First Chapter of Hunters of Dune

[nessus87]

The first chapter is available on the official website. Not real great but I guess it is a look at what is to come. Their mention of the Enemy chasing them is odd and out of place seeing as how little emphasis was placed on the enemy by them before. They really would have little idea that someone is coming for them.

It doesn't seem likely at this point that the book will be any better than the others these two have written.

[NHJ BV]

The one thing that bugged me was that according to this chapter Teg knew that Odrade collected some cells from him. From Heretics I got the impression that Teg didn't know.

Overall, however, the book could turn out decently. If they can get back to the (relative) quality of the House series I'll be content. It's probably the best to hope for.

[MrFlibble]

Most of the chapter is briefly retelling the contents of Chapterhouse, and I had a feeling that this retelling is partly aimed at those readers who haven't read the original books :(

In short, it didn't impress me. And yes, the "mysterious Enemy" that concerns the ship's crew is something totally new. BTW, weren't the pursuers of HMs called "Ones of Many Faces" in CHD?

[nessus87]

Yeah they were which means that they weren't machines. And Marty and Daniel refered to themselves as Tleilaxu creations and Face Dancers. Which means that they aren't machines either.

[Andrew]

Hurray for the first chapter for summarizing what happens in the previous books, because KJA and BH wouldn't expect Dune readers to have read Heretics and CH:D books, and anyone stupid enough to read the new books without reading the previous installments is plain stupid.

They better not spend 1/2 first book retelling what happened in the other books. If I wanted to know I would read the previous books.

Overall, however, the book could turn out decently. If they can get back to the (relative) quality of the House series I'll be content. It's probably the best to hope for.

That's what I'm hoping for as well. If the writing style is anything like Jihad books I'm gonna flip out. I'm not going to buy the new books, because I bought the Jihad ones expecting them to be on parity with House series, which they were not. I've also got to read the last Jihad book that I bought when it was released several years ago. And since the Jihad books are supposed to have some connection to the new ones, well.... It's a TRAP!

I hope they are really good books. Really I do.

[NHJ BV]

Eh, I can't blame them for retelling some of the events from Heretics and Chapterhouse in the first sequel of a series of books of which the last one appeared some 20+ year ago. A lot of people buying it probably only vaguely know the name "Dune". Some of those people will probably (re)read the originals after reading the new ones.

[Andrew]

It would be smarter to read the originals first ;). Unless of course they plan on sumarizing everything in the originals, which would make reading the originals pointless beforehand. I hope not. But then again they need to fill 2 books somehow.

Will wait for them to publish the second chapter to see if they continue to talk about previous stuff.

[Colonel_Worf]

Geez.... you guys are pessimists. Why would they spend half a book retelling events?

[driftingcloud]

Geez.... you guys are pessimists. Why would they spend half a book retelling events?

Maybe you haven't read any of the prequels. It's their style to restate the obvious.

[Andrew]

Maybe you haven't read any of the prequels. It's their style to restate the obvious.

Did you know that Xavier Harkonnen loves Serena Butler? I didn't believe it until I read it for the 20th time! (I ended up skipping any paragraphs with references to it)

[driftingcloud]

Did you know that Xavier Harkonnen loves Serena Butler? I didn't believe it until I read it for the 20th time! (I ended up skipping any paragraphs with references to it)

Somehow I missed that. I've heard the repetition leads to desensizitation...maybe that's what happened. I read it so many times I started to believe it couldn't possibly be true, to the point of forgetting it entirely!  ;D

[Dunenewt]

http://www.dunenovels.com/dune7blog/page55.html

Chapter Two

[gunner154]

Maybe I'm still biased, but the writing style is rather... simple, relative to that of FH's masterpieces.

[MrFlibble]

Threats within threats within threats.

[sarcasm]How original and innovative.[/sarcasm]

The Outside Enemy observers, in their bizarrely innocuous guises of an old man and an old woman, had a net they could cast across vast distances to entangle the no-ship.

It'd be funny if not actually being so sad :D :'( :D :'(

A ship of fools.

That's right! Woohoo!

I am the Oracle of Time.

And you are The Chosen One, Duncan Idaho. Want some candy?

Without further verification he knew that they had fallen back into their

own universe.

BTW, I'm pretty sure that Duncan moved the ship into an unknown part of the universe, not some "other dimension", in the end of Chapterhouse. And what about his "rudimentary prescience"? he was neither a Navigator nor a Kwisatz Haderach ???

[NHJ BV]

I thought the writing was OK until the Oracle of Time came out of ****ing nowhere. Seriously, what?

[Dunenewt]

Duncan had a prescience after they managed to give him the shared memories of all the previous Duncan's, not just the original.

[Crysknife]

This quote shows that there were stars when the no-ship came out of foldspace:

Sheeana did not look up when he found her at the temporary flight-control board

in the guard quarters. She was bent over the board, staring at it in

consternation. The projection above her showed they had emerged from foldspace.

Idaho recognized none of the visible star patterns but he had expected that.

Sheeana swiveled and looked at Garimi standing over her. "We've lost all data

storage!"

Idaho tapped his temple with a forefinger. "No we haven't."

So, this book is already flawed.  Wow, two chapters and they already fly off on their own misguided direction.  Star patterns!  Visible Star Patterns....

[MrFlibble]

Sadly enough. But they apparently haven't invented anything better to force the no-ship (Ithaca, how cool! Luckily they didn't bother retelling the entire Iliad and Odyssey for those who haven't heard about such things before) to return into the right "dimension" and keep fighting with the super-far-net-casting Enemy >:(

[NHJ BV]

Chapter three is up. Not bad.

[NHJ BV]

Chapter four is up as well: http://www.dunenovels.com/dune7blog/chapters/Hunters-Chapter04.pdf

It's an okay read, and seems to hint at a possible re-awakening of Leto II.

[Andrew]

If Leto II woke up in each worm, there would be 7 tyrants? That would be scary.

Although I'm not sure how himself as a worm could defeat a machine army...

[MrFlibble]

Once again, at least one third of the chapter is retelling the contents of previous books. Scarce dialogues, doubtful action. Well, well...

So it's already certain that the machines are back?

I thought the "pearls of Leto's consciousness" was a metaphor, like the worms spawned from his body are a living witness to the future he shaped, or something like that ???

[NHJ BV]

I thought the "pearls of Leto's consciousness" was a metaphor, like the worms spawned from his body are a living witness to the future he shaped, or something like that ???

The originals said quite clearly that Leto II's consciousness was in a sort of dream-like state, I didn't take it as a metaphor myself.

[MrFlibble]

So Leto II is in the genetically stored Other Memory that passed down to the sandworms from the sandtrout that spawned when his body decomposed, right?

Then he can 'awaken' only if someone tries to repeat his feat and merge with the worm via the sandtrout skin.

[NHJ BV]

So Leto II is in the genetically stored Other Memory that passed down to the sandworms from the sandtrout that spawned when his body decomposed, right?

Then he can 'awaken' only if someone tries to repeat his feat and merge with the worm via the sandtrout skin.

Wouldn't it be possible for a BG to gain a Letoworm's Other Memories the same way BG's can share memories? Like Taraza and Odrade. I guess it's difficult when the other doesn't cooperate though.