From Publishers Weekly
The sands of time have not diminished the impact Dune has had on the evolution of SF, and this new prequel by Frank Herbert's son and bestseller Anderson, following 2001's Dune: House Corrino (the concluding volume of their "House" trilogy), offers the kind of intricate plotting and philosophical musings that would make the elder Herbert proud. Reaching back into the beginnings of Arrakis, the authors show us Selim, a boy cast out by his tribe who discovers how to ride the fearsome giant sandworms. Selim tastes and learns the visionary power of the magical spice, melange, and how the future of Arrakis hinges on who controls it. At the same time, on planets far removed from the desolate dunes of Arrakis, others are involved in a Great Revolt. Free League World humans, led by Tercero Xavier Harkonnen and Serena Butler of Salusa Secundus, battle Omnius, a computer "evermind" intent on extending its dominion. The ominous Omnius seeks to conquer all planets not yet incorporated into his Synchronized Worlds system with the help of servile robotic extensions and colleagues, including Erasmus, a Thinking Machine "Hannibal Lecter" whose whimsical Mr. Spock-ish meditations enliven the proceedings immeasurably. Throughout, key revelations regarding the Zensunni Wanderers and their fight for freedom and other historical Dune elements lend an air of discovery to this fast-paced tale.Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Library Journal
Ten thousand years before the fall of the Imperial House Corrino, two grand interplanetary organizations ruled the known universe: the Synchronized Worlds, presided over by thinking machines led by the evermind called Omnius, and the League of Nobles, beleaguered survivors of the machines' revolt against the Old Empire. In this era, a few individuals determined to overturn the rule of the machines sought every opportunity to gain insights into ways to defeat the human race's most intractable enemy. Herbert and Anderson (Dune: House Atreides; Dune: House Harkonnen; Dune: House Corrino) continue their prehistory of Frank Herbert's "Dune" series with a new trilogy opener set in the distant past of Herbert's galactic saga. The authors reveal the origins of the Spacing Guild and the Bene Gesserit, as well as the root of the ancient feud between Houses Atreides and Harkonnen. This compelling saga of men and women struggling for their freedom is required reading for Dune fans and an essential purchase for libraries. Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From AudioFile
This prequel to the Dune novels of Frank Herbert, and other books in the Dune series, will mean different things to different people. For Dune fans, it will provide deep background on the relationships, alliances, and feuds that shape those novels. To those who have not previously delved into this world, it will be a science fiction book with conflict at the fore and a glimpse of a world in which "thinking machines" rule. Scott Brick's narration is as fresh on the twentieth disc as it is on the first. His focus is unwavering, and his pace never falters as he maintains his enthusiasm for the story and its characters. Brick is adept at leading his listeners through long narrative passages. His sense of timing is helpful in drawing out humor, as well as suspense and intrigue, and is key in his development of vivid personalities. J.E.M. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award, 2003 Audie Award Finalist © AudioFile 2003, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine


From Booklist
Working from Dune creator Frank Herbert's notes, Herbert and Anderson begin to reconstruct the galaxywide events that eventuated in the highly specialized societies of the Dune novels: the wars against thinking machines that led to an absolute ban on artificial intelligence, the discovery of the powers of the spice, and the establishment of the Bene Gesserit sisters, among other things. Those thinking machines are a world mind, Omnius; his many copies operating other worlds; and the cymeks, elaborate machines with transplanted human minds. The cymeks woke up the computers of Earth and taught them to rule, not foreseeing the ultimate power that would be used against them. Humans on the machine-run Earth are slaves to an efficient "evermind." Free worlds remain, of course, their human inhabitants relying on circuitry-disrupting shields to protect them from computer-driven attack ships, and on slave labor in place of mechanization. A young Harkonnen officer is clearly the hero of the book, and Vorian Atreides, son of the voraciously cruel cymek, Agammemnon, is on the would-be oppressors' side. The planet Arrakis maintains only a few hardy desert dwellers when an exiled teen stumbles on the secret of riding the giant worms, and the sorceress Zufa trains a select group of young women in telepathic powers on the planet Rossak while rejecting her daughter, a brilliant mathematician. Herbert and Anderson strain to corral the book's many origin stories into a single plotline, and the dialogue can be stiff, but the powerful allure of the Dune mythos overcomes the awkwardness. Roberta Johnson
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved


Review
“This compelling saga of men and women struggling for freedom is required reading for Dune fans.”—Library Journal



Review
“This compelling saga of men and women struggling for freedom is required reading for Dune fans.”—Library Journal



Book Description
Frank Herbert’s Dune series is one of the great creations of imaginative literature, science fiction’s answer to The Lord of the Rings.

Decades after Herbert’s original novels, the Dune saga was continued by Frank Herbert’s son, Brian Herbert, in collaboration with Kevin J. Anderson. Working from Frank Herbert’s own notes, the acclaimed authors reveal the chapter of the Dune saga most eagerly anticipated by readers: the Butlerian Jihad.

Throughout the Dune novels, Frank Herbert frequently referred to the war in which humans wrested their freedom from “thinking machines.” In Dune: The 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 struggle that will liberate humans from their machine masters; 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....

FROM THE PUBLISHER

"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: The 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 moral enemies of House Atreides and House Harkonnen; and we experience the Battle of Corrin that created a galactic empire lasting 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 fiancee, 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.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

The sands of time have not diminished the impact Dune has had on the evolution of SF, and this new prequel by Frank Herbert's son and bestseller Anderson, following 2001's Dune: House Corrino (the concluding volume of their "House" trilogy), offers the kind of intricate plotting and philosophical musings that would make the elder Herbert proud. Reaching back into the beginnings of Arrakis, the authors show us Selim, a boy cast out by his tribe who discovers how to ride the fearsome giant sandworms. Selim tastes and learns the visionary power of the magical spice, melange, and how the future of Arrakis hinges on who controls it. At the same time, on planets far removed from the desolate dunes of Arrakis, others are involved in a Great Revolt. Free League World humans, led by Tercero Xavier Harkonnen and Serena Butler of Salusa Secundus, battle Omnius, a computer "evermind" intent on extending its dominion. The ominous Omnius seeks to conquer all planets not yet incorporated into his Synchronized Worlds system with the help of servile robotic extensions and colleagues, including Erasmus, a Thinking Machine "Hannibal Lecter" whose whimsical Mr. Spock-ish meditations enliven the proceedings immeasurably. Throughout, key revelations regarding the Zensunni Wanderers and their fight for freedom and other historical Dune elements lend an air of discovery to this fast-paced tale. Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.

Library Journal

Ten thousand years before the fall of the Imperial House Corrino, two grand interplanetary organizations ruled the known universe: the Synchronized Worlds, presided over by thinking machines led by the evermind called Omnius, and the League of Nobles, beleaguered survivors of the machines' revolt against the Old Empire. In this era, a few individuals determined to overturn the rule of the machines sought every opportunity to gain insights into ways to defeat the human race's most intractable enemy. Herbert and Anderson (Dune: House Atreides; Dune: House Harkonnen; Dune: House Corrino) continue their prehistory of Frank Herbert's "Dune" series with a new trilogy opener set in the distant past of Herbert's galactic saga. The authors reveal the origins of the Spacing Guild and the Bene Gesserit, as well as the root of the ancient feud between Houses Atreides and Harkonnen. This compelling saga of men and women struggling for their freedom is required reading for Dune fans and an essential purchase for libraries. Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.

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