Hunters of Dune and Sandworms of Dune by Brain Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson
Hunters of Dune and Sandworms of Dune by Brain Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson are intended by to be the conclusion to The Dune Chronicles that Frank Herbert, Brain Herbert’s father, left unfinished when he died, the unwritten Dune 7. I have decided to review these two books together partly because Herbert and Anderson divided their story into two books of more manageable length, and partly because what I have to say about the one is more or less the same that I have to say about the other.
The first thing I want to talk about is voice. A reader will not find Frank Herbert’s unique literary voice in these books, but that is not anyone’s fault. I am not sure if it is even possible for an author to truly capture the literary voice of another writer. Regardless a potential reader should be prepared for this difference. I wish that I could say that was the only major problem with these books, but it is just the beginning.
I have no idea what Frank Herbert intended to include in the hypothetical seventh book of the series, but I very seriously doubt it would have included material from books that would not be written until years after his death.
Hunters and Sandworms are not the first books that Herbert and Anderson have written under the name and license of The Dune Chronicles. They had already written a multitude of prequel and midquel books before these two were published. Some of these prequels take place in the early lives of the characters found in the original Dune, and some take place thousands of years before the main series during the Butlerian Jihad.
The Butlerian Jihad is an historical event that is occasionally referenced in the Chronicles. All that is ever said about it is that it was a war of humans against “thinking machines” that humans had created, and that afterwards all types of “thinking machines” were outlawed. Herbert and Anderson wrote their own trilogy to explore this event.
The problem lies in the fact that both Hunters and Sandworms heavily incorporate this trilogy of books. I am not saying that there are a few references here or there. No, a vast amount of the plot of these books uses information directly taken and continued from Herbert and Anderson’s machine prequels.
This felt utterly obnoxious to me. I know that because it is unclear exactly what Frank Herbert would have written in Dune 7 his fans and readers will likely never come to complete agreement as to what should have been in that book. I think that it is a safe bet that the as of yet unwritten tie in novels would not have more or less hijacked the plot though.
There were also a few unnecessary references to the other prequel and midquel books that Herbert and Anderson have written under the Dune license as well.
I know that Herbert and Anderson say that they based their work partly off of notes from Frank Herbert, but I doubt he left notes so detailed as to account for the massive changes in style and tone.
Herbert and Anderson could have done their best to write would they felt would have been a likely conclusion to The Dune Chronicles. I might or might not have liked it, but I could have at least credited them for making the effort. I cannot credit this.
I felt like I was reading fanfiction. There is nothing wrong with fanfiction, as I rather enjoy it, but this was meant to be a continuation of an incomplete series of books. Instead the result was a legally licensed and authorized self-referencing fanfiction. If it had been marketed as this then I think that I would not have felt quite as bad. A little honesty would not have hurt.
I cannot say that I recommend Hunters and Sandworms. They fall so far short of the original books that it is almost sad. If you are really curious then you can always try the books out so that you can know exactly where you stand. Hunters and Sandworms are the first and last authorized Dune books that I have read. I am making sure to avoid the others, as one I already have a bad taste in my mouth from them, and I have seen no indication that they would be any better.
