Sandworms of Dune, published in 2007, is, as of this writing, the 23rd and final novel in the Dune franchise of novels. It is written by the duo of Kevin J. Anderson and Brian Herbert, the son of the series' original author, Frank Herbert. It both finishes the story told in Frank Herbert's two trilogies and ties into the multitude of prequel novels (numbering 16 as of this writing), especially those set in the Butlerian Jihad era. This is actually the second part of the ending story that Frank Herbert had outlined before his death, the first part of which was told in the novel Hunters of Dune. The two novels tell the story of what happened to the group on the no-ship that Duncan Idaho and Sheeana stole at the end of Chapterhouse Dune during the intervening 25 years as they try to find a new Bene Gesserit homeworld while trying to avoid the mysterious enemy (who are revealed to be the thinking machines Erasmus and Omnius in Hunters of Dune), the face dancers, and the Bene Gesserit/Honored Matres hybrid group who are also hiding from the thinking machines. Omnius, who has a ghola of Paul (named Paulo) being trained by the ghola of Barron Harkonnen, wants to capture the ghola of Paul aboard the Ithaca to determine which is the true Kwisatz Haderach and use him as a weapon and take over the former Empire.
The hardcover version of the book is approximately 500 pages long. It reads much like the other novels penned by Anderson and Brian Herbert. I am one who actually prefers their books to those written by Frank after the original novel. To me, Hunters of Dune and Sandworms of Dune help make the second trilogy novels make a lot more sense. The story in this one flows well, and ties up both the prequel era storylines and Frank Herbert's original storylines quite well. Many characters are brought back via the ghola/cloning technology. Some are redeemed, others get the happy endings they never received in the original novels, and others get their comeuppance.
Because of the massive time jumps that occurred between novels throughout the series, there is room for other novels to be written to flesh out the earlier portions of the story. Still, Brian Herbert made clear that this will always be the concluding novel in the series, as they will not add onto the end of the story. To follow the story, you do need to have read Frank's original six novels, and at least some of the prequel novels, especially the novels The Butlerian Jihad, The Machine Crusade, and The Battle of Corrin. While I know there is debate about whether the entire saga is worth reading, and some will only read the original six novels, I personally think that if you are a fan of the sci-fi/fantasy genre, all of the books are worth reading, making this one a must-read to find out how the story ends.
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