-
Dune: The Butlerian Jihad
- Narrated by: Scott Brick
- Length: 23 hrs and 41 mins
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Buy for $42.52
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Listeners also enjoyed...
-
Dune: The Machine Crusade
- By: Brian Herbert, Kevin J. Anderson
- Narrated by: Scott Brick
- Length: 27 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
More than two decades have passed since the events chronicled in The Butlerian Jihad. The crusade against thinking robots has ground on for years, but the forces led by Serena Butler and Irbis Ginjo have made only slight gains; the human worlds grow weary of war, of the bloody, inconclusive swing from victory to defeat. Get ready for Dune: The Machine Crusade.
-
-
Not bad but no Frank Herbert
- By S A on 10-27-03
By: Brian Herbert, and others
-
Dune: The Duke of Caladan
- The Caladan Trilogy, Book 1
- By: Brian Herbert, Kevin J. Anderson
- Narrated by: Scott Brick
- Length: 15 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Leto Atreides, duke of Caladan and father of the Muad’Dib. While all know of his fall and the rise of his son, little is known about the quiet ruler of Caladan and his partner, Jessica. Or how a duke of an inconsequential planet earned an emperor’s favor, the ire of House Harkonnen, and set himself on a collision course with his own death. This is the story. Through patience and loyalty, Leto serves the Golden Lion Throne. Where others scheme, the duke of Caladan acts. But Leto’s powerful enemies are starting to feel that he is rising beyond his station.
-
-
I keep hoping they will measure up...
- By Josh Steenson on 10-19-20
By: Brian Herbert, and others
-
The Way of Kings
- The Stormlight Archive, Book 1
- By: Brandon Sanderson
- Narrated by: Kate Reading, Michael Kramer
- Length: 45 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Roshar is a world of stone and storms. Uncanny tempests of incredible power sweep across the rocky terrain so frequently that they have shaped ecology and civilization alike. Animals hide in shells, trees pull in branches, and grass retracts into the soilless ground. Cities are built only where the topography offers shelter. It has been centuries since the fall of the 10 consecrated orders known as the Knights Radiant, but their Shardblades and Shardplate remain: mystical swords and suits of armor.
-
-
Great Story!! Cons: slow start & poor narration
- By Monica on 01-17-17
-
Hyperion
- By: Dan Simmons
- Narrated by: Marc Vietor, Allyson Johnson, Kevin Pariseau, and others
- Length: 20 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On the world called Hyperion, beyond the law of the Hegemony of Man, there waits the creature called the Shrike. There are those who worship it. There are those who fear it. And there are those who have vowed to destroy it. In the Valley of the Time Tombs, where huge, brooding structures move backward through time, the Shrike waits for them all.
-
-
Well written but boring
- By surfgoat on 08-06-18
By: Dan Simmons
-
Columbus Day
- Expeditionary Force, Book 1
- By: Craig Alanson
- Narrated by: R.C. Bray
- Length: 16 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
We were fighting on the wrong side of a war we couldn't win. And that was the good news. The Ruhar hit us on Columbus Day. There we were, innocently drifting along the cosmos on our little blue marble, like the native Americans in 1492. Over the horizon come ships of a technologically advanced, aggressive culture, and BAM! There go the good old days, when humans only got killed by each other. So, Columbus Day. It fits. When the morning sky twinkled again, this time with Kristang starships jumping in to hammer the Ruhar, we thought we were saved.
-
-
Mind numbing !
- By melissa on 07-19-19
By: Craig Alanson
-
The Three-Body Problem
- By: Cixin Liu
- Narrated by: Luke Daniels
- Length: 13 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Set against the backdrop of China’s Cultural Revolution, a secret military project sends signals into space to establish contact with aliens. An alien civilization on the brink of destruction captures the signal and plans to invade Earth. Meanwhile, on Earth, different camps start forming, planning to either welcome the superior beings and help them take over a world seen as corrupt, or to fight against the invasion.
