Sandworms of Dune (Hardcover)

by Brian Herbert (Author), Kevin J. Anderson (Author)
Key Phrases: reverend mothers, ghola children, axlotl tanks, Face Dancers, Kwisatz Haderach, Bene Gesserit (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Longtime collaborators Herbert and Anderson set themselves a steep challenge—and, in the end, fail to meet it—in this much anticipated wrapup of the original Dune cycle (after 2006's Hunters of Dune). A large cast scattered across the cosmos must be brought together so that the final, all-powerful Kwisatz Haderach may be revealed in the ultimate face-off between humankind and the machine empire ruled by the implacable Omnius. Though pacing is brisk and the infrequent action scenes crackle with tension, only two minor characters—gholas, who are young clones with restored memories, of Suk doctor Wellington Yueh and God-Emperor Leto II—acquire real depth. Everyone else is too busy reacting to mostly irrelevant subplots like sabotage aboard the no-ship Ithaca, a plague devastating the planet of Chapterhouse and the genetic engineering of marine-dwelling sandworms. The lengthy climax relies on at least four consecutive deus ex machina bailouts, eventually devolving into sheer fairy tale optimism. Series fans will argue the novel's merits for years; others will be underwhelmed. (Aug.)
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From Booklist
By the time of this second volume of the third Dune prequel trilogy, battles and plagues have nearly destroyed humans and their planets. Sheanna revives the ghola cloning project to pit genius against numbers. Almost all the saga principals have been re-created—Paul, Jessica, Letos I and II, Chani, Stilgar, even Wellington Yueh and Baron Harkonnen—and are hiding on the no-ship. The eleventh ghola of Duncan Idaho keeps an eye on things. Naturally, such a crew generates intrigue, dissension, and many actions unintentionally at cross-purposes. Some of the re-creations learn from the past, some don't. Meanwhile, Omnius and Erasmus, leaders of the thinking machines, search for the no-ship; failing to find it, they finish the destruction of any planet capable of supporting human life. When the clones and the thinking machines finally confront each other, the conflict proves pretty gripping. Its plot derived from Frank Herbert's notes, Sandworms should fascinate Dune fans. The series' long run by now begs the question of whether, since Sandworms ties up so many loose ends, more of what has been learned about the construction and destruction of ecologies, and about thinking machines, in the 42 years since Dune was first published couldn't figure in the promised ninth prequel volume, Paul of Dune. Murray, Frieda

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 496 pages
• Publisher: Tor Books; 1st edition (August 7, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 076531293X
• ISBN-13: 978-0765312938
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.2 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (142 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #74,726 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

117 of 135 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A Satisfying Read ... If You Like Brian Herbert and Kevin Anderson's Writing, August 14, 2007

By	TonyD "TonyD" - See all my reviews

Brian Herbert and Kevin Anderson's Dune books have been the source of much controversy. Bringing a vastly different narrative style to the late Frank Herbert's sprawling saga has both introduced the series to new readers while simultaneously alienating fans of the original works. The result has been a schism among the fanbase that Herbert himself would have probably found interesting if not outright amusing. Sandworms is the final chapter which brings to a close the Dune saga and resolves events and situations first introduced in Heretics of Dune and Chapterhouse Dune. It also ties in directly to the authors' prequel Dune books that chronicled the human/machine conflict.

I've always been a casual fan of the Dune books. I've read them all and enjoyed them quite a bit but the elder Herbert's style never fully resonated with me (I'm more of an Arthur C. Clarke devotee myself). As such, I was able to view the Brian Herbert/Kevin Anderson collaborations with a more neutral eye. I've found all of their books to be good reads yet not particularly memorable. Their style of prose often comes across more as an outline of a novel than an actual novel. Sandworms follows this particular pattern. For the most part, the prose lacked a dramatic edge and climactic and often cataclysmic events were conveyed with a clinical coldness that sometimes robbed them of their power. Many characters were introduced yet turned out to play minor roles given their seeming importance. Others underwent fundamental and sometimes odd shifts in their personality. Still, the whole outweighed the sum of its parts and when all was said and done I found the book to be sufficiently entertaining and the conclusion to be both hopeful and satisfying, even if it flies in the face of Herbert's oft-repeated mantra that we can't place our blind faith in the hands of one person.

