Herbert Brian 02

Reviews & Overviews by Rod Cameron

House Harkonnen - Prelude to Dune II by Brian Herbert & Kevin J. Anderson

House Harkonnen is the second book in the Prelude to Dune trilogy written by Frank Herbert's son Brian, and Kevin J. Anderson. The life of Duke Leto Atreides, the early life of which was described in House Atreides, is continued. The strongest story lines naturally concern Leto. With the death of his father, he is now ruler of Caledan with all of the responsibilities that that entails. In particular, his relationships with Kailea of Ix, and with Jessica of the Bene Gesserit cause him more than a few sleepless nights.
There is however, a lot more to this book. Other storylines include the early lives of two of House Atreides' key fighting men - Duncan Idaho's life is described as he trains as a Ginaz Swordmaster. And we also learn of the early life of Gurney Halleck as a Harkonnen slave. Rhombur and Kailea of Ix continue their lives on Caladan. Conditions on the planet Ix, being plundered by the Tleilaxu, are viewed from the perspective of C'tair the urban guerilla as he wages virtually a one man war.
On Dune, the Harkonnens continue to ruthlessly harvest the spice, and cruelly supress the Fremen population. Pardot Keynes' son Liet becomes a Fremen warrior, whilst also training to takeover from his father as Planetologist for Emperor Shaddam. At House Harkonnen, Baron Vladimir and the twisted mentat Peter de Vries continue to 'train' the Baron's nephew, Rabban, to take over the Harkonnen empire. And gentle Abulard strives to undo his half-brother's cruelty and his own son's viciousness.
So, how was it? The middle books (and films) of trilogies are notorious for being fillers or at the very least padded beyond endurance. Pleasantly this is not the case here. If you read and enjoyed House Atreides, then you will enjoy this book. It is the second third of Leto's life (if the pedantic amongst you will allow me to leave Leto's brief appearance in Dune out of the calculation!) so I recommend that you do not read them out of sequence. The style here is similar to House Atreides - not as strong as Frank Herbert's, but of an acceptable / tolerable quality. But, if you have not read Dune yet, then get your priorities right before starting this trilogy!
The feud between House Atreides and House Harkonnen, continues towards its inevitable conclusion in House Corrino the final volume, due out in hardback later this year.

Publisher: NEL
Date: 2001
Pages: 626 pp
Price: £6.99
Format: paperback
Reviewed by: Rod Cameron
Review Date: February 2001