The end of Frank Herbert's Chapterhouse: Dune is one of the
most notorious cliffhangers in science fiction, leaving plot
threads developed over the course of 4 books hanging
unresolved, and in many cases only hinted at. Nearly twenty
years after his death, Frank Herbert's Dune series is
finished. Brian Herbert, his son, and Kevin J. Anderson
have finished the second of two sequel books, bringing a
conclusion to the original six-book series. I wish I could
say it was worth the 20-year wait, but I can't.
Sandworms of Dune picks up immediately after the end of
Hunters of Dune, and follows the course of the renewed
conflict between humanity, the Face Dancers and the Thinking
Machines. In a desperate bid, one sect of humans has
started resurrecting great figures from the past - a sort of
"greatest hits" of Dune characters. To say more would spoil
the plot, so I'll leave it at that.
Completion of another artists work is always a difficult
task, fraught with many perils, but as understanding as I
try to be, I am still left with a number of key problems
that no amount of understanding can avoid. Firstly, these
books pretty much require you read the six prequel books
that Anderson and Herbert wrote previous to tackling the
sequel. This is particularly surprising when you consider
that the sequel books were based on an outline from Frank
Herbert. Secondly, the writing lacks the subtlety and
nuance of Frank Herbert's writing, particularly in the
latter books of the series. Again, completion is always
difficult, but these completions so fall so short of the
mark, it has to be commented upon.
However, my biggest complaint is with the plot itself. The
characters are pawns of the writers, afflicted with
stupidity or insight as required to achieve the authors'
desired effect. This is a particularly grievous flaw when
those characters are supposed to be extremely intelligent,
if not possessing actual superhuman intelligence and
prescience. SANDWORMS OF DUNE isn't so much a plot of
surprising twists and turns as a chain of deus ex machinas.
Even worse, the denouement is a trite series of happily
ever after moment that fixes all the tragedies and disasters
of the series, robbing them of their impact and value.
Do I recommend this book? Yes, but only because having some
sort of conclusion, no matter how flawed, is better than no
conclusion at all. Ultimately, Sandworms is a disappointing
read, and doubly so - a not very good book to conclude a
magnificent series of books, and a wasted opportunity. If
they every release Frank's original outline...now that would
be something worth reading.
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 audiobook in Frank
Herbert’s Dune series has enough surprises and plot
twists to please even the most demanding listener.
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