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Product Description
Dune: House Harkonnen continues t he unforgettable saga begun in Dune: House Atreides, as a vast array of rich and complex figures strives to shape a sprawling universe of mystery and vivid universe revealed in the thrilling pages of Frank Herbert's Dune.
Dune: House Harkonnen
At last Shaddam sits on the Golden Lion Throne, his precarious position as ruler of the Known Universe dependent on producing a male heir. But his leadership is further threatened by the ambitious Baron Vladimir Harkonnen, whose insatiable thirst for dominance leads him to plot against some of t he most powerful forced in the Imperium, hoping to elevate his own ruthless House to unprecedented heights of power. His primary targets: House Atreides and the mysterious Bene Gasserit Sisterhood. The Sisterhood are unaware of this threat as they prepare to culminate the work of centuries in the creation of a god-child who will sweep away emperors, houses, and history itself in a terrifying new order of religious tyranny.
The desert world Dune, the machine world IX, and countless other conquered planets groan under the numbing slavery of cruel new masters determined to exploit their resources - most notably the addictive spice melange found only on Dune. But small bands of renegades begin to fight back, lighting the spark of freedom against overwhelming odds. New, unexpected heroes arise: young and resourceful Liet-Kynes on Dune, wily and patient C'tair on IX, and the unyielding Gurney Halleck in Giedi Prime, driven to vengeance against his Harkonnen overlords.
For Leto Atreides, grown complacent and comfortable as ruler of his House, it is time of momentous choice: between love and honor, friendship and duty, safety and destiny. Leto has finally produced an heir to House Atreides, Victor, and will make whatever choices necessary to protect the young boy and ensure his legacy as Duke. Ultimately, however, for House Atreides there is just one choice - strive for greatness or crushed.
Amazon.com Review
Don't even think about reading House Harkonnen without reading its predecessor Dune: House Atreides; anyone who does so risks sinking in the sands between Frank Herbert's original Dune and this prequel trilogy by Herbert's son, Brian, and Kevin J. Anderson. The purist argument that had Frank Herbert wanted to go backwards he would have done so is, at least in part, negated by the sheer narrative verve, and by the fact that Anderson and Brian Herbert manage to pull some genuine surprises out of this long-running space-opera. House Harkonnen is a massive book, and there are places where it becomes plot heavy, but in following the story of Duke Leto Atreides and the conflicts with House Harkonnen, the authors succeed in spinning a gripping adventure while going off in some unexpected directions. Anderson, who has written many successful Star Wars novels, has noted his particular admiration for The Empire Strikes Back, and his desire to emulate that film's dark take on the genre. In House Harkonnen, the conflict encompasses the tragedy of nuclear war, marked by grief and horror, vengeance and torment, and all while the complex intrigues continue to unfold. As one character puts it:
Everything has its cost. We pay to create our future, we pay for the mistakes of the past. We pay for every change we make--and we pay just as dearly if we refuse to change. Ultimately this is the theme of a compelling game of consequences, choices, and responsibility, a study of Leto's growth into power and the price of politics and love. --Gary S. Dalkin, Amazon.co.uk
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