Review written for ClubReading.com by Bill
In Dune: House Atreides, the events leading up to Frank Herbert’s Dune are played out. All the characters from Dune and the preceding histories are outlined in an entertaining and well written prequal.
The Emperor Elrood is plotted against and eventually killed by his son Shaddam.
The boy Leto Atreides spends time on the machine planet Ix, and becomes Duke after his father’s tragic accident.
Pardot Kynes begins his planetological expedition of Dune.
Duncan Idaho as a boy loses his parents to an evil house and pledges his loyalty to House Atreides.
The abridged version audio book is well done. What really makes this an exceptional listening experience though is Tim Curry’s performance. His excellent voice, stage experience and amazing talent really bring the story alive.
One disappointing aspect of the story, like many of the follow on books to Dune, this one lacks much of the mystery and mystic. What really drew me to Dune was the mysticism and religious undertones. And that magic seemed to slip away in the later books. And is almost non-existent in this one.
Despite that, I highly recommend this book.