Check out this post from i09.com listing ten prequels “ranked by crapiness.” While I agree with a lot of it, I completely disagree with the inclusion of the new Dune novels as crappy.
I get that people are upset with Andersen (I hate that guy) and Frank jr. cashing in on his father’s legacy. But, having read a couple of them, I think they’re great. They explain things like why we don’t like robots, how we found Arrakis, and just what was this “Butlerian Jihad” business?
Like I said, I see why people are upset with the writers, but give the books a chance. They add a lot of good backstory that you don’t get from the originals. Paul of Dune, on the other hand, is an exception. I haven’t read it, and I,m not going to. Apparently, it focuses on Paul’s exploits pre-Arrakis, including his command of on army somewhere that isn’t Caladan. One of the most critical facts on which the plot of the first book hinges is that Paul has never left Caladan.
Everybody knows the Star Wars prequels were a poor attempt at a money grab. They made money, but imagine how much they would have made if Lucas had gotten the old writing team back together. Granted, he’s dead, but anything would have been better than writing it himself.
Prelude To Foundation made the list, and that was a good one, albeit completely different than the rest of the series. The rest were very philosophical and mysterious, whereas Prelude was all action and intrigue.
And apparently, Temple of Doom was a prequel. Who knew? I still don’t get what people don’t like about it. It’s a damn sight better than Kingdom of Cashing In On An Old Idea.
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