Dune: House Harkonnen

I just finished reading Dune: House Harkonnen by Brian Herbert & Kevin Anderson. (Yeah, I know, I really should be studying for my upcoming actuarial exam, but I need to take a break from memorizing actuarial material once in a while.) When I first picked this up, I was looking forward to it. As I mentioned in an earlier post, Dune: House Atreides was not all that great, but let's face it - bad guys are more interesting to read about than good guys, right? Unfortunately, I was disappointed. First of all, it doesn't really focus on House Harkonnen any more than the first one did. And in its entirety, the book is not awful, but it is slightly worse than the first one. My observations...

Thinking for you. This book continues the mistake of Dune: House Atreides in insisting on digesting absolutely everything for you. One particularly blatant example is explaining the true nature of axlotl tanks. This had been hinted at but never spelled out in the original Dune Chronicles; it's better that way.

Bad writing. Not only do they continue to do the reader's thinking, but they do so with annoying repetitiveness. For example, on p. 206, they write, "There was no shame in it for Kailea, either, especially with her lack of prospects." Then on p. 208, they write, "For Kailea there would certainly be no shame in becoming the chosen lover of a Duke." This is just one example; there are dozens. They do this elsewhere; for example, describing the rugs in Earl Vernius's office (pointed out by an Amazon reviewer). Their repeated use of ridiculous phrases is beyond dumb. To mention just a few, "muscular" three times on one page, Kailea's "emerald" eyes, Jessica's "bronze" hair, "barrel-chested" "burly" Rabban, and Anirul's "doe eyes." The elecran chapter was a complete distraction; what point to introducing such an absurd creature (were they trying to follow Herbert Senior's brilliant conception of the sandworms? if so, they failed miserably!) if it matters not to the rest of the book? Chapter transitions are still choppy and distracting.

Boring Sections. Some of the plot lines are monumentally boring. In particular, Duncan Idaho's 8 years at the Ginaz Swordmaster School (which for some reason I can't quite put my finger on, I think are the chapters the authors would be most proud of) are beyond silly. And when you get to the end of the book and witness the Swordmasters' truly pathetic behavior, it makes you wish you had skipped all the chapters related to this particular plot line.

Clumsy Politics. The political universe which Frank Herbert created, which we believed had survived for 100 centuries, is shattered by the ridiculously clumsy actions that Herbert Junior & Anderson put their characters through. A universe in which people behaved this way wouldn't last 1 century before cataclysmic war took place.

Contradictions. The book contradicts the original Dune novel in too many places to mention exhaustively. They should have gone back and re-read the original before writing this.

Unbelievable Plot. Often the authors rely on lazy and contrived solving of plot lines (some are outright deus ex machina arrangements) just to make everything fit together. The motivations of some characters are even more ridiculous than Lady Helena's in the first book. Some actions are absurd and do not fit in with anything else we've ever read about the Dune universe (the Bene Gesserit when they are visited by the Baron Harkonnen).

Unlikeable Characters. Even after all of the above, the book would still be above average. Their worst sin, however, is that they simply write many of their characters in such a way that they are downright unlikeable. Abulurd Harkonnen needs to grow a pair. Earl Dominic Vernius is a despicable criminal, willing to commit an unthinkable atrocity simply for revenge (never mind that he lost control of Ix through his own indifferent leadership). With Rhombur, they seem to be going for the tragic hero, but instead end up depicting an ineffectual buffoon. Most unlikeable of all, Kailea is an annoying petulant beeyotch (although I think this plot line could have been infinitely improved if the readers -- like the characters -- did not find out what was really happening until the end, rather than being told at the beginning).

For all this, if you are a Dune fan, this book is still a somewhat enjoyable read. Herbert Junior & Anderson had the right plot ideas at the "macro" level (again I assume this is the result of Herbert Senior's notes and not their own brilliance) even if they failed to execute them properly at the "micro" level. I would rate this between 2 or 3 stars, a bit lower than Dune: House Atreides. Be back at ya after I read Dune: House Corrino.