Dune: The Butlerian Jihad: Book One of the Legends of Dune Trilogy

By Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson

Frank Herbert's Dune series is one of the grandest epics in the annals of imaginative literature. Selling millions of copies worldwide, it is science fiction's answer to The Lord of the Rings, a brilliantly imaginative epic of high adventure, unforgettable characters, and immense scope.

Decades after Herbert's original novels, the Dune saga was continued by Frank Herbert's son, Brian Herbert, an acclaimed SF novelist in his own right, in collaboration with Kevin J. Anderson. Their New York Times bestselling trilogy, Dune: House Atreides, Dune: House Harkonnen, and Dune: House Corrino, formed a prequel to the classic Herbert series that was acclaimed by reviewers and readers alike. Now Herbert and Anderson, working from Frank Herbert's own notes, reveal a pivotal epoch in the history of the Dune universe, the chapter of the saga most eagerly anticipated by readers: The Butlerian Jihad.

Throughout the Dune novels, Frank Herbert frequently referred to the long-ago war in which humans wrested their freedom from "thinking machines." Now, in Dune: Butlerian Jihad, Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson bring to life the story of that war, a tale previously seen only in tantalizing hints and clues. Finally, we see how Serena Butler's passionate grief ignites the war that will liberate humans from their machine masters. We learn the circumstances of the betrayal that made mortal enemies of House Atreides and House Harkonnen; and we experience the Battle of Corrin that created a galactic empire that lasted until the reign of Emperor Shaddam IV.

Herein are the foundations of the Bene Gesserit Sisterhood, the Suk Doctors, the Order of Mentats, and the mysteriously altered Navigators of the Spacing Guild. Here is the amazing tale of the Zensunni Wanderers, who escape bondage to flee to the desert world where they will declare themselves the Free Men of Dune. And here is the backward, nearly forgotten planet of Arrakis, where traders have discovered the remarkable properties of the spice melange . . . .

Ten thousand years before the events of Dune, humans have managed to battle the remorseless Machines to a standstill . . . but victory may be short-lived. Yet amid shortsighted squabbling between nobles, new leaders have begun to emerge. Among them are Xavier Harkonnen, military leader of the Planet of Salusa Secundus; Xavier's fiancée, Serena Butler, an activist who will become the unwilling leader of millions; and Tio Holtzman, the scientist struggling to devise a weapon that will help the human cause. Against the brute efficiency of their adversaries, these leaders and the human race have only imagination, compassion, and the capacity for love. It will have to be enough.

At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Macmillan Publishers
• Release date: Apr 1, 2010
• ISBN: 9781429955904

Brian Herbert

Brian Herbert, son of Frank Herbert, wrote the definitive biography of his father, Dreamer of Dune, which was a Hugo Award finalist. Brian is president of the company managing the legacy of Frank Herbert and is an executive producer of the motion picture Dune, as well as of the TV series Dune: The Sisterhood. He is the author or coauthor of more than forty-five books, including multiple New York Times bestsellers, has been nominated for the Nebula Award, and is always working on several projects at once. He and his wife, Jan, have traveled to all seven continents, and in 2019, they took a trip to Budapest to observe the filming of Dune.

Reviews for Dune

[jessica_reads · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

The Butlerian Jihad is a tantalizingly-alluded-to history from Frank Herbert's Dune series. This is set 10,000 years before the events of Dune and is the precursor to the Great House books Brian has also wrote. This was difficult for me to finish. Which is probably why it took me 2 months. I'd start and almost immediately get bored and stop. I love Dune by Frank Herbert, but I'm not sure that these "prequels" that Brian has added are for me. I didn't connect with really any of the characters. It served mostly as a history class for this world. I like getting the stories behind events mentioned in the later books, but there seemed to be a disconnect between the author(s) and the characters. I knew going into it that the prose would vary greatly from Senior. His stories flowed and ebbed to build. Brian's story here is episodic and I felt it was abrupt at that.

I also see where Brian and Kevin both took liberties with the timelines suggested in the original Dune series, and their interpretations of many Frank Herbert's hints are entirely too literal. The obvious and unimaginative interpretation of slavery under the machines is a good example. It seemed pretty clear that the slavery referred to in Dune was a voluntary dependence on thinking machines that increasingly weakend the human race. That's the basis of the religious connotation implied in the Jihad--not an afterthought intended to make a potentially unpopular war more appealing to the people. The characters in Dune remembered that the Great Revolt was headlong and uncontrolled, a blurry and bloody time in history that vented unimaginable excesses of violence and terror. Not the lackluster, even boring battles described. This history is not the kind of history that would give birth to the Great Convention, solidify the already existing Great Schools, or build the conventions of the Dune universe.

When a writer decides to continue a work or world that someone else created, there is no option but to compare. That, is probably the biggest set back for me. I went from knowing the Dune universe to reading a space opera written like pulp. It's not bad, it just falls short for the world most have come to know and love.

