Dune: House Harkonnen

I think I like these prequels to the Dune series better than the original – and that was very good. It seems to me that both the characters and the plots are clearer and easier to understand than those of the original series. Of course, that may partly be due to having already read the originals.The point of this series of books (Dune: House Atreides, Dune: House Harkonnen, and Dune, House Corrino) is, as far as I can tell, to set up the universe of the original series at the time of the first Dune book. To that end, in these books, we are introduced to the stories behind the feuds that fuel the action in the original books and the backstories of the characters of those books.Additionally, some stories that were barely hinted at in the original series are told in much more detail here. For instance, the feud between the Tleilaxu and the Ixians, although it is a force in the original series is not explained in any detail as far as I can remember (it has been a while since I read the original series). But here we see how the Tleilexu were just as oppressive of the Ixians during their occupation of Ix as the Harkonnens were of the populations on the planets they controlled.We also, by the way, get to see the Harkonnens doing their worst to the people of at least three different worlds. And this time we meet what appears to be the only nice member of the Harkonnen family, possibly ever – Baron Vladimir’s younger brother, Abulurd.We witness the further development of characters we met in Dune: House Atreides – Leto Atreides, Rhombur Vernius, Duncan Idaho, Liet Kynes, and C'tair Pilru. We also pick up another fugitive from Harkonnen persecution, Gurney Halleck. No wonder the Atreides retainers are so hostile to Harkonnens by the time Dune opens.And speaking of character development, there are the further adventures of Glossu Rabban, Baron Harkonnen’s nephew. In this book, he has graduated from worm hunting and boy hunting to destroying the environment and economy of his home planet, Lankiveil, and murdering his father, Abulurd. But in the process, he messes up so many things that he even manages to irritate his uncle the Baron and almost gets himself killed in the process.

Yeah, I know...not part of original Dune cannon. It was a good read and helped me to appreciate what Frank's son has accomplished.

Love the book. Bought the series after watching the film. Great prequel. I read them before reading the original series and the facts line up.

The Brian Herbert-Kevin J. Anderson Dune books are quite polarizing. After having read the second book in this series, I find some of the criticism valid. But it's also clear that the authors did try to flesh out the Dune universe in a way that would satisfy Frank Herbert. They're clearly not quite as good with the art of writing, but the books aren't trash.Of the criticisms I've seen, the one that most holds up is repetition and lack of subtlety in the writing. I'm not sure if this is because the book had two authors, but the book repeats itself as if worrying readers will forget. In House Harkonnen, I found the biggest problem to be simplistic characterization. It's as if the authors feel the need to place characters in a "good guy", "bad guy" box, something Frank Herbert probably would never have done. For example, Abulurd Rabban, Baron Harkonnen's brother, is portrayed as nearly angelic because the book needs to use him as a foil to the Baron. This guy comes across as even more saintly than Duke Leto! I love the idea of showing some benevolent Harkonnens, but it would have worked better to have created nuances in the characters that display multifaceted character traits rather than just creating "good" and "bad" Harkonnens.This book - like the other House books - doesn't have a particularly strong story. I get the sees that the House books were written more to provide backstory for the main characters in Frank Herbert's Dune than to tell its own unique story. This is both good and bad. I'm glad the books don't try to overshadow the story of Dune. Dune clearly represents the climax of a struggle, and so having a major story set just decades before might have detracted from its power. As the middle book, this is particularly problematic because we're past introductions (House Atreides) but not yet at the climax (House Corrino).That said, if you take the book as general backstory to Dune, it actually works somewhat well (small contradictions aside). Unlike the House Atreides book, which only marginally dealt with the Atreides family, House Harkonnen does provide a more focused look at the Harkonnens and what makes them tick. I do like the contrast between Rabban and the Baron - again, not necessarily subtle, but nevertheless it works for the characters.Overall, if you read this book, set your expectations. It's not great literature, not even at the level of Frank Herbert's latter Dune novels. But if you want more Dune and you're willing to suspend disbelief, House Harkonnen can be a fun read. Don't expect any great philosophical insights or plot twists. I do think it's safe to expect that the books will make the Dune universe feel much larger and more complicated than what we got in the original novels.

Given as a gift

great read

Originally thought "here's a son who is capitalizing on his father's greatness"; ended up thinking the son did better than the father by quite a bit much~

I've really enjoyed Herbert & Anderson's expansion of the Dune Saga, House Harkonnen is the second book in the trilogy that is a direct Prequel to Dune, It's the story of how and why Baron Harkonnen and Duke Leto have such hatred for each other and why Shaddam IV is so complicit in trying to destroy House Atreides. It's also tells the story of how Gurney Halleck and Duncan Idaho escaped the Harkonnen's and came to have such loyalty to House Atreides.

Excelente, esta edición tiene la letra un poco pequeña para mi gusto, pero muy buena compra.

Different from Frank's books, with more actions but less subtle. I loved the original books for their thoughts within thoughts. I appreciate these saga books because they have much more actions.

I've been reading the dune series chronologically starting with the Butlerian Jihad, then the Schools of Dune and started this trilogy. Every book has been better than the one before. This one is no different. Amazing!

Diving into the Dune world has it's own addictiveness. As a German I can't tell whether these books are well written but I certainly am enchanted by the universe Herbert and Anderson have laid out. I thoroughly enjoyed the read.