false 6072318 0765322722 9780765322722 70 24 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255575370m/6072318.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6072318.The_Winds_of_Dune 56 Brian Herbert 12759 664 2 0 false Tue Nov 03 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Tue Nov 03 06:55:22 -0800 2009 Tue Nov 03 06:55:37 -0800 2009
While I admittedly enjoy indulging in returning to a fantastical world, characters, and universe that I first encountered and fell in love with back when I was the ripe old age of thirteen – a wonderful age to escape into science fiction, fantasy, and comic books – I do find that Brian and Kevin’s second-string characters to be frequently stilted and less than two-dimensional. That is, they manage to not betray the main personalities and motives of the well-established characters – like Lady Jessica, the main character this time around. But the newer characters that they introduce into the series – who may or may not have been fleetingly referenced in Frank’s original series – act and speak ludicrously. Take Rhombur Vernius, for one; childhood friend of Paul’s who emerges as the counterpoint to Alia and her efforts to deify Paul in death. What could have been an even more powerful and fully-realized character is turned into a silly caricature. If Brian and Kevin didn’t have him exclaim “Vermillion Hells!” half the time he speaks, then they would’ve been half-way in creating a more realistic character who, by novel’s end, plays the pivotal role in setting up the course of the books that follow in this ever-expanding series.

Of course, you know that I’ll be back for The Throne of Dune around this time next year. As well as any other Dune-related books that the two churn out on an almost yearly basis.
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