Brian Herbert and Kevin Anderson, Holit - House of Atreides, from English: Dorit Lands, Science Fiction Series, with an editor, 687 p.
Eli Harstein
Fantastic fiction has always been fertile ground for endless series. From Larry Niven's 'The Familiar Universe' series (Ketar, ZBM, Ladori), through Roger Zillazny's 'Amber' (with Oved) and Dan Simmons' 'Hyperion' (Opus), to Robert Jordan with 'Kishor The Time' (Opus), and 'The Lord of the Rings', of course, by Tolkien (ZBM).
Recently, a special sub-genre has arisen in this serial culture, characterized by a kind of resurrection for series whose authors have passed away for some time. The origin of the phenomenon is in the American media culture. There is in the computerized cinematographic television culture in America a kind of element that knows how to translate the successes of the past into the cultural products of the future. Along with original and brilliant writers such as Greg Egan, Orson Scott Card, Ursula Le Guin, and Connie Willis, who use the worlds they create to express an original idea, to tell a story about the new and daring, a generation of shadow writers arose, mainly in the US. Technicians who make use of worlds previously created by others, and exploit these worlds to buy some of the fame of their creators. The literary work becomes in their hands a commercial brand. This phenomenon is prevalent mainly in the literary commercialization of television and film series such as 'Star Wars' or 'Star Trek' and is now also permeating original fiction.
The first book in this subgenre is now being published for the first time in Hebrew. 'Holit House of Atreides' is the first volume in the trilogy of prequels to Frank Herbert's 'Holit' series, one of the most successful science fiction series of all time. The original book unfolds the plots of Paul, a prince of the House of Atreides, who arrives at the planet Arakis, or as it is called Sand. Paul gets caught up in a whirlwind of intergalactic intrigues operated by the order of the Benny Geshrit, a mysterious order of witches, whose main goal is to give birth to the breakthrough that will lead the galaxy under the guiding hand of the Benny Geshrit, of course.
The story, which mostly took place on the sandy planet, was a poignant social ