''Dune: The Machine Crusade'' is a 2003

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 Kevin James Anderson (born March 27, 1962) is an American science fiction author. He has written spin-off novels for ''Star Wars'', ''StarCraft'', ''Titan A.E.'' and ''The X-Files literature#Novels, The X-Files'', and with Brian Herbert is the ...

, set in the fictional ''Dune'' universe created by

Frank Herbert Franklin Patrick Herbert Jr. (October 8, 1920February 11, 1986) was an American science fiction author best known for the 1965 novel '' Dune'' and its five sequels. Though he became famous for his novels, he also wrote short stories and worked a ...

. It is the second book in the ''

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 o ...

prequel A prequel is a literary, dramatic or cinematic work whose story precedes that of a previous work, by focusing on events that occur before the original narrative. A prequel is a work that forms part of a backstory to the preceding work. The term " ...

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 takes place over 10,000 years before the events of Frank Herbert's celebrated 1965 novel ''

Dune A dune is a landform composed of wind- or water-driven sand. It typically takes the form of a mound, ridge, or hill. An area with dunes is called a dune system or a dune complex. A large dune complex is called a dune field, while broad, f ...

''. The series chronicles the fictional

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 ...

, a crusade by the last free humans in the universe against the

thinking machines Thinking Machines Corporation was a supercomputer manufacturer and artificial intelligence (AI) company, founded in Waltham, Massachusetts, in 1983 by Sheryl Handler and W. Daniel "Danny" Hillis to turn Hillis's doctoral work at the Massachuset ...

, a violent and dominating force led by the sentient computer mind

Omnius 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, ...

. ''Dune: The Machine Crusade'' debuted at #7 on ''The New York Times'' Best Seller list.

Plot summary

''Dune: The Machine Crusade'' moves forward into the center of the Butlerian Jihad, described in the first book of the trilogy, '' Dune: The Butlerian Jihad''. Leading the movement is the ex-slave and ex-machine trustee Grand Patriarch

Iblis Ginjo 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 ...

. However, Iblis appears more interested in politics and his own personal legacy than in the Jihad.

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 ...

, despite the long life given to him by his father, the Titan

Agamemnon In Greek mythology, Agamemnon (; grc-gre, Ἀγαμέμνων ''Agamémnōn'') was a king of Mycenae who commanded the Greeks during the Trojan War. He was the son, or grandson, of King Atreus and Queen Aerope, the brother of Menelaus, the husb ...

, begins to show the vestiges of wanting to settle down after visiting the planet

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 inaugu ...

, and meeting Leronica Tergiet, who is to become his long-term concubine.

Xavier Harkonnen ''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 takes ...

manages to free Ix from the thinking machines and must eventually make the ultimate sacrifice that will tarnish his name. The robot

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 ...

continues with his enlightening human experimentation, and makes a curious bet with the Omnius entity on

Corrin Corrin is a heterocyclic compound. It is the parent macrocycle related to the substituted derivative that is found in vitamin B12. Its name reflects that it is the "core" of vitamin B12 (cobalamins).Nelson, D. L.; Cox, M. M. "Lehninger, Princ ...

, where he claims he can raise a human being to be orderly and civilized like a machine. This child is

Gilbertus Albans 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, ...

, the first true

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 ...

. Omnius himself suffers badly from a computer virus created by Vorian and spread unwittingly by his old companion

Seurat Georges Pierre Seurat ( , , ; 2 December 1859 – 29 March 1891) was a French post-Impressionist artist. He devised the painting techniques known as Divisionism, chromoluminarism and pointillism and used Conté, conté crayon for drawings on pa ...

. On Ginaz, the aging Zon Noret is killed in a training accident by a mek called

Chirox 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 ...

, a captured and reprogrammed fighting machine. Though Noret did not live to pass on his skills to the other Ginaz

mercenaries A mercenary, sometimes also known as a soldier of fortune or hired gun, is a private individual, particularly a soldier, that joins a military conflict for personal profit, is otherwise an outsider to the conflict, and is not a member of any o ...

, Chirox remained to train them into the greatest of all mercenaries, the Swordmasters, who will be the ultimate fighting force against the thinking machines. On the planet of

Poritrin 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 ...

Norma Cenva ''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 takes ...

becomes a successful inventor whose research and inventions on shields and spacefolding technology aids the League's war efforts against the machines. However, her benefactor

Tio Holtzman 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 ...

takes credit for her research. Meanwhile, the

Zensunni ''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 ...

slave Ishmael petitions Duke Niko Bludd for better conditions for the slaves and recognition for their role in constructing a decoy fleet during the successful defense of Poritin. As punishment, he is separated from his wife and daughters and reassigned to Cenva's laboratories. Ishmael's devout religious pacifism clashes with Aliid's militancy, destroying their friendship. Norma leaves the world just in time to avoid a slave uprising during which Aliid, unaware of the consequences, fires a

lasgun Technology is a key aspect of the fictional setting of the ''Dune (franchise), Dune series'' of science fiction novels written by Frank Herbert, and derivative works. Herbert's concepts and inventions have been analyzed and deconstructed in at lea ...

into a Holtzman personal shield. The resulting explosion wipes out

's labs; the slave revolt is eventually brutally crushed. Ishmael manages to escape offworld with a hundred slaves including his older daughter Chamal and her husband Rafael by forcing the Tlulaxa Tuk Keedair to fly the on Norma's prototype spacefolding ship to the lonely desert world of

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

. Meanwhile, Norma, due to her heritage as daughter of the main Sorceress of Rossak Zufa Cenva, finally taps into her latent powers under great pressure (precipitated by her capture and subsequent torture by the Titan Xerxes) to become the spearhead of humanity. She envisions a future in which massive ships transport goods and humans instantaneously across the universe, using the Holtzman effect to fold space. Norma's ships are the first of what will later be known as

heighliner Technology is a key aspect of the fictional setting of the '' Dune series'' of science fiction novels written by Frank Herbert, and derivative works. Herbert's concepts and inventions have been analyzed and deconstructed in at least one book, ''T ...

s, and her family uses their monopoly on such travel to found 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 "the ...

. On Arrakis, Ishmael and his followers struggle to survive on the desert world. They are saved after Keedair alerts the followers of Selim, who are also Zensunni, to their presence. Selim's followers welcome the former Poritrin slaves into their number and the two communities merge to become the Free Men of Arrakis. Finally, the remaining Titans take their chance becoming independent from their machine master Omnius on the planet of Bela Tegeuse.

Reception

''Dune: The Machine Crusade'' debuted at #7 on ''The New York Times'' Best Seller list.

References

{{Kevin J. Anderson Dune (franchise) novels 2003 American novels 2003 science fiction novels Novels by Kevin J. Anderson Novels by Brian Herbert Tor Books books