''Dune: House Atreides'' is a 1999 science fiction novel by Brian Herbert and

Kevin J. Anderson Kevin James Anderson (born March 27, 1962) is an American science fiction author. He has written spin-off novels for ''Star Wars'', ''StarCraft'', ''Titan A.E.'' and ''The X-Files literature#Novels, The X-Files'', and with Brian Herbert is the ...

, set in the fictional ''Dune'' universe created by

Frank Herbert Franklin Patrick Herbert Jr. (October 8, 1920February 11, 1986) was an American science fiction author best known for the 1965 novel '' Dune'' and its five sequels. Though he became famous for his novels, he also wrote short stories and worked a ...

. It is the first book in the '' Prelude to Dune''

prequel A prequel is a literary, dramatic or cinematic work whose story precedes that of a previous work, by focusing on events that occur before the original narrative. A prequel is a work that forms part of a backstory to the preceding work. The term " ...

trilogy, which takes place before the events of Frank Herbert's celebrated 1965 novel ''

Dune A dune is a landform composed of wind- or water-driven sand. It typically takes the form of a mound, ridge, or hill. An area with dunes is called a dune system or a dune complex. A large dune complex is called a dune field, while broad, f ...

''.

Bantam Books Bantam Books is an American publishing house owned entirely by parent company Random House, a subsidiary of Penguin Random House; it is an imprint of the Random House Publishing Group. It was formed in 1945 by Walter B. Pitkin, Jr., Sidney B. ...

made a $3 million deal for the novels in 1997. The ''Prelude to Dune'' novels draw from notes left behind by Frank Herbert before his death. ''Dune: House Atreides'' debuted at #13 on ''The New York Times'' Best Seller list, and rose to #12 in its second week of publication.

Plot summary

The novel begins 35 years before the events of the original ''

''. Three interconnected narratives revolve around heir-apparent to House Atreides Leto, acting governor of Arrakis

Baron Vladimir Harkonnen Baron Vladimir Harkonnen () is a fictional character in the Dune (franchise), ''Dune'' franchise created by Frank Herbert. He is primarily featured in the 1965 novel ''Dune (novel), Dune'' and is also a prominent character in the ''Prelude to Dune ...

, and Imperial Crown Prince Shaddam. Side plots involve a young Duncan Idaho escaping enslavement at the hands of House Harkonnen, a young planetologist Pardot Kynes befriending the Fremen native to Arrakis, and the Bene Gesserit's troubles producing a child from the union between the

Reverend Mother An abbess (Latin: ''abbatissa''), also known as a mother superior, is the female superior of a community of Catholic nuns in an abbey. Description In the Catholic Church (both the Latin Church and Eastern Catholic), Eastern Orthodox, Coptic ...

Gaius Helen Mohiam and Vladimir Harkonnen. While Leto is studying politics in the court of Earl Dominic Vernius on Ix, a joint Tleilaxu/ Sardaukar army suddenly attacks the planet. Leto manages to escape to his homeworld of

Caladan ''Dune'' is a 1965 epic science fiction novel by American author Frank Herbert, originally published as two separate serials in ''Analog'' magazine. It tied with Roger Zelazny's ''This Immortal'' for the Hugo Award in 1966 and it won the inaugu ...

with the Earl's children, Rhombur and Kailea. The Tleilaxu conquerors begin using the Ix's technological and industrial resources for "

Project Amal Melange (), often referred to as "the spice", is the fictional psychedelic drug central to the ''Dune'' series of science fiction novels by Frank Herbert and derivative works. In the series, the most essential and valuable commodity in the unive ...

" with the goal of creating synthetic melange in order to eliminate dependence upon Arrakis. Duke Paulus welcomes Leto and the Vernius heirs on Caladan. Lady Helena, however, bitterly opposes protecting the Ixian children. Lady Helena drugs a

Salusan bull This is a list of terminology used in the fictional ''Dune'' universe created by Frank Herbert, the primary source being "Terminology of the Imperium", the glossary contained in the novel ''Dune'' (1965). ''Dune'' word construction could be clas ...

which then kills the Old Duke at a bullfight one evening. Leto becomes the new Duke and sends his mother away to a monastery. Shortly after, Shaddam secretly kills his father and becomes the Padishah Emperor. He invites nobles from across the Imperium to attend his coronation ceremony on Kaitain. The Baron Harkonnen, having invented an invisible ship with the aid of a Richese scientist, has his nephew Glossu Rabban attack a Tleilaxu delegation, making it look like an attack from the Atreides. Leto opts for a trial before the Landsraad and the Bene Gesserit save him with evidence of Corrino involvement in the Tleilaxu takeover of Ix. Shaddam, wishing to keep Project Amal secret, uses his influence to affect the trial and find Leto innocent.

Reception

''Dune: House Atreides'' debuted at #13 on ''The New York Times'' Best Seller list, and rose to #12 in its second week of publication. Reviewers generally remarked on the book's inferiority in quality compared to those written by the series's original author, with speculation that the younger Herbert and Anderson's efforts might attract new readers to the original books. Gerald Jonas of '' The New York Times'' says that readers familiar with the series would enjoy seeing familiar characters and settings, though the book is dialogue-heavy with poor descriptions of action. John Snider of '' SciFi Dimensions'' describes Herbert and Anderson's prequels as "pulpy" and "cartoonish" while allowing that they "make rankHerbert's esoteric and philosophical stories more accessible to general audiences." Similarly, '' Publishers Weekly'' characterizes the plot of ''Dune: House Atreides'' as "intricate" while still being accessible to new readers who might be inspired to turn to the classic books written by the elder Herbert. Likewise, the review of ''House Atreides'' from ''

Kirkus Reviews ''Kirkus Reviews'' (or ''Kirkus Media'') is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus (1893–1980). The magazine is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fic ...

'' considers the authors' attempt at continuing the Dune saga to have "inventive touches" and devious plotting that would be on par with the complexity of the originals, were they not "less subtle" with "disappointingly lightweight characters" who "make for less powerful drama". The benefit to their work, ''Kirkus'' muses, is to promote interest in the original series. Greg L. Johnson of '' SF Site'' praises the authors' choice to focus on side characters from the original ''Dune'' that readers are familiar with, though he laments that female characters are not given the time or opportunity to get fleshed out. The practice of heading each chapter with quotations from the original series continues, but Johnson views these quotes as "less clever and thought-provoking" than those of the original series. At '' RPGnet'', fantasy author

Scott Lynch Scott Lynch (born April 2, 1978) is an American fantasy author who wrote the '' Gentleman Bastard Sequence'' series of novels. His first novel, ''The Lies of Locke Lamora'', was purchased by Orion Books in August 2004 and published in June 2006 u ...

found the book to be a "disappointingly mediocre" and unenlightening contrast to the subtle, competent characters in the original series:

Adaptation

In May 2020, Boom! Studios was announced to have acquired the comic and graphic novel rights to ''Dune: House Atreides'', with the intent of doing a 12-issue comic adaptation written by the original authors Brian Herbert and

References

External links

''New York Times'' review 1999

{{Kevin J. Anderson 1999 American novels 1999 science fiction novels Fiction set around Delta Pavonis Dune (franchise) novels Novels by Brian Herbert Novels by Kevin J. Anderson