[ennui2342 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

As other reviews have stated, this is not the most well written of books, and some of the plot holes are pretty hard to ignore. In particular the behaviours of the machine overlords and the idea that humans, reduced to slave status, would have any impact is a stretch. This kind of scenario has been done much better elsewhere.However, this is the world of Dune and for those who loved Dune as kids, as I did, you'll find it easy to forget the difficulties with the novel and just enjoy the exploration of the Dune back-story and the origins of the complex society that Herbert described. For that alone it is well worth a read of any Dune fan, and I for one will happily work my way through the whole series.

[prof_brazen_guff_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

As mentioned by another reviewer, Anderson and Brian Herbert are certainly not authors of the calibre of Frank Herbert. They shouldn't be criticised for this however, because few are. Also, as a huge fan of Dune, there was much in these prequels for me to enjoy.

[michael5rimmer · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Something of a disappointment, to say the least, when compared with the original Dune saga by Frank Herbert. There is little of Herbert Snr.'s subtlety and complexity here, and it really does seem to be more of a cashing in on the affection in which the original books are held.

That said, it is a workmanlike space opera which is fine as a book to take to the beach: read it, donate it to a charity book shop. (And yet I have kept my copy - damn you, OCD hoarding disorder!)

19/09/10: Need more space on the bookshelf, so this book and I have finally parted company. It's a moment of personal growth!

[drardavis · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

10/14/12 The Butlerian Jihad, Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson, 2002. A prequel co-written by Frank Herbert’s son. Unlike the original, this is definitely not literature, but as a space opera it was OK. As a commercial concept it succeeds, because the story and the facts are interesting, but maybe only because we try to fit them in to the Dune universe. Surprisingly full of trite situations and obvious dialogue, one of the worst being the love making scene with Serena Butler and Xavier Harkkonen. Perhaps that is all part of the attempt to appeal to today’s readers? Nevertheless, there are a number of very interesting ideas.

[brent_mcdougal_2 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

First in the Dune prequel series written by brian herbert and kevin j anderson using frank herberts notes.If you are a fan of the Dune series you might enjoy this book as it expands on the history of the Dune universe, the book by itself is not horrible but it's not very good either.

[bjh13 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I first read this book nearly 10 years ago, and remembered enjoying it but not very much of the details as I read it during the beginning of Operation Iraqi Freedom and had more important things on my mind. I did read the original 6 Dune novels about 15 years ago and decided I wanted to go through all of them in chronological order. I have not read other Brian Herbert and Kevin J Anderson Dune novels, so this was my first exposure. I had previously read some Kevin J. Anderson Star Wars books, which I hated so much I stopped reading Star Wars books for 10 years.The book got off to a rough start at first, it felt like I was reading a space opera from the 1970s and some of the ideas regarding AI and space travel seemed a bit outdated. Quickly however the story picked up, and I began to get drawn in to the characters. You find yourself cheering for them, and hating the evil Cy-meks and the plodding, self-centered politicians. The massive scale of the story, with multiple character viewpoints, also adds greatly to the experience.This book is a pure distillation of classic space opera, and I absolutely loved it. The connections to Dune are there, though honestly this story would have worked great in it's own universe. Perhaps that will change in the later books. A lot of purist seem to hate these books with a passion, but I did not find anything that disagreed with the Dune canon as I remember it.I would recommend this book to any fans of sf and especially space opera. If you are a fan of the original Dune novels by Frank Herbert you should give these books a try.

[nodosaurus · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The Butlerian Jihad, by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson, is the first of three books in a prequel to the Dune series. The books focus on the human war against the machines. The human-created thinking machines were able to seize control of a number of worlds. The story describes the machine attacks on human worlds in a seemingly pointless struggle for humans to survive to an understanding of the machines and technology that helps turn the tide. I found the personalities of the machines to be interesting in their strengths, weaknesses, and their understanding of humanity. they strive to learn about people and to subjugate them for their own good. This book sees the earliest beginning of the Fremen, Bene Gesserit, Ixians and Bene Tleilax. There are further suggestions or promises to develop the spacing guild and mentats in the next volumes. The book violated some of the tenets of the Dune series previously. The technology is explained in present terms rather than left to the imagination. Now we know for sure that the lasguns are laser-related. This felt odd since it was intentionally left vague. Another violation was that action took place on Earth, which was previously a mysterious birth-place of humanity and never described. These didn't detract from my enjoyment of the book. It provides a good background for the later stories and fits well with the previous writing styles.

[laileana · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I am personally a HUGE fan of the original Dune novels by Frank Herbert. After his death his son, Brian Herbert, hooked up with sci fi author Kevin J. Anderson to bring some Frank Herberts notes on the history of Dune to novel format. The result was not nearly as good as the original novels, but better than average regardless.I really liked the Butlerian Jihad. It takes places 10,000 years before the first Dune novel and relates the war between humans and their machines. Humanity had become too dependent upon machines for everyday life. Humans no longer even had to work at all-mahcines took care of everything. Then they took over. They made slaves of all of the humans they did not kill. A few of the planets managed to form a resistance to the machines. This is about what set off what would become the legend of the Butlerian Jihad which even in the original Dune novels forbid totally and completely the use of thinking machines.I also read the second installment in this series-Dune: The Machine Crusade. It was ok, but I liked the first book much better.