Sandworms is allegedly based on a final outline prepared by Frank Herbert before his passing. I'm sure such an outline exists and I'm sure the authors mined what they could from it. I'm also sure they added a lot of their own original ideas that the elder Herbert would probably have never pursued. I have a sneaking feeling that the final revelation about Duncan Idaho was Herbert's idea. On the other hand, I doubt seriously he would have resurrected any characters from previous entries in the saga. I also doubt seriously that Omnius, Erasmus or their machine empire were a part of any such outline.

The controversial resurrection of key characters like Paul, Chani, Baron Harkonnen and Dr. Yueh (among others) was something of a mixed bag. Many turned out to be red herrings or poorly defined. But I thought the authors handled Dr. Yueh and Leto II, arguably two of the most tragic characters in the entire saga, very very well. Yueh's spiritual journey and attempts at redemption was probably the highlight of the book for me. Leto II's brief return to his full former self was also an entertaining section and one that I re-read several times. Less satisfying was Paul's contribution to the story. Given how little he had to do, it might have been better to simply leave him out of it. Still, the hopeful conclusion to the series and the restoration of so many characters to their former glory brought a smile to my face. For me each of Frank Herbert's Dune books was less satisfying than the last. The further he moved away from Arrakis, the Fremen and the Atreides family, the less I was able to relate with the universe. By Heretics, the series felt like a total stranger to me. As such, it did feel good to revisit some of those old characters again, like catching up with old friends after a long long time and realizing that they hadn't changed as much as you feared they would.

I'm a little dismayed and surprised at all the furious recriminations and the "disappointed" reactions of readers. Brian Herbert and Kevin Anderson have been writing Dune books for almost a decade now. At this point, anyone even peripherally familiar with their style and previous works should already have a good clue as to what to expect from Sandworms. To have them suddenly adopt Frank Herbert's style and jettison their own storylines is simply an unrealistic expectation.

If you derived any enjoyment from Brian Herbert and Kevin Anderson's previous collaborations then you'll probably get some mileage out of Sandworms. If you've been disappointed by what you've read so far, then my advice would be to stay away. As for me, I read it all the way thru and am glad I did.

39 of 45 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars WHY?, July 26, 2008

By	M "Meowthmama" - See all my reviews

Brian Herbert is not his father. With that in mind, I read this book, not expecting him or Kevin to write exactly like Frank. But even with NOT expecting Brian to write just like his father, this book SUCKED. There were SO many things wrong with this book. It was full of unnecessary, plodding details. Alia and Serena Butler acting as Other Memory even though neither of them had surviving descendants, is utter ridiculousness. The Baron-ghola and Erasmus commented on Alia and Serena in Other Memory respectively, wondering how they could be there (just like us readers) yet Brian and Kevin never offer a explanation for this. It's like they're saying 'Well, we're the ghostwriters, so we'll rewrite FH's canon however we want, and you can suck it!'

I was also VERY disappointed in the fact that nothing is revealed of Gilbertus Alban's fate. Erasmus thinks a lot about Serena, but you'd think that he'd have some thoughts about his ward, because out of the entire population of humankind, Serena and Gilbertus are both undeniably very important to Erasmus.

The thing with Norma Cenva and Omnius was one of the most ill-thought out ways to wrap up things, and the fate of some of the gholas, Leto II, Sheeana, etc, was all one HUGE disaster. The ending left me feeling unfulfilled and frustrated. I plodded through what, over 1000 pages (Hunters/Sandworms) only to see this crappy ending that RAPED my fond memories of Dune to the fiber of their very being.