-
-
Harder Science Fiction Than I Could Handle
- By Jeff Koeppen on 06-06-20
By: Cixin Liu
-
Dune: The Machine Crusade
- By: Brian Herbert, Kevin J. Anderson
- Narrated by: Scott Brick
- Length: 27 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
More than two decades have passed since the events chronicled in The Butlerian Jihad. The crusade against thinking robots has ground on for years, but the forces led by Serena Butler and Irbis Ginjo have made only slight gains; the human worlds grow weary of war, of the bloody, inconclusive swing from victory to defeat. Get ready for Dune: The Machine Crusade.
-
-
Not bad but no Frank Herbert
- By S A on 10-27-03
By: Brian Herbert, and others
-
Dune: The Duke of Caladan
- The Caladan Trilogy, Book 1
- By: Brian Herbert, Kevin J. Anderson
- Narrated by: Scott Brick
- Length: 15 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Leto Atreides, duke of Caladan and father of the Muad’Dib. While all know of his fall and the rise of his son, little is known about the quiet ruler of Caladan and his partner, Jessica. Or how a duke of an inconsequential planet earned an emperor’s favor, the ire of House Harkonnen, and set himself on a collision course with his own death. This is the story. Through patience and loyalty, Leto serves the Golden Lion Throne. Where others scheme, the duke of Caladan acts. But Leto’s powerful enemies are starting to feel that he is rising beyond his station.
-
-
I keep hoping they will measure up...
- By Josh Steenson on 10-19-20
By: Brian Herbert, and others
-
The Way of Kings
- The Stormlight Archive, Book 1
- By: Brandon Sanderson
- Narrated by: Kate Reading, Michael Kramer
- Length: 45 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Roshar is a world of stone and storms. Uncanny tempests of incredible power sweep across the rocky terrain so frequently that they have shaped ecology and civilization alike. Animals hide in shells, trees pull in branches, and grass retracts into the soilless ground. Cities are built only where the topography offers shelter. It has been centuries since the fall of the 10 consecrated orders known as the Knights Radiant, but their Shardblades and Shardplate remain: mystical swords and suits of armor.
-
-
Great Story!! Cons: slow start & poor narration
- By Monica on 01-17-17
-
Hyperion
- By: Dan Simmons
- Narrated by: Marc Vietor, Allyson Johnson, Kevin Pariseau, and others
- Length: 20 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On the world called Hyperion, beyond the law of the Hegemony of Man, there waits the creature called the Shrike. There are those who worship it. There are those who fear it. And there are those who have vowed to destroy it. In the Valley of the Time Tombs, where huge, brooding structures move backward through time, the Shrike waits for them all.
-
-
Well written but boring
- By surfgoat on 08-06-18
By: Dan Simmons
-
Columbus Day
- Expeditionary Force, Book 1
- By: Craig Alanson
- Narrated by: R.C. Bray
- Length: 16 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
We were fighting on the wrong side of a war we couldn't win. And that was the good news. The Ruhar hit us on Columbus Day. There we were, innocently drifting along the cosmos on our little blue marble, like the native Americans in 1492. Over the horizon come ships of a technologically advanced, aggressive culture, and BAM! There go the good old days, when humans only got killed by each other. So, Columbus Day. It fits. When the morning sky twinkled again, this time with Kristang starships jumping in to hammer the Ruhar, we thought we were saved.
-
-
Mind numbing !
- By melissa on 07-19-19
By: Craig Alanson
-
The Three-Body Problem
- By: Cixin Liu
- Narrated by: Luke Daniels
- Length: 13 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Set against the backdrop of China’s Cultural Revolution, a secret military project sends signals into space to establish contact with aliens. An alien civilization on the brink of destruction captures the signal and plans to invade Earth. Meanwhile, on Earth, different camps start forming, planning to either welcome the superior beings and help them take over a world seen as corrupt, or to fight against the invasion.
-
-
Harder Science Fiction Than I Could Handle
- By Jeff Koeppen on 06-06-20
By: Cixin Liu
-
Hellhole
- By: Brian Herbert, Kevin J Anderson
- Narrated by: Scott Brick
- Length: 19 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Only the most desperate colonists dare to make a new home on Hellhole. Reeling from a recent asteroid impact, tortured with horrific storms, tornadoes, hurricanes, earthquakes, and churning volcanic eruptions, the planet is a dumping ground for undesirables, misfits, and charlatans…but also a haven for dreamers and independent pioneers. Against all odds, an exiled general named Adolphus has turned Hellhole into a place of real opportunity for the desperate colonists who call the planet their home.
