The Desert Planet - The Early Chronicles
The Desert Planet - The Early Chronicles ( English : Prelude to Dune ) is a trilogy of novels by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson . After Frank Herbert , the creator and author of the Dune cycle, died unexpectedly in 1986, his son Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson first wrote the three books of the Early Chronicles, based on the literary estate of Frank Herbert.
The three novels deal with the childhood of Leto Atreides and the birth of his sons Viktor and Paul and thus set a few years before the plot of the first Dune cycle by Frank Herbert. The seizure of power by Emperor Shaddam IV (House Corrino ) is also discussed, who tries to artificially produce melange with the help of Bene Tleilax . In addition, the reader follows the career, illness and incipient physical decline of Baron Wladimir Harkonnen , as well as several antics of his foster sons Glossu Rabban and Feyd-Rautha .
However, other noble houses, people, places and customs are also introduced which are not mentioned in the original work by Frank Herbert, which was later located. The importance of the bullfight on Caladan will suffice as an example . Special space is given to the biographies of the (later) officers of the House of Atreides , Jessica and the fate of the planet Ix , which in the original work by Frank Herbert is only mentioned sporadically as a refuge of technology.
construction
Contrary to what the individual titles of the books suggest, the series is structured chronologically. Both the story of Leto Atreides, Wladimir Harkonnen and Shaddam Corrino begin in the first volume Das Haus Atreides . The individual storylines run in parallel for years and on different planets. The individual chapters correspond to episodes in the life of the main characters. Most of the time it is tragic events, decisions or encounters which fulfill a character-forming function for the reader. Due to the chronological order, the plot jumps from chapter to chapter between places and actors.
style
Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson are obviously based on the original work by Frank Herbert ( Dune 1-6 ). According to their own statement in the foreword, it was particularly important for the authors to maintain continuity in content with the work of Brian Herbert's father. Stylistic differences are easy to recognize. In contrast to the page-long self-reflections and inner monologues of the main characters typical for Frank Herberts Dune, this aspect is given significantly less space in Der Wüstenplanet - The early chronicles . Instead of exploring every place and every emotional state extensively, the authors concentrate on telling the respective episodes to the end and ending with a "cliffhanger", which is then resolved in the next episode of the corresponding main character. In the middle part of the series Das Haus Harkonnen , up to 7 parallel storylines can be identified, depending on the counting method.
Due to the change of context between individual chapters, each episode of a main character is structured like a short story with an individual climax. The description of planets, places and people who are less relevant to the overall story is accordingly much shorter. The action is permanently driven by these high points. As a result, Der Wüstenplanet - The Early Chronicles appears to be much more narrative than the original work, but sometimes appears aimless unless the reader is familiar with the original work, which is up to 30 years older. Due to the chronological structure of the books, the reader is required to have a good memory, because it is not uncommon for the storyline of a person who was not mentioned at all on the previous 50 pages to suddenly be continued.
Novels of the Early Chronicles
- Prelude to Dune: House Atreides (German: The Desert Planet - The Early Chronicles 1: The House Atreides, 1999, German 2005 - ISBN 3-453-52159-5 )
- Prelude to Dune: House Harkonnen (German: The Desert Planet - The Early Chronicles 2: The House Harkonnen, 2000, German 2001 - ISBN 3-453-52160-9 )
- Prelude to Dune: House Corrino (German The Desert Planet - The Early Chronicles 3: The House Corrino, 2001, German 2002 - ISBN 3-453-52161-7 )
Web links
- Official Dune site (English)
Individual evidence
- ^ Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson: Dune: House Atreides . 2001, ISBN 0-553-58027-2 , pp. Preface .