One of the central themes to Frank's Dune books was that we must free ourselves of any one guiding force - hence Leto II Atreides' Golden Path to force the Famine Times and the Scattering, so that humankind would not be united under one ruler and become diversified, finding new ways to survive and learning how to adapt. And this was all RUINED when Duncan Idaho merged with Erasmus to become the Ultimate Kwisatz Haderach. This goes against the very message that Frank Herbet - through his characters Paul Muad'Dib and Leto II - was trying to teach us. Sure, we can assume that Frank had some big plans for Sheeana. After all, she is the descendant of Siona and she was able to control the worms. But I doubt that she would have become a ultimate Kwisatz Haderach. Rather, I feel that Herbert had planned for her to become the next 'example' of the Golden Path, a key figure to ensure humankind's survival after Paul, Leto II, and Siona.

And I was VERY disappointed in the lack of Darwi Odrade's Other Memory in Dune 7. She was so important in Chapterhouse Dune, and Kevin and Brian have all but thrown her aside and concentrated on some storyline concentrating on the gholas aboard the Ithaca and other crap that is really irrelevant to the whole scheme of Dune. Hunters/Sandworms concentrated on the gholas, personal drama, some bull about sea-worms (WTF???) while ignoring main characters that had been vital in previous books.

It would have been far more conceivable for the Other Enemy to be Erasmus himself rather than Omnius, or some rogue Face Dancers or renegade Tleilaxu or a female group more sinister than the Honored Matres, or some twisted male version of the Bene Gesserit or Mentats.

The very ending, with the Paul and Chani gholas just cheesed me off. Everything was wrapped up far too neatly, which is something Herbert would never have done. Leto II fought to keep mankind from stagnating, at personal cost to himself and his reputation, so to ensure its survival in the Scattering. By having Duncan Idaho become the OMG ULTIMATE KWISATZ HADERACH!!!!!!! is bringing humankind under one ruler again and will lead to eventual stagnation again.

And so many details were unnecessary - all the subplots in Dune 7, oy! The House trilogy wasn't such a bad read, but in the grand scheme of the Dune universe was really unnecessary. Frank Herbert was a master of concentrating on the big picture, and painting a grand image with but a few words. He left mentions here and there of history - Butlerian Jihad, Paul's jihad, and what have you. The details of such things is not needed in the grand scheme of the Duneverse. We Dune fans aren't retards who need every single detail expanded on. That's why we liked Frank Herbert. The Duneverse is different from the more familiar and popular sci-fi universes - Star Trek, Star Wars, what have you. Mind you, I'm not badmouthing George Lucas or whatever, but Dune was different and we liked it for that. Brian and Kevin just ruined it for us.

Frank Herbert is without a doubt spinning in his grave. How dare you besmirch his memory by planning to write even MOAR Dune books! We don't need 'Paul of Dune' and whatever else you have planned. Just stop writing, seriously. Haven't you raped Frank Herbert's legacy up the wazoo for long enough? People didn't like the books you wrote, and for good reason. For the sake of Frank Herbert's legacy, just stop.

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars As Enraged as an Honored Matre, November 7, 2008

By	Orangeskipper (Portland, OR) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sandworms of Dune (Hardcover)

Wow. This novel (along with Hunters) was simply awful, plagued by a childish writing style and uninteresting plot developments. I was very disappointed with this work.

Seaworms? Honestly? You mean to tell me that after thousands of years of experimentation in sandworm propagation, that a half-baked Tlielaxu was the first to think of such a thing? What was the point in doing this? the seaworm plotline was unnecessary for this tale, and does much to diminish the worm mythology.

The rest of the story reads like an unbearably protracted curtain call for all the most famous characters of the Dune universe. The re-introduction of many of these characters was pointless, and contributed little to the development of the story. Such extreme disappointment. I would have preferred a beautifully illustrated coffee table book, containing prints of Herbert's actual notes. Harumph. I would wager that they wouldn't have much in common with this novel as it was published.

Stop milking the cash cow, at let the beauty of the original Dune novels stand on their own. Fellow readers, avoid the temptation to buy this book just to satisfy your craving for a hint of melange. Instead, find an old, beat-up copy of God-Emperor somewhere, and reacquaint yourself with the real deal.