Dune: House Corrino, by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson

Another wrap up book and another sigh of relief that a series is concluded. Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson have been milking the cow that Frank Herbert gave birth to: the Dune universe. They've been doing so with much less skill than the late Herbert, and so much so that they've managed to transform a great science fiction saga into a shallow space opera trilogy. In any case, that's what Anderson is famous for, so this shouldn't be a surprise.

Like its predecessors "House Atreides" and "House Harkonnen", this book tends to place more emphasis on the noble house that gave its title. It does, however, connect nicely with the other volumes picking up plot threads that were initiated before and carrying them to some sort of conclusion. This book talks about Shaddam's project Amal, an effort to artificially synthesize spice, that coupled with the destruction of Arrakis would give House Corrino virtual control of the known universe. Those who read the original Dune novels know that this plan cannot succeed in this new trilogy, so no big surprises in this conclusion.

It started out as a fun read for me. It's always enjoyable to explore the Dune universe a little more, so every time I started these Herbert/Anderson books, I was always happier than when I finished them. Probably, the fact that there's been a long hiatus between my reading each book helps me forget how disappointed I turned out to be at the end of the previous book, so I always started with a clean slate. As the book goes on and the end approaches, you see that there's no deep exploration of the human psyche, of the intricacies of ecology, of politics or of religion. And that's where it fit hits the shan for a real Dune freak.

It was a semi-enjoyable read, but one that left me very dissatisfied at the end. I didn't see a smooth connection from the end of this book to the very first Dune. Big gaps were left open, and most likely with the intent to re-take the opportunity to make more money by writing more books to fill them later. We, Dune fans, are being taken for a ride by this pair who churns out a volume a year: they can't hope to produce anything near the kind of material we expect and deserve, but they have discovered a machine that's propelled by the cash of the hopeful.

I had decided that this was where I'd stop reading books by this due, but time went on and I bought their new trilogy out of bargain bins. I've had them for a few years now and since I can't remember precisely why their writing turned me off, I will give them another chance. What I will not be able to stop myself from reading are their sequels to Chapter House Dune, which promise to wrap up what Frank Herbert drafted. As much as I can't wait to see these, I am convinced that however they try to complete Frank's story, they will never live up to his standards.