HOUSE ATREIDES
An aging tyrant sits on the Golden Lion Throne and rules all of the known universe, while his son grows dangerously impatient
for the crown. A quasi-religious order of black-robed women move their secret breeding program one momentous step closer to
creating the god-child they call the Kwisatz Haderach. And a minor family among nobility, HOUSE ATREIDES, chooses a course
of honor that will bring it to destruction at the hands of its mortal enemy, HOUSE HARKONNEN-or take it to new heights of
power. Covering the decade when Shaddam wins his throne, the teenager Leto Atreides becomes the unexpected ruler of
HOUSE ATREIDES, and Pardot Kynes uncovers one of the planet Dune's greatest secrets, HOUSE ATREIDES captures the grandeur
and drama of Frank Herbert's epic. And while this new novel solves some of DUNE's most baffling mysteries, it presents new
puzzles springing from the sands where one day Paul-Muad'dib Atreides, the hero of DUNE, will walk. But now, in these years
before Paul's birth, an unforgettable new epic begins . . .
HOUSE HARKONNEN
At last Shaddam sits on the Golden Lion Throne, his precarious position as ruler of the Known Universe dependent on producing
a male heir. But his leadership is further threatened by the ambitious Baron Vladimir Harkonnen, whose insatiable thirst for
dominance leads him to plot against some of the most powerful forces in the Imperium, hoping to elevate his own ruthless House
to unprecedented heights of power. His primary targets: House Atreides and the mysterious Bene Gesserit Sisterhood. The Sisterhood
are unaware of this threat as they prepare to culminate the work of centuries in the creation of a god-child who will sweep
away emperors, houses, and history itself in a terrifying new order of religious tyranny. The desert world Dune, the
machine world Ix, and countless other conquered planets groan under the numbing slavery of cruel new masters determined to
exploit their resources -- most notably the addictive spice melange found only on Dune. But small bands of renegades begin
to fight back, lighting the spark of freedom against overwhelming odds. New, unexpected heroes arise: young and resourceful
Liet-Kynes on Dune, wily and patient C'tair on Ix, and unyielding Gurney Halleck on Giedi Prime, driven to vengeance against
his Harkonnen overlords. For Leto Atreides, grown complacent and comfortable as ruler of his House, it is a time of
momentous choices: between love and honor, friendship and duty, safety and destiny. Leto has finally produced an heir to House
Atreides, Victor, and will make whatever choices necessary to protect the young boy and ensure his legacy as Duke. Ultimately,
however, for House Atreides there is just one choice -- strive for greatness or be crushed.
HOUSE CORRINO
Fearful of losing his precarious hold on the Golden Lion Throne, Shaddam IV, Emperor of a Million Worlds, has devised
a radical scheme to develop an alternative to melange, the addictive spice that binds the Imperium together and that can be
found only on the desert world of Dune. In subterranean labs on the machine planet, Ix, cruel Tleilaxu overlords use slaves
and prisoners as part of a horrific plan to manufacture a synthetic form of melange known as amal. If amal can supplant the
spice from Dune, it will give Shaddam what he seeks: absolute power. But Duke Leto Atriedes, grief-stricken yet unbowed
by the tragic death of his son Victor, determined to restore the honor and prestige of his House, has his own plans for Ix.
He will free the Ixians from their oppressive conquerors and restore his friend Prince Rhombur, injured scion of the disgraced
House Vernius, to his rightful place as Ixian ruler. It is a bold and risky venture, for House Atreides has limited military
resources and many ruthless enemies, including the sadistic Baron Harkonnen, despotic master of Dune. Meanwhile, Duke
Leto's consort, the beautiful Lady Jessica, obeying the orders of her superiors in the Bene Gesserit Sisterhood, has conceived
a child that the Sisterhood intends to be the penultimate step in the creation of an all-powerful being. Yet what the Sisterhood
doesn't know is that the child Jessica is carrying is not the girl they are expecting, but a boy. Jessica's act of disobedience
is an act of love -- her attempt to provide her Duke with a male heir to House Atreides -- but an act that, when discovered,
could kill both mother and baby. Like the Bene Gesserit, Shaddam Corrino is also concerned with making a plan for the
future -- securing his legacy. Blinded by his need for power, the Emperor will launch a plot against Dune, the only natural
source of true spice. If he succeeds, his madness will result in a cataclysmic tragedy not even he foresees: the end of space
travel, the Imperium, and civilization itself. With Duke Leto and other renegades and revolutionaries fighting to stem the
tide of darkness that threatens to engulf their universe, the stage is set for a showdown unlike any seen before.
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