Legends of Dune

For those fans of Frank Herbert's Dune saga, his son Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson have teamed up to shore up the backdrop of the saga itself

This Trilogy consists of three works that explain one of the main tenets of the Dune Universe, the religious ban against thinking machines, bringing into context the importance of the melange in Herbert Sr.'s saga:

• The Butlerian Jihad
• The Machine Crusade
• The Battle of Corrin

The events in this trilogy take place over ten thousand years before the original Dune saga.
Humanity has raged a war against the thinking machines, led by Omnius, the AI (Artificial Intelligence) bent on galactic domination, and assisted by the Titans, cyborgs with human brains and mechanical bodies.

Arrakis is just a desert planet, where a few Zensunni nomads eke out a meagre living, and live in fear of the desert worms.

Vorian Atreides, the son of one of the original Titans is a trustee of the thinking machines, and has grown up believing in the lies his father, the great Titan Agamemnon ; eventually he goes to the humans' side and becomes great friends with Xavier Harkonnen.

Fans of the "Duneverse" will finally find out the reason behind the feud between the Harkonnen and Atreides Houses. As with all epic conflicts, this began with a great friendship.

We also meet the individuals who eventually create the groups that are major players in the Dune Universe: The Bene Gesserit, the Shipping Guild, the Arrakis Fremen, and the Mentats.

Although somewhat repetitive in parts, I enjoyed them very much, and got more "into" the Dune Universe.