+++Warning, this contains spoilers from the prior novel, The Butlerian Jihad+++
The Machine Crusade is the second book in the Dune series (if you read the books in chronological order). It is the second book in the Legends of Dune series, which was written by Brian Herbert, who is the son of the author of the original Dune novel and its follow-up novels, Frank Herbert, and Kevin Anderson, and published in 2003 that chronicles the war between humans and machines that is alluded to in the original novel.
The events in this book start out about 25 years after the events of the first book, The Butlerian Jihad, in which the war between the machines and humans started when the "thinking machine", Erasmus, killed Serena Butler's young son, Manion. We find out that Serena has become almost a recluse and basically a figurehead for the Jihad which is really being spearheaded by Iblis Ginjo. Xavier and Vorian are Primeros (basically generals) in the war, sacrificing a normal life to fight the machines. The war is essentially at a stalemate, with both sides scoring victories but neither able to strike a winning blow. Like the first book, this one alternates between multiple stories, characters, and different worlds. We find out that there is infighting between the machines and between the humans. One of the big storylines in this book is the work being done by the characters Aurelius Venport and Norma Cenva to "fold" space and make interstellar travel instant. We also learn the origin of the Fighters of Finaz, who are "led" by Jool Noret, who has been training against a re-programmed machine to learn how to efficiently kill the machines and fights with reckless abandon anytime he can.
The hardcover version of the book is about 700 pages long, and that is with the use of a relatively small font. The book is not what I would call a quick read as there are a lot of characters and the book is constantly shifting from one part of the story to another. I am a fast reader (I can normally read about 150-200 pages in 2-3 hours) and it took me about ten days to get through this one (mostly reading for an hour or two before bed). I am reading the books in chronological order so I have not read the original Dune trilogy that was written by Frank Herbert, and don't know how this compares to those books, but if you a fan of Sci-Fi and liked the first book, then you will probably like this one.
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