-
-
Very Good Series Intro
- By Dan on 03-30-11
By: Brian Herbert, and others
-
The Dark Between the Stars
- The Saga of Shadows, Book One
- By: Kevin J. Anderson
- Narrated by: Mark Boyett
- Length: 22 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Twenty years after the elemental conflict that nearly tore apart the cosmos in The Saga of Seven Suns, a new threat emerges from the darkness. The human race must set aside its own inner conflicts to rebuild their alliance with the Ildiran Empire for the survival of the galaxy. In Kevin J. Anderson's The Dark Between the Stars, galactic empires clash, elemental beings devastate whole planetary systems, and factions of humanity are pitted against one another.
-
-
Crank It Up Again!
- By Trip Williams on 08-09-14
-
Hidden Empire: The Saga of Seven Suns, Book 1
- By: Kevin J. Anderson
- Narrated by: George Guidall
- Length: 20 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
An explosive new science fiction series by New York Times best-selling author Kevin J. Anderson, Hidden Empire is the first volume in The Saga of the Seven Suns, modeled after the Star Wars and X-Files universes. Anderson has become the foremost science fiction writer of the century, bringing to life vivid characters and worlds that delight his fans across the galaxy.
-
-
Great Listen
- By Anonymous User on 01-14-05
-
The Jesus Incident
- The Pandora Sequence, Book 1
- By: Frank Herbert, Bill Ransom
- Narrated by: Scott Brick
- Length: 16 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The last survivors of humanity have just been deposited on Pandora, a horrific, poisonous planet rife with deadly nerve-runners, hooded dashers, airborne jellyfish, and intelligent kelp. The determined colonists attempt to establish a bridgehead on the deadly, inhospitable planet, but more trouble arises. Their sentient ship - backed up by an impressive array of armaments - has decided it is God and is insisting the colonists find appropriate ways to worship it.
-
-
So what's happening here?
- By ErikI on 04-15-16
By: Frank Herbert, and others
-
The Silmarillion
- By: J. R. R. Tolkien
- Narrated by: Martin Shaw
- Length: 14 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The complete unabridged audiobook of J.R.R Tolkien's The Silmarillion. The Silmarillion is an account of the Elder Days, of the First Age of Tolkien’s world. It is the ancient drama to which the characters in The Lord of the Rings look back, and in whose events some of them such as Elrond and Galadriel took part.
-
-
A collection of appendices, not a story
- By James W. on 09-27-19
By: J. R. R. Tolkien
-
Star Wars: Darksaber
- By: Kevin J. Anderson
- Narrated by: Anthony Heald
- Length: 3 hrs and 10 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Luke Skywalker and Han Solo, cloaked by the Force and riding with the hostile Sand People, have returned to the dunes of the desert planet Tatooine in hopes of finding what Luke so desperately seeks: contact with Obi-Wan Kenobi. Luke is hoping the old Jedi Knight's spirit will tell him how to help his love, Callista, regain her lost ability to use the Force.
-
-
Aweful
- By David bright on 12-19-20
-
Five by Five
- By: Kevin J. Anderson, Aaron Allston, Michael A. Stackpole, and others
- Narrated by: Phil Gigante
- Length: 9 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Five short novels by five masters of military science fiction. It’s a war out there. In these pulse-pounding tales, the best (or worst) soldiers in the galaxy are pitted against powerful aliens on distant battlefields. Never-before-published stories about monsters, deadly combat tech, treachery, and honor.
-
-
Lock & Load!
- By Flavius Krakdaddius on 07-29-13
By: Kevin J. Anderson, and others
-
Foundation (Apple Series Tie-in Edition)
- By: Isaac Asimov
- Narrated by: Scott Brick
- Length: 8 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
For 12,000 years the Galactic Empire has ruled supreme. Now it is dying. But only Hari Seldon, creator of the revolutionary science of psychohistory, can see into the future - to a dark age of ignorance, barbarism, and warfare that will last thirty thousand years. To preserve knowledge and save humankind, Seldon gathers the best minds in the Empire - both scientists and scholars - and brings them to a bleak planet at the edge of the galaxy to serve as a beacon of hope for future generations. He calls his sanctuary the Foundation.
