(hb; 2020: first book in the Caladan Trilogy. Twentieth novel in the Dune series.)
From the inside flap
“Lord Atreides, Duke of Caladan and father of Muad’Dib. While all know of his fall and the rise of his son, little is known about the quiet ruler of Caladan and his partner, Jessica. Or how a Duke of an inconsequential planet earned an emperor’s favor and the ire of House Harkonnen to set himself on a collision course with his own death. This is the story.
“Through patience and loyalty,
Leto serves the Golden Lion Throne. Where others scheme, the Duke of Caladan
acts. But Leto’s powerful enemies are starting to feel that he is rising beyond
his station., and House Atreides rises too high. With unseen enemies circling,
Leto must decide if the twin burdens of duty and honor are worth the price of
his life, family, and love.”
Review
Duke is a well-written, solid entry in the Dune series, with plenty of science fiction drama, action, and familiar characters from the source Dune novel as well as mentions of events and characters from Dune-centric prequels and sequels. In it, Paul Atreides, fourteen years old, struggles with his sense of advanced self and his boyish emotions while his father and mother, also caught between real-world concerns and their desires and fears, struggle with theirs. Meanwhile, others scheme around them (including Baron Harkonnen and his sly, treacherous brood), a new synthetic drug (ailar)─sourced from Caladan─causes empire-wide overdoses, and another terrorist element threatens the foundation of the Corrino rule.
While not a necessary story in the Dune-verse, Duke is fun, relatively light, and small in scale compared to other Dune works (even though it leads to the social upheaval shown in the original Dune), and worth reading. Might be worth owning for Dune completists.
Followed by Dune: The Lady of Caladan.
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