Paul of Dune by Brian Herbert
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Out of all the Brian Herbert/Kevin Anderson books surrounding the Dune series, I was most afraid of and most interested in reading more about Paul, himself. I mean, he's THE Messiah. But by the same token, I truly avoided this particular book because he was so very EXCELLENT in the original Dune.

Why fix perfection?

Well... here's a good reason to read this book: it supplies us with a wealth of information for the ACTUAL jihad. And while that isn't the main plot for the novel, it was very interesting.

The actual plot is broken up into two. The first is an extensive flashback to when Paul was 12 and it gives us the whole build-up to the Baron, Paul's confirmation as heir, and the tragedy of Leto's marriage and the near-war that followed it. The other is all about Count Fenring and an extensive plot involving the Tleilaxu, which is also very interesting on its own because it's COUNT FENRING. The *almost* Kwizatz Haderach. The one that *could* have killed Paul.

Of course, I have a slight issue with this book because of a certain plot hole revolving JUST THAT, but I forgive it because I'm getting some COUNT FENRING.

Final estimation?

It's light reading. As in Dune-lite. It's not nearly as good as the originals but it does explore some rather cool surrounding aspects and that's the real draw, isn't it? It is what it is.

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