false http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1167291908m/20253.jpg 20253 17 Don't even think about reading <I>House Harkonnen</I> without reading its predecessor <I>Dune: House Atreides</I>; anyone who does so risks sinking in the sands between Frank Herbert's original <I>Dune</I> and this prequel trilogy by Herbert's son, Brian, and Kevin J. Anderson. The purist argument that had Frank Herbert wanted to go backwards he would have done so is, at least in part, negated by the sheer narrative verve, and by the fact that Anderson and Brian Herbert manage to pull some genuine surprises out of this long-running space-opera. <I>House Harkonnen</I> is a massive book, and there are places where it becomes plot heavy, but in following the story of Duke Leto Atreides and the conflicts with House Harkonnen, the authors succeed in spinning a gripping adventure while going off in some unexpected directions. Anderson, who has written many successful Star Wars novels, has noted his particular admiration for <I>The Empire Strikes Back</I>, and his desire to emulate that film's dark take on the genre. In <I>House Harkonnen</I>, the conflict encompasses the tragedy of nuclear war, marked by grief and horror, vengeance and torment, and all while the complex intrigues continue to unfold. As one character puts it:<p> <blockquote>Everything has its cost. We pay to create our future, we pay for the mistakes of the past. We pay for every change we make--and we pay just as dearly if we refuse to change.</blockquote><p> Ultimately this is the theme of a compelling game of consequences, choices, and responsibility, a study of Leto's growth into power and the price of politics and love. <I>--Gary S. Dalkin, Amazon.co.uk</I> 705946 2000 House Harkonnen (Dune: House Trilogy, Book 2) total:1957|5:371|4:585|3:618|2:276|1:107| 1957 6708 2420 59 5 1 false false Tue Jul 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Mon Jan 05 13:48:31 -0800 2009 Mon Jan 05 15:34:30 -0800 2009 1 Dune is one of my all-time favorite books, and this is a great addition to the canon.

It's so exciting to learn the histories of the well-loved characters of Dune. Brian Herbert's writing style is very similar to his father's, so the book (and the whole prequel trilogy) doesn't seem out ...more...]]> 4 0 false false Sat Nov 07 20:47:32 -0800 2009 Sat Nov 07 20:47:32 -0800 2009 GREAT books! VERY time consuming! Worth the time!

Ok here is the deal. If your not sure about starting a series this big, here is what I would do.
1. -- Read the 1st one by Frank Herbert "Dune" if you like it...

2. -- Read the "...more...]]> 5 1 false false Sun Jun 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sat Jul 12 09:05:01 -0700 2008 Sat Jul 12 09:15:20 -0700 2008 more...]]> 5 0 false false Tue Apr 07 18:05:02 -0700 2009 Sun Mar 22 15:49:16 -0700 2009 Tue Apr 07 18:05:02 -0700 2009 2
For one thing, I finally could see Duke Leto being the incredible man t...more...]]> 4 0 false false Thu Oct 29 16:29:16 -0700 2009 Thu Oct 29 16:39:30 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Wed Aug 19 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon Aug 17 05:52:27 -0700 2009 Wed Aug 19 23:45:40 -0700 2009
House Harkonnen is a prequel to the original Dune series. Here we meet Leto Atreides and Jessica, the Sisterhood of the Bene Gesserit...more...]]> 4 0 false false Sat Mar 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Tue Mar 18 17:04:06 -0700 2008 Sun Jul 20 02:20:54 -0700 2008 House Harkonnen is the middle volume of the prequel to Frank Hebert's legendary series as written by his son Brian Hebert and Kevin J. Anderson, and as anyone with a passing knowledge of the Dune universe could have told you without looking, the very title of this book bodes badly for everyone.
...more...]]> 3 0 false false Thu Feb 07 09:25:12 -0800 2008 Thu Feb 07 09:46:58 -0800 2008 more...]]> 2 0 false false Tue Jan 13 08:30:53 -0800 2009 Tue Jan 13 08:35:07 -0800 2009 0 0 false false Mon Jan 26 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Mon Jan 26 10:05:02 -0800 2009 Mon Jan 26 10:06:41 -0800 2009 3 0 false false Sun Oct 04 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sun Oct 04 12:53:16 -0700 2009 Sun Oct 04 12:54:46 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Sat Jan 05 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Thu Feb 28 19:13:41 -0800 2008 Thu Feb 28 19:19:39 -0800 2008 more...]]> 5 0 false false Fri Jun 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Tue May 12 10:12:53 -0700 2009 Tue May 12 10:54:26 -0700 2009 1 5 0 false false Tue Jan 20 14:31:57 -0800 2009 Tue Jan 20 15:31:10 -0800 2009 1 1 false false Fri Aug 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Wed Aug 13 18:45:26 -0700 2008 Wed Aug 13 18:52:24 -0700 2008 more...]]> 4 0 false false Sat Nov 01 00:00:00 -0800 1975 Tue Oct 06 20:42:41 -0700 2009 Tue Oct 06 20:46:43 -0700 2009 2 0 false false Wed Feb 25 15:11:08 -0800 2009 Wed Feb 25 15:11:08 -0800 2009 5 0 false false Sun Mar 01 13:38:30 -0800 2009 Sun Mar 01 13:38:41 -0800 2009 1 1 false false Sun May 18 21:44:04 -0700 2008 Tue Apr 21 14:21:09 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Sun Feb 24 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Mon Feb 18 18:11:26 -0800 2008 Sun Feb 24 18:21:53 -0800 2008 more...]]> http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=20253