(hb; 2007: eighth book in the Dune series)
From
the inside flap
“At the end of Frank Herbert’s Chapterhouse: Dune, the Bene Gesserit sisterhood escapes the
destruction and from the monstrous Honored Matres, their counterparts. The fugitives have used genetic
technology to revive key figures from Dune’s past─including Paul Maud’Dib and
Lady Jessica─strengthen their chances of survival by using their special
talents to meet the incredible challenges of the journey.
“Sandworms of Dune will reveal the
tantalizing future of the planet Arrakis, the final revelation of the Kwisatz Haderach,
and the resolution to the war between man and machine.”
Review
Like
its direct prequel, Hunters of Dune, Sandworms is a wild ride through the
familiar and the unfamiliar. Many of the legendary gholas (Baron Harkonnen,
Lady Jessica, Paul Atreides, Chani, Leto II, etc.) are close to realizing their
destinies within the coming apocalypse, Kralizec, engineered by the Machines,
led by Erasmus and Omnius (who have not been seen in the Known Galaxy since the
Butlerian Jihad, fifteen thousand years prior).
Herbert
and Anderson, as they are wont, revel in creating parallel situations for
different characters. They also, again, spice up the writing with irony and
sudden, sometimes fatal reversals of fortune for said characters. Sandworms is no different, and for the
most part it is a wrap-up tale that is as exciting as Hunters. Near the end, specifically when Duncan Idaho and Omnius
are talking, the book gets chatty for about twenty pages. Otherwise, this is an
excellent read and a satisfying finish to the Dune series.
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