Nerdly Book Review:
Sandworms of Dune
April 26, 2009 by Kyle BradyTags: Book, Kevin J. Anderson, Review, Sandworms of Dune
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If I were to choose one word for this end to the epic Frank-Herbert-finished-by-his-son series, I'd pick "disappointing".
I've already said that Frank Herbert's son can hold his own on the material, but that it's a different style. I was wary of reading these "series conclusion books" because of the absolute differences in style and approach that the prequels had, when compared to the original Dune novels... but I read "Hunters of Dune" and was excited for the "epic conclusion".
In which I was ultimately disappointed.
The book starts off decently, picking up where the predecessor left off, but slowly devolves into small climaxes. Yes, there are "aha!" moments strewn throughout the book that tie things together satisfactorily, but the TRUE climax was understated and predictable. After which there were 100 pages of "let's end all the little storylines we created over 3000 years of fake future history", which was neither interesting nor necessary. Not to mention that it all felt forced and the conclusions they reached were rather flimsy and Disney-esque.
Worth reading if you're curious about how things end, since it was such a long haul from the prequels all the way through the end... but don't expect too much. They set the bar too high in "Hunters of Dune", and couldn't match it... managing to, for once, sound like the original author and produce the same ideas sets you up for immediate failure if it can't be replicated.
I can't help but feel that while these might have been in Frank Herbert's notes, where these novels were supposedly extrapolated from, he would have executed them much differently. The overall undisputed Master of environments, universes, and the human psyche would have surely been able to have such an epic plot come to a Christ-figure conclusion that would have either been more subtle or more truly epic.
Maybe even both.
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