-
-
Changed the version back
- By chip worden on 09-24-21
By: Isaac Asimov
-
Speaker for the Dead
- By: Orson Scott Card
- Narrated by: David Birney, Stefan Rudnicki
- Length: 14 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the aftermath of his terrible war, Ender Wiggin disappeared, and a powerful voice arose: the Speaker for the Dead, who told the true story of the Bugger War. Now, long years later, a second alien race has been discovered by Portuguese colonists on the planet Lusitania. But again the aliens' ways are strange and frightening...again, humans die. And it is only the Speaker for the Dead, who is also Ender Wiggin the Xenocide, who has the courage to confront the mystery...and the truth.
-
-
The Enderverse
- By Joe on 06-13-05
By: Orson Scott Card
-
Job
- A Comedy of Justice
- By: Robert A. Heinlein
- Narrated by: Richard Powers
- Length: 14 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
After firewalking in Polynesia, fundamentalist Minister Alexander Hergensheimer never saw the world the same. Now called Alec Graham, he was in the middle of an affair with his stewardess, Margrethe, and natural disasters kept following them. First, there was an impossible iceberg that wrecked the ship in the tropics; then, after being rescued by a Royal Mexican plane, they were hit by a double earthquake. To Alex, the signs were clear that Armageddon and the Day of Judgment were near.
-
-
Finally! Someone who can read a Heinlein story!
- By Thomas on 02-25-13
-
I, Robot
- By: Isaac Asimov
- Narrated by: Scott Brick
- Length: 8 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
They mustn't harm a human being, they must obey human orders, and they must protect their own existence...but only so long as that doesn't violate rules one and two. With these Three Laws of Robotics, humanity embarked on a bold new era of evolution that would open up enormous possibilities, and unforeseen risks.
-
-
Forget the violence - Read this one for the humor
- By Herb on 02-19-05
By: Isaac Asimov
-
The Dosadi Experiment
- By: Frank Herbert
- Narrated by: Scott Brick
- Length: 10 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Generations of a tormented human-alien people, caged on a toxic planet, conditioned by constant hunger and war - this is the Dosadi Experiment, and it has succeeded too well. For the Dosadi have bred for vengeance as well as cunning, and they have learned how to pass through the shimmering God Wall to exact their dreadful revenge on the Universe that created them....
-
-
Interesting, but too many leaps.
- By Burgermeister on 08-07-14
By: Frank Herbert
Publisher's Summary
Frank Herbert's Dune series is one of the grandest epics in the annals of imaginative literature. Selling millions of copies worldwide, it is science fiction's answer to The Lord of the Rings, a brilliantly imaginative epic of high adventure, unforgettable characters, and immense scope. Decades after Herbert's original novels, the Dune saga was continued by Frank Herbert's son, Brian Herbert, an acclaimed SF novelist in his own right, in collaboration with Kevin J. Anderson. Their New York Times best-selling Prelude to Dune trilogy (House Atreides, House Harkonnen, and House Corrino), formed a prequel to the classic Herbert series that was acclaimed by reviewers and listeners alike.
Now Herbert and Anderson, working from Frank Herbert's own notes, reveal a pivotal epoch in the history of the Dune universe, the chapter of the saga most eagerly anticipated by listeners: The Butlerian Jihad.
Throughout the Dune novels, Frank Herbert frequently referred to the long-ago war in which humans wrested their freedom from "thinking machines." Now, in Dune: Butlerian Jihad, Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson bring to life the story of that war, a tale previously seen only in tantalizing hints and clues. Finally, we see how Serena Butler's passionate grief ignites the war that will liberate humans from their machine masters. We learn the circumstances of the betrayal that made mortal enemies of House Atreides and House Harkonnen; and we experience the Battle of Corrin that created a galactic empire that lasted until the reign of Emperor Shaddam IV.
Herein are the foundations of the Bene Gesserit Sisterhood, the Suk Doctors, the Order of Mentats, and the mysteriously altered Navigators of the Spacing Guild. Here is the amazing tale of the Zensunni Wanderers, who escape bondage to flee to the desert world where they will declare themselves the Free Men of Dune. And here is the backward, nearly forgotten planet of Arrakis, where traders have discovered the remarkable properties of the spice melange....
