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35 of 39 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Hot air of Dune, 5 Aug 2009
Apparently Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson aren't finished milking Frank Herbert's cash cow. First prequels, then sequels, and now a midquel.
In this case, "The Winds of Dune" explores the months after the blinded, grief-stricken Paul Atreides aka Muad'Dib wandered off into the desert. While Anderson and Herbert conjure some touching moments as the people in Paul's life deal with his loss, they don't manage to make the story come alive -- the prose and beloved characters are flat.
On Caladan, Jessica is shocked by the news of her son's apparent death, Chani's tragic loss, and the birth of her twin grandchildren. She rushes to Arrakis to assist Alia, now appointed Regent, and discovers that Dune has changed in many ways -- Paul's loss has only increased fanatical devotion (and equally fanatical division), and the ruthless Alia is determined to cement Paul's legacy.
Cue a novella-sized flashback about Paul's childhood, and how he and his friend Bronso of Ix ran away to join the circus... er, the Facedancer Jongleurs. No, seriously.
Unfortunately, Bronso of Ix has since become a sort of idealistic terrorist, disrupting Paul's "funeral" and spreading heretical pamphlets which seek to reveal Paul's flaws and atrocities. Jessica attempts to soften Alia's increasingly ruthless reign as her daughter prepares to marry Duncan Idaho -- but Bronso's determination to kill the legend of Muad'Dib leads to some very big new problems. But is all this Muad'Dib's will?
"The Winds of Dune" is one of those novels that might have been a decent sci-fi read if it had been based on its own universe. But as a Dune story, it seems like glorified fanfiction with a cool cover -- an attempt to fill in various plot points between "Dune Messiah" and "Children of Dune," such as Alia's marriage to the ghola Duncan Idaho and the water ceremonies.
There isn't actually much plot in "Winds of Dune" except for Alia's increasingly tyrannical actions, and Jessica's attempts to moderate her loopy attempts to deify Paul. There's a spattering of assassination plots, ceremonies (both official and Fremen), Bene Gesserit evilness, and lots of political wheeling and dealing. But without a pair of hefty flashbacks -- about a Bene Gesserit rebellion and running away to the circus -- it would be a very skinny book.
And sadly Herbert and Anderson don't bring much life to the narrative. There are some touching moments -- such as Stilgar's mystical moment with a sandworm -- but mostly it's an unexciting, flatly-written stretch, filled with weird plot twists that rarely work (guess what: Paul was adored because he used Jongleur hypnosis on EVERYBODY!). Seriously, how did they make explosive assassination attempts and hardcore spice hallucinations into half-page-long, emotionless borefests?
The characters are similarly undeveloped -- while the flashbacks temporarily resurrect beloved characters like Chani, Yueh and Duke Leto, none of them have much personality. Alia is suddenly a two-dimensional, crazy, fanatical brat, and gets engaged to Duncan with little evidence of actual romance. It's like, "Hey Mommy, I'm marrying Duncan! Surprise!"
Jessica is the one major exception, as we see her struggle with her losses, and try to keep the truth about Paul's virtues and flaws alive. Same with some minor supporting characters like the torn Stilgar and grieving Gurney Halleck (whose attraction to Jessica begins to flower).
"The Winds of Dune" is basically an official fanfiction, attempting to add plot in between Frank Herbert's original works -- babies, weddings, and collectible Muad'Dib souvenirs. It simply doesn't work.
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10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Juvenile adventure romp that did not need to be written, 21 Sep 2009
This book has two timelines: one is immediately after the events of Dune Messiah, Jessica tells Princess Irulan about Paul's adolesence before the events of Dune so Irulan can update her biography of Paul. Three years before Dune, Paul ran away with Bronso Vernius (Ixian heir)to join a circus with Face Dancer performers, and learns how to control crowds. Between Dune and Dune Messiah, Paul employs Bronso to spread propaganda against his jihad.
The post-Dune Messiah parts are tedious, with none of the characters speaking or behaving like they did in the original Dune Trilogy. The flashbacks are written in the style of a 60s juvenile adventure romp. The Bene Gesserit seem blissfully unaware that Paul is the Kwisatz Haderach born a generation too early and think he and his mother very unimportant despite knowing his breeding.
The invention of Bene Gesserit guilt-casters, who induce catatonic guilt using Voice, is irrelevant. The introduction of Bronso as someone to speak against the Jihad is irrelevant. Both clearly achieved nothing, since their roles are not discussed in any Frank Herbert book, not even in any of the modern spin-offs.
As for needing to join a circus to learn crowd control (which is actually glossed-over very quickly), surely he had been taught the use of Voice by his mother, and in the early days his mother would have been aware of and exploited the legend that the Missionaria Protectiva created among the Fremen.
I find the book difficult to read with its stunted characters and lack of adult storyline. It feels like a short story or at best a novella, written for the juvenile market, stretched too far. Many sentences and ideas are repeated, using different words, a number of times over only a couple of pages, making it easy to skip paragraphs or even whole pages.
All I want from the Dune Universe is a decent sequel to the second trilogy, one which actually involves careful reading of the final chapter of Chapterhouse Dune.
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5 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A pretty good read, 1 Sep 2009
The prequels and sequels to the Dune books are not inthe same league as those written by Herbert Sr but, nevertheless, they are mainly welcome additions to the range.
This particular volume is one of the better ones. The storyine itself tends to be alittle weak but the characters (old and new) are well crafted and consistent with what we already know.
A somewhat smaller book than most but a good read anyway.
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