Legends of Dune Mass Market Paperback Boxed Set: The Butlerian Jihad, The Machine Crusade, The Battle of Corrin

Having read the first of the original Dune series books I really liked this trilogy. Reading them it not only filled the gaps that are mentioned in the original Dune series about what happened in the past and how things came to be they way they are then but only provided for some very pleasant reading. Sure , maybe the stories don't really always work with the way things are in the Dune series but that's not so much the point. There books are of good quality in my opinion. What I really liked when reading this trilogy is what I also really liked when reading the original series written by Fran Herbert, the depth of the books. They are not simply SciFi books, they look at the psychology behind it all, they analyze human behavior, they cover sensitive topics such as religion, war and others. You can read about a lot of things and I feel there is something beyond the story in the Dune books. Sure maybe some things a rather silly but I think the topics covered make them worth reading at least once. In the end I would say I don't regret one minute of the time spent reading these and certainly not the money I spent on them. I gave the first set away as a gift after reading it and I'm ordering another set to give to my friends to read and to keep in my library. My advice, buy this trilogy, it's certainly worth it.

These books tell the story of the war against robots that set the stage for the universe of Dune 10000 years later. If you are a Dune fan, you have heard about Mentats, the Butlerian Jihad, the Bene Gesserit, the Guild, etc. This is where it all started, as told by Frank Herbert's son. The books tell the story of a struggle for survival between humanity and machines, at a scale far more violent and bigger than the machines in Terminator. The final victory of the human race comes at such a high cost that any kind of advanced machine is forever banned from the universe of men and replaced with biological equivalents. These books are extremely violent but cannot be put away. I really enjoyed reading them and highly recommend them.

always looking for good reads to add to my collection!

This trilogy set in Frank Herbert's world of Dune is one of the best in the whole saga. I personally had to earn the right to read it, as I was borrowing all the books initially from a friend. So after zipping through Dune 1, 2, and 3 and then trudging through Dune 4, 5, and 6 (all written by Frank) I was surprised by the fast pace and easy writing style of Herbert's son and Anderson. This tale exceeds my expectations by light years. After having been teased with hints about the machine wars and Butlerian Jihad for 6 books I feel I was rewarded by this trilogy. I highly recommend this series and strongly urge the reading of the first 6 books ( certainly the first 3 at least) to truly appreciate what happens in these three books. In any event, this story will keep you up reading long into the night, its that good.

My most important suggestion would be to read this trilogy prior to Frank Herbert's books. They are the base for chronological understanding and much of the history gave a clearer perspective for the remaining 20 books. I enjoyed them tremendously.

Using his father's copious notes, Brian Herbert has worked with another talented Science Fiction author to bring to life the material that Frank Herbert had hoped to write, but never got the chance to. (He stopped writing when his wife died.) I also recommend the "House" books": "House Atreides," "House Harkonnen," and "House Corrino." Powerful! These books bring a whole new and greater understanding and appreciate for the compelling world of Dune. I cannot emphasize enough how this had added to my love and appreciation for Frank Herbert's creation. Please do not hesitate -- be sure to read all of these works, especially these background novels on the pre-history and history leading to the Butlerian Jihad which forms such a strong and ever-present background note to the Dune series.

These three books are fun to read! Well written, easy to read prose style. In fact, these are easier to read than the original Dune novel. The characters are interesting, lots of things going on. Very enjoyable. If you never were a Dune fan, these books still would be fun to read, because they stand on their own. If you have been a Dune fan, these novels provide answers, such as: Who was the first to ride a sandworm? How was space folding discovered? Where did the Fremen come from, and how were they named? Many sub-plots and interesting characters that we care about make this my favorite sci-fi/fantasy epic.

If you read the all originals by Herbert Frank, get this series as this the foundation on which Herbert Frank never got show you as he was showing you his Home.