Ten thousand years before the events of Dune, humans have managed to battle the remorseless Machines to a standstill...but victory may be short-lived. Yet amid shortsighted squabbling between nobles, new leaders have begun to emerge. Among them are Xavier Harkonnen, military leader of the Planet of Salusa Secundus; Xavier's fiancée, Serena Butler, an activist who will become the unwilling leader of millions; and Tio Holtzman, the scientist struggling to devise a weapon that will help the human cause.
Against the brute efficiency of their adversaries, these leaders and the human race have only imagination, compassion, and the capacity for love. It will have to be enough.
Critic Reviews
- Audie Award Winner, Science Fiction, 2003
"Offers the kind of intricate plotting and philosophical musings that would make the elder Herbert proud." (Publishers Weekly)
"Required reading for Dune fans." (Library Journal)
Featured Article: The Definitive Dune Explainer
The new Dune movie is based on the classic sci fi novel, the first book in an extensive series launched by author Frank Herbert and kept going by writers who took up the helm after his death. The trailer for the upcoming film was released last fall, and since then, speculation and excitement have been swirling around the movie. At three minutes long, the trailer itself is a beautiful masterpiece, and it teases many of the important characters and aspects from the story. This post will give you a basic understanding of the book, its history, and everything you need to know about Dune to get you ready for the movie!
More from the same
What listeners say about Dune: The Butlerian Jihad
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Matthew White
- 02-27-19
A very good book but poorly formatted.
Frank Herbert's Dune novels are masterpieces. This book by Brian Herbert and Anderson is very good, but don't expect it to equal the originals. It is solid, though, and a great backstory about the fabled Butlerian Jihad. Likewise, Scott Brick's narration is good. Some have said that he is melodramatic, and that is a fair critique, but in most cases, it works well with the story being about war.
My only complaint, and it is a significant one, is the setup of the audiobook. The book is well over 20 hours in length, but inexplicably there are only two chapters! The first is a little over an hour long, and then the second is just absurd. I like to listen to a chapter while falling asleep, and then I will usually have less than an hour to backtrack. With this book, I couldn't do that. Even just listening on my way to work and during breaks, if I wanted to backtrack it was a chore.
It is still worth getting for a die hard Dune fan, but make frequent bookmarks or it will be extremely frustrating if you lose your place or want to hear part of it again. As a side note, I just started The Machine Crucade, and.that book is broken up in a same way, so dont about following this book up with the next.
51 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Amazon Customer
- 06-02-21
Skips a few pages from the book
When reading along with the book, Audible’s chapter 12 skips about 6 pages. Just thought I’d bring that up.
33 people found this helpful
-
Overall
- Kevin S Williams
- 03-23-03
Just a hint of melange.
As a Dune junkie, I have read the "House" series from Brian Herbert and Kevin Anderson. So I knew what to expect with the audible version of Butlerian Jihad. A light, plot-dependent read with just enough respect to the original series to satisy my need for more info on the world of Dune. I knew it wouldn't have the depth, subtlety and richness of the original series, and it didn't. It is entertaining enough for a listen, but you'll be left wanting more.
34 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Stacey Baker
- 02-11-19
Meh
Just not in the same league as the original books. Also it downloaded as one single chapter which made listening a treat
13 people found this helpful
-
Overall
- Laird
- 11-12-03
Astounding bad, but still Dune...
I really wanted to like this book, being a huge Dune fan (I've read Dune at least four times now, and I'm sure I'll read it again) but this book was painful. Still, despite the amaturish writing and obvious plotting, it's still good to learn more about the universe of Dune.
A few bits stood out -- the writing appears not to be able to think of alternative phrasing, so the book is extremely repetitive. This might not be as annoying in written form, but after you hear the phrase "thinking machines" fifty times in an audio book, you want to scream at the author to exert a few neurons. There's no reason that the cyborgs would make their single most vulnerable component easily externally accessible in combat -- they're suppose to be smart, not suicidal. And the number of "coincidences" that occur is absurd -- most of the important inventions of the next 10,000 years occur during a few years, because the author wanted to be able to write about the origin of various interesting plot devices. To me, it looked like the editor decided that it didn't matter what they printed -- if it said "Dune" and "Herbert" on it, people would buy it.
And, damn them, it worked on me.
23 people found this helpful
-
Overall
- Melody
- 08-04-03
Where's the end?
I enjoyed listening to this book, but I felt it was published before it was completed.
Good narration otherwise.
9 people found this helpful
-
Overall
- Brian
- 02-03-03
enoyed premise but not execution
I am a huge fan of the original Dune series by Frank Herbert. They were intricately written and exciting to read.
This book has only a touch of the original spark the Frank Herbert books did. I did enjoy, though, reading of the origin of a few of the concepts, people and history that were put forth in the original series. The plot held me for most of the book nearing the completion of the book I was simply waiting for it to be over.
What I thought took away from the novel most of all was the poor narration. Audible and other sources of 'audio books' have usually never failed to impress me with the actors who read from the book. Jim Dale comes to mind as an actor made to read books. The narrator for this book, while having a good voice and being able to properly hear all the words, did not have the same acting abiliities as I have become to expect from audio books. It was the odd time to hear a character have a different voice which made it seem inconsistent to even have any character voices at all.
Overall, this audible would be only for the true die-hard Dune fans who wish to have a glimpse at Frank Herberts ideas prequeling the original series.
31 people found this helpful
-
Overall
- Aaron
- 12-11-08
Wonderful prequel to the Dune world
I listened to this book after working through the three Dune, Messiah and Children. I looked at this book because I really enjoyed the Dune books and from the summary I felt this book would be more of the same. I belive the coauthors of this book and some other prequel's to the Dune series did a good job in using a simular writing sytle and creating with Herbert's notes a vast and complex universe.
12 people found this helpful
-
Overall
- G. Griffin
- 08-16-03
Amusing in a campy bad sort-of way!
About the book: This is a prequel written by Frank Herbert's son and another author. Rather than an apocryphal and an exciting extension, it is mediocre science fiction. None of the mystery of the various competing factions of the original series is present, although it attempts to explain the origination of the ban on computers, the long standing hatrid between dynastic houses, of the development of the spacing guild, and everything else in the original book, except for the Emperor. Much of the promised explanations are done as an afterthought, whereas other things tediously repeated over and over and over again. Most of the book is about man vs. machine--a longer and dumbed-down Eric Asimov. Characters are two dimensional and completely predictable. Women are ravishingly beautiful or stunted and deformed. Men are portly and red-faced politicians or tall and handsome. However, there is one loveable drug addict and another character who reminded me of my pompous dissertation advisor--I liked them.
There is one love scene in the book which was embarassing to listen to (alone): I winced. It involved a hunt for deadly wild charging boars, a secluded hot spring, and much ripping of each other's clothes, between the two most important young people of the universe. Think dumbed-down Jackie Collins in space.
The format includes the made up quotes of the original book, but these are really, really bad, and don't seem to have any relationship to the text.
Never-the-less, it is a Dune book, so I listened to the entire thing, and I didn't feel cheated; esp. on a per-word basis.
The Production: It is narrated by a single reader. He attempts to do a few accents and voices, but they are really, really bad. But he had to talk a long time. Some of the voices (esp. of the robots) will make you laugh.
Conclusion: Get it if you are a real Dune buff. I ended up enjoying it because it is so much worse than the real thing that it is funny.
16 people found this helpful
-
Overall
- Jessica
- 04-24-11
Dune: The Search for More Money
I listened to this book when it first came out, and then again recently, when I had forgotten just how bad it was.
The plot: boring and predictable.
The characters: one-dimensional and annoying.
The writing: stilted and repetitive.
Throughout the whole thing, I could hear the authors shouting "see? See what we did there? We made a reference to a person/place/thing mentioned in the original series! Isn't that *great*?"
I might have been able to overlook some of it if it hadn't been for Scott Brick. I really don't get why everybody loves him so much. He has a melodramatic, overblown style, which is a particularly poor fit for the awful writing in this book.
What bothered me most is that it didn't give me any insight into the original series. Sure, it filled in some backstory, but those details didn't tell us anything important about what happened in the main series or why. That's just a story set in the same universe, not a true prequel.
18 people found this helpful