[yosarian_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

well what can I add that's not already been said? Yes, they are nowhere near as good as Frank Herbert's original series (and let's be honest that's why we all bought them ...), the characters are awful, the dialogue mediocre (at best) ... but ... it's Dune!This book and the next two (Machine Crusade / Battle of Corrin) describe the events leading up to Frank herbert's first book, they describe the history of the battles between humans and the robotic enemy controlled by a vastly superior AI mind that was devised by the humans themselves and then rebelle........ hang on, any of this sound familiar? There's nothing original here but the hero's this time around against the cylons / skynet are descendants of the Harkonnen and Atreides and that's what makes this book worth reading. It's for fans of the original Dune series who are curious.

[b3agleboy · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I had not been impressed with the Dune prequels, but I put that down to the authors being constrained with existing characters and events. As such I had higher hopes for The Butlerian Jihad. They would be able to create their own characters, and had fewer plot restraints. Unfortunately I was disappointed. The characters were flat, descriptions dull, few thought provoking moments (other than maybe identifying weaknesses), and little innovation in the Dune universe. The plot was okay, and it was enough to carry me through the book.

[seanvk · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I enjoyed this collaboration between the two authors. It describes the period leading up to the machine wars which predates the Dune story by 11,000 years. It also sets the background to the Spacing Guild, the Suk doctors, and the Bene Gesserit, as well as the Freemen. One challenge I had near the end was the connection of jihad with the League of Nobles. The notion of a holy war in a society (Nobles) without any faith seemed odd. How are they going to bridge the gap between the Zensunnis and Zenshiites who shaped the Freemen and the rest of society? Then 11,000 years later society is stratified as before the machine wars at the commencement of the Dune series as we know it. I supposed I will need to read the sequel to this one to find out.

[jeffv_19 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The first of earliest prequel trilogy in the Dune series, The Butlerian Jihad takes place millennia prior to the events in Dune. The book explains legendary historical events that still resonate all those years later. While on one hand, it provides more substance to the actions and philosophy of characters to come, there is a huge plausibility factor when one considers the roots of everything trace back to a common nexus of coincidental events. Not only are the machines overthrown, but the shadowy precursors of the Tlielax are selling mysteriously-grown body parts (not to mention also being involved in slave trade), a group of "sorceresses" hone telepathic and truthsaying skills, and an aboriginal, outcast Zensunni on Arrakis becomes the first to ride a worm. Atreides and Harkonnen ancestors play prominent roles, and the inventor Holtzmann, whose inventions set the fundamentals of space travel and warfare, is busily developing the shield which forever bears his name.Most of the story lines were left open in preparation of the two books to follow (The Machine Crusade and the Battle of Corrin). There seemed to be too many story lines, and a few characters that don't seem to have a lasting legacy take up space for reasons yet unknown.

[anotherpartofmelost · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

The legend of dune series give some explanations for things that are an issue in other Dune novels. For example, this is where we learn why the feud between Harkonnen and Atreides exists. And off course we meet the machines, and the independent robot Erasmus. The books in itself are far off from the original Dune novels. Though entertaining, I wouldn't hold against anyone skipping these books.

[santhony_35 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

While this book and its successors, Machine Crusade and Battle Of Corrin, are certainly not the equal of the original Dune, they are far preferable to the earlier predecessor novels House Atriedes, House Harkonnen and House Corrin. Those earlier novels were very simplistic and written on a junior high level.The Legends of Dune series, on the other hand, are at least moderately well written and contain the genesis for many of the historical events referred to in Dune. In my opinion, they are entertaining without being as heavily philosophical as many of the Dune successors, which I frankly found unreadable.

[penwing · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

This whole series (Legends of Dune) was awful. Flat characterisations with only one characteristic. Twists to the plot with had no foreshadowing and made no sense. I only battled my way through because I had bought them. It's put me off the two authors.

[nolhol · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Written as the first of a trilogy of new prequels to quite possibly the most prolific science fiction novel ever created, Dune. The Butlerian Jihad is a solid attempt at reigniting the Dune universe. Set in time long before the actual events of Dune, The Butlerian Jihad details the uprising of Serena Butler's war against the machines of the universe. This novel makes a fair attempt at combining all of the concepts Dune readers' have come to expect. Large scale action and harrowing politics are rampart in the novel, and make it quite a fast read.

[szarka_1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Although I enjoyed the first three of the Dune prequels, with this one I gave up on the series in disgust.

[ragwaine · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

For being so long it did a pretty good job of staying interesting. Great drama and cool to compare who treats humans worse, machines or humans. Cool dual uprising.