe.
    What we really should do though is: Burn every single existing copy, Refuse to Reprint them and Utterly Eradicate any defiling traces of them from our memories. Really.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted June 12, 2008

    Not up to par

    The last thirty pages were nice, but getting there after trudging through most of this repetitive novel and incredibly slow-paced books, as well as the first in the duo, simply wasn't worth it. I wish I knew what Frank Herbert's original version would have been like.

    0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted February 12, 2008

    IT'S DUNE!

    I agree that new Dune is nowhere comparable to Frank Herbert's original Dune series but I have found all of Brian Herbert's and K.J.A. Dune novels great. Yes the writing style is different, but they are not Frank Herbert, and no one will truely know if this was what was originally supposed to happened but i found the book enjoyable

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  • Anonymous

    Posted September 2, 2007

    Thou Shalt Not become a machine with a human mind...

    If I were to compare this to F. Herbert's work, then yes, I would say that it is horrible. However, it is not his work, and hence should not be compared to it. I was disgusted with this work because of what they did ¿ melded machine and humanity. This is truly an abomination, and is totally anti-God. It is comparable to the Real ID Act and is nothing short of brainwashing and preparing this generation to embrace ID chips under the skin, and eventually some sort of computer interface. Brain..., Kevin..., this book disgusts me, utterly.

    0 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted August 10, 2007

    High hopes but poor results for the conclusion to the epic Dune series

    Sandworms of Dune is the long-awaited conclusion to the Dune series, which is often hailed as the greatest science fiction series of all time, and this novel is the culmination of the until recently titled ¿Dune 7¿. Based on an outline written by the Dune series¿ original creator Frank Herbert, Kevin J. Anderson and Brian Herbert wrote Hunters of Dune (released in 2006) and this novel to complete storylines introduced in all six of the original Dune books as well as their own additions to the Dune universe, the ¿House¿ trilogy and the ¿Legends¿ trilogy. Written by Frank Herbert, the original Dune series or Dune Chronicles (as it is sometimes referred to) consisted of six books: Dune, Dune Messiah, Children of Dune, God Emperor of Dune, Heretics of Dune, and Chapterhouse: Dune. Kevin J. Anderson and Brian Herbert have added eight additional books to the Dune universe including the recently released Sandworms of Dune. Regrettably, Sandworms of Dune does not offer readers the same complexity of storytelling as the original Dune series provided. The character development is minimal at best, taking the reader through a multitude of characters that are flat. The plot, which held much potential at the conclusion of Chapterhouse: Dune, was uneventful at points (lagging horribly through the first half of this novel) and predictable until the ultimate conclusion. While the end of the novel is quite unexpected, it is far from consistent with the original Dune series¿ tone or themes, and in fact, the climax seems completely out of place and implausible to someone who was an avid fan of the original series and has read the recent additions to the Dune universe as well. Much of the difficulties with Sandworms of Dune derives from its inconsistencies not only with the themes and tone of the original Dune Chronicles but the additions to the Dune universe: the ¿House¿ and ¿Legends¿ trilogies. Technologies, human abilities, and acts by certain factions within humanity are completely uncharacteristic of the cannon of this universe, and these inconsistencies make it difficult for the avid fan of the Dune universe to accept them. For those who have enjoyed the original six books of the series and are considering Sandworms of Dune, you must ask yourself if it is worth the effort. To understand what has occurred after Chapterhouse: Dune, one would have to not only read Hunters of Dune (the first part of the conclusion) but also the ¿Legends¿ trilogy to have a basis to understand Sandworms of Dune. In all, such a reader would be required to read through five novels to be able to understand the lackluster conclusion to the original Dune series. For those that have read every novel from the Dune Universe, my review will not sway your opinion, just as another¿s would not have swayed mine. I have read every book related to Dune including reference books like The Dune Encyclopedia and so on, and I chose to read Sandworms of Dune because I hoped for the best. You will read Sandworms of Dune, and you will be disappointed.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted August 10, 2007

    A reviewer

    Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson have finally belittled every Frank Herbert idea/concept by use of hyperbole and bad writing. From Ultra-Spice to Ulitmate Kwisatz Haderach, this book dismantles everything important in the original novels. If you are a fan of Frank Herbert, I highly recommend that you read this book, get angry, and be vocal about your dislikes to the Herbert Partnership. It's time some other authors reintroduced some genius to these books.

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  • Posted December 9, 2008

    more from this reviewer

    action-packed must read for the Dune crowd

    The wandering no-ship Ithaca contains the expatriates fleeing for their lives across the unknown galaxy (see Frank Herbert¿s CHAPTERHOUSE: DUNE). They have little hope as they know the enemy will hunt them for eternity their last desperate ploy is to bring back the ghola of long dead heroes like Duncan Idaho, Paul Muad¿Dib, Lady Jessica and others to save their race. Even with genetic engineering medical expertise on board to bring these champions back to life, the exiles know their chances remain slim as the Machines will always pursue them. --- However, the Machines keep evolving so that humanity appears on the verge of extinction. War continues everywhere with human reflexes especially the ability to adapt seemingly no longer able to match up against the Machines, who incorporate every nuance into their collective programming. Now as the reanimated champions prepare for a decisive battle against the increasing cunning Machines, who are programming human flexibility into their battle plans, plague and related illnesses devastate mankind, leaving human¿s reign apparently at an end. --- Apparently the late Frank Herbert left behind a detailed outline to follow up on his last work CHAPTERHOUSE: DUNE, his son Brian and Kevin J. Anderson use that document to tie up many major loose ends. Thus Dune fans should read Mr. Herbert¿s final work and HUNTERS OF DUNE by Brian Herbert and Mr. Anderson to refresh themselves on the storyline before diving into this solid saga that indeed answers major questions left dangling. Although not quite on a par with the Dune creator as this and the previous collaborations fail to dig deep into the issues between man and machine and between man and man, this is an interesting action-packed must read for the Dune crowd. --- Harriet Klausner

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  • Anonymous

    Posted January 5, 2011

    No text was provided for this review.

  • Anonymous

    Posted June 26, 2011

    No text was provided for this review.

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