The Machine Crusade [Import] [Paperback]

Kevin J. Herbert Brian & Anderson (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 672 pages
• Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton (2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0340823348
• ISBN-13: 978-0340823347
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 5.9 x 2.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (117 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,330,705 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars The writing seems...lacking, October 16, 2003

By 

Avid Reader (Franklin, Tn) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Machine Crusade (Legends of Dune, Book 2) (Hardcover)

It's not the plot lines or the scenes or the dialogues that I have trouble with - it's the depth of character and abbreviated format. If the chapters get any smaller we'll be having one / page soon.

I think the real problem is that Herbert II tries to do too much in one book, spreads himself thin, and thereby hurts the overall work. This tale could potentially have had it all: Political intrigue (Serena & Ginjo), Machine life, Norma (my fave!), the beginnings of the Guild, the Bene Geserit, the start of the mysterious bloodline, the rebirth of the human race, the Worm Rider, the Fremen, the Body Snatchers....in the end, it becomes a jumble despite the very sparse prose and strict structure.

If the author was soliciting advice, I would tell him to reduced the number of characters, focus on fewer events and plunge deeper into the remaining narrative and characters. I truly wanted to enjoy this book but the "awe" and "mystery" one felt while engaged in the original series is missing. The "House" trio was - despite the paucity of plot and characters - actually better due to a concentrated focus. Here's hoping for the better results next time.

31 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Well thought out and plotted sequel to series 3 1/2 stars, September 17, 2003

By 

WTDK "If at first the idea is not absurd, the... (My Little Blue Window, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Machine Crusade (Legends of Dune, Book 2) (Hardcover)

First, let's get the obvious out of the way; Dune: The Machine Crusade is another prequel to Dune and a sequel to The Butlerian Jihad. It has all the drawbacks and bonuses of a sequel; if you haven't read the first in this series of prequels devised by Frank Herbert's son Brian and Kevin J. Anderson, you may feel a little lost at first. The good news is that Herbert and Anderson manage to fill in the blanks early on with a nicely written recap in the prologue (much as the Frank Herbert did with each sequel to his classic Dune novel).

I imagine that Herbert does much of the plotting based on Frank's original background notes and that Anderson does more of the hands on writing. At least it seems that way. In terms of style The Machine Crusades reminds me more of Anderson's novels than Brian Herbert's novels. But both had complimentary, similar styles so it's possible they rewrite each other.

Either way, the plot continues. With the destruction of the Omnius on one of the settled worlds, humanity managed to strike a blow against the computer that created hope. The Cymeks led by Agamemnon struggle to regain their lost power against Omnius all the while fighting humanity as well. Time doesn't matter to Omnius or the Cymeks but it does to Serena Butler. Nearly a quarter century has passed since the computer's henchrobot murdered her son as part of an "experiment" to discover humanity's emotional movitation to fight even when they are clearly defeated. She and the others struggle on in battle against Omnius.

Agamemnon's son Vorian Atriedes and Xavier Harkonnen continue their uneasy alliance in fighting Omnius. We also get our first glimpse of humanity's discover of "folding" space and the impact it will have. On Arrakis the Fremen come into their own as fierce fighters led by Selim Wormrider. We begin to understand how this distant, remote and poor dust speck in the cosmos comes to occupy center stage in Frank Herbert's original novel.

This sprawling epic sets the stage for what's to come later in Herbert's original trilogy. Although it's uneven and the plotting is a bit more awkward here than in the some of the previous novels in this series, The Machine Crusade accomplishes most of its goal. It also sets up another potential sequel. To give Brian Herbert and Kevin Anderson credit, the series they've created does credit to the original novel and Frank Herbert's memory. There are a number of interesting philosphical questions examined here. To the author's credit, they don't let the philosphical questions bog down the action. Both attributes contributes to the strengths and the flaws of the novel; the questions linger on too long and the battles are drawn out a bit too much. At times it seems as if the authors are struggling with the epic tale they are trying to tell; it's as if they are trying to come to grips with the size of the story they need to tell and control it. Even when it veers out of control, The Machine Crusade is still better than most of what passes for science fiction today.

Nevertheless, like its immediate predecessor, The Machine Crusade has an epic, vast scale that the story and characters deserve. It's clear that Brian Herbert in continuing on his father's story chose to do so in a fashion that wouldn't just cash in on (and hence dilute)the original novels. Instead, he and co-author Anderson have tried to come up with a series of space operas as rich in character and scope as the original series. While the dialog can be frequently clunky and the characterizations a bit too sketchy for some, these are minor flaws on this large canvas. They boldly move forward using all the colors of language that they can to describe this epic tale. If words occasionally fail them, it's because the story, like much of Herbert's original epic, can be overwhelming in its vast embrace of science, religion and politics.

If Brian Herbert and Anderson can continue to create novels this complex, the Dune series has a future as more than a cookie cutter space opera series. If they occasionally borrow from some of the sf films that have come out since Frank wrote the original novel, it's only fair; George Lucas and many other film directors borrowed liberally for Frank's imagination, integrating into their own projects and calling it their own.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars more uneven than the first, November 6, 2003

By 

B. Capossere (Rochester, NY USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Machine Crusade (Legends of Dune, Book 2) (Hardcover)

As everyone knows by now, this isn't Dune. The first prequel wasn't nor will this one be. The problem isn't that this book doesn't match up well against Dune, it's that it doesn't match up well against its predecessor, the Butlerian Jihad, which itself was mostly solid rather than excellent. The Machine Crusade is a bit of a step backward for this series.
As in Butlerian Jihad, characterization continues to be pretty shallow, with several characters once again making transitions of behavior that really haven't been earned by the story. And some characters are simply skimped on.
The prequel problem of predictability due to simply filling in the design you're aiming at is more on display here than in book one, and while I can understand the need at some point for that last line (no spoilers here), making it the last line emphasizes the dangers in writing prequels--the sense your reader has that the story is being uncovered rather than growing.
The plot remains the strong point, but here too it is weaker than the first book. Some of it is too contrived while some of it takes turns more for the plot's sake than for any natural development. And the structure, which remains cutting back and forth between multiple characters and plotlines, in this book does a disservice to several characters and storylines while in the first book it served to create tension and suspense. We leave one story and when we come back to it too much has happened in the meantime that would be better shown than told or simply assumed. And I have to confess that some of the plot I just didn't get the necessity of. Some sections reinforced ideas that were pretty clear already. Some were simply repetitive, both from this book and the previous one. And some simply dwelled on characters because it seemed the authors felt it was time to get back there for a while. I thought this book needed much more editing than the first. Not necessarily to cut the length so much as to redistribute it. There was a lot that could have been freely excised which in turn could have freed up some space to do some better characterization or more sophisticated plot development.
Because of the weak characterization and the overweight plot, many of the set "emotional" scenes are anti-climatic and fall pretty lightly on the heart. Rather than bring a tear (ok, they probably weren't aiming at tears but at least some sadness) they mostly elicit a shrug of the shoulders or a "yeah, that had to happen" sort of feeling, as opposed to any sense of loss.
Overall, this work suffers from a common middle book syndrome--it serves its purpose as a bridge to book three and that's about it. There is little spark here, just a lot of concrete. You'll have to read it to get to Book three I'm sure, but don't feel bad if you decide to skim a bit here and there.