''Mentats of Dune'' is a 2014

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...

novel by

Brian Herbert Brian Patrick Herbert (born June 29, 1947) is an American author who lives in Washington (state), Washington state. He is the elder son of science fiction author Frank Herbert (who died in 1986). Brian Herbert's novels include ''Sidney's Comet' ...

and Kevin J. Anderson, set in the ''Dune'' universe created by Frank Herbert. It is the second book in their ''

Great Schools of Dune The ''Dune'' prequel series is a sequence of novel trilogies written by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson. Set in the ''Dune'' universe created by Frank Herbert, the novels take place in various time periods before and in between Herbert's or ...

'' prequel

trilogy A trilogy is a set of three works of art that are connected and can be seen either as a single work or as three individual works. They are commonly found in literature, film, and video games, and are less common in other art forms. Three-part wor ...

, which itself is a sequel to their ''

Legends of Dune The ''Dune'' prequel series is a sequence of novel trilogies written by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson. Set in the ''Dune'' universe created by Frank Herbert, the novels take place in various time periods before and in between Herbert's or ...

. Set nearly a century after the events of 2004's '' Dune: The Battle of Corrin'', the novel continues to chronicle the beginnings of the

Bene Gesserit The Bene Gesserit () refers to a key social, religious, and political force in Frank Herbert's fictional Dune (franchise), ''Dune'' universe. The group is an exclusive sisterhood whose members train their bodies and minds through years of phys ...

Mentat Multiple organizations of the ''Dune'' universe dominate the political, religious, and social arena of the setting of Frank Herbert's Dune (franchise), ''Dune'' series of science fiction novels, and derivative works. Set tens of thousands of year ...

and Suk Schools, as well as the

Spacing Guild The Spacing Guild is an organization in Frank Herbert's science fiction ''Dune'' universe which possesses a monopoly on interstellar travel and banking. Guild Navigators (alternately Guildsmen or Steersmen) use the drug melange (also called "th ...

, all of whom are threatened by the independent anti-technology forces gaining power in the aftermath of the

Butlerian Jihad ''Dune'', also known as the ''Dune Chronicles'', is an American science fiction media franchise that originated with the 1965 novel ''Dune'' by Frank Herbert and has continued to add new publications. ''Dune'' is frequently described as the best ...

. The ''Great Schools of Dune'' trilogy, first mentioned by Anderson in a 2010 blog post, chronicles the early years of these organizations, which figure prominently in the original ''Dune'' novels.

Plot summary

With anti-technology Butlerian forces of Manford Torondo growing in strength and influence, Prince Roderick Corrino sees a threat to the Imperial power of his brother, Emperor Salvador. Industrialist Josef Venport squares off against Torondo, whose interference thwarts Venport's business interests. Meanwhile, Gilbertus Albans grows increasingly fearful for his Mentat School on

Lampadas ''Chapterhouse: Dune'' is a 1985 science fiction novel by Frank Herbert, the last in his Dune (franchise), ''Dune'' series of six novels. It rose to No. 2 on The New York Times Best Seller list, ''The New York Times'' Best Seller list. A direct ...

(and the copy of the thinking machine

Erasmus Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus (; ; English: Erasmus of Rotterdam or Erasmus;''Erasmus'' was his baptismal name, given after St. Erasmus of Formiae. ''Desiderius'' was an adopted additional name, which he used from 1496. The ''Roterodamus'' wa ...

he is hiding there) as Torondo grows bolder. When Gilbertus refuses to force his Mentats to swear an oath to the Butlerians, his school is invaded and his past as a "machine sympathizer" is revealed. He is executed by Manford, but Anna Corrino escapes with Erasmus. Meanwhile, a riot incited by Torondo results in the death of Roderick's daughter; Salvador seizes the lucrative

melange Melange comes from the French meaning of a "mixture" or "medley". It may also refer to: *Melange (fictional drug), in Frank Herbert's ''Dune'' series novels * Mélange (rocket fuel component) *Mélange, a type of rock with block-in-matrix structur ...

mining operations on

Arrakis Arrakis ()—informally known as Dune and later called Rakis—is a fictional desert planet featured in the ''Dune'' series of novels by Frank Herbert. Herbert's first novel in the series, 1965's ''Dune'', is considered one of the greatest scien ...

from Venport, who soon uses the constant danger of giant sandworms to orchestrate the Emperor's assassination. Raquella Berto-Anirul has reestablished her Bene Gesserit school on

Wallach IX The Bene Gesserit () refers to a key social, religious, and political force in Frank Herbert's fictional ''Dune'' universe. The group is an exclusive sisterhood whose members train their bodies and minds through years of physical and mental c ...

, thanks to the help of Josef Venport. Valya Harkonnen, now a

Reverend Mother An abbess (Latin: ''abbatissa''), also known as a mother superior, is the female superior of a community of Catholic nuns in an abbey. Description In the Catholic Church (both the Latin Church and Eastern Catholic), Eastern Orthodox, Coptic ...

, retrieves the hidden computers from Rossak and hopes to succeed the declining Raquella as Mother Superior. Raquella believes that the only hope for the Sisterhood to survive is for the Wallach IX sisters to reconcile with Dorotea's faction on

Salusa Secundus Multiple organizations of the ''Dune'' universe dominate the political, religious, and social arena of the setting of Frank Herbert's ''Dune'' series of science fiction novels, and derivative works. Set tens of thousands of years in the future, ...

; her health failing, she summons Dorotea to the School and forces Dorotea and Valya to put their differences aside and agree to work together for the good of the Sisterhood. Naming them co-leaders, Raquella dies; Valya however, still bitter about Dorotea's betrayal, uses her newly discovered power of

Voice The human voice consists of sound made by a human being using the vocal tract, including talking, singing, laughing, crying, screaming, shouting, humming or yelling. The human voice frequency is specifically a part of human sound producti ...

to force Dorotea to commit suicide. Valya declares herself to be the sole Mother Superior, and ingratiates herself to the new Emperor Roderick.

Vorian Atreides ''Dune: The Butlerian Jihad'' is a 2002 science fiction novel by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson, set in the fictional ''Dune'' universe created by Frank Herbert. It is the first book in the ''Legends of Dune'' prequel trilogy, which tak ...

, feeling guilty for the death of Griffin Harkonnen, tries to help his struggling family with a secret infusion of funds to their whaling business on

Lankiveil The ''Dune'' prequel series is a sequence of novel trilogies written by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson. Set in the ''Dune'' universe created by Frank Herbert, the novels take place in various time periods before and in between Herbert's or ...

. He next travels to

Caladan ''Dune'' is a 1965 epic science fiction novel by American author Frank Herbert, originally published as two separate serials in ''Analog'' magazine. It tied with Roger Zelazny's '' This Immortal'' for the Hugo Award in 1966 and it won the in ...

to meet his descendants; soon tragedy begins to befall the Atreides, and Vorian realizes too late that Griffin and Valya's younger sister Tula has visited Harkonnen vengeance on them.

Reception

''Mentats of Dune'' debuted at #17 on ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' Hardcover Fiction Best-Seller List.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mentats of Dune 2014 American novels 2014 science fiction novels Dune (franchise) novels Novels by Kevin J. Anderson Novels by Brian Herbert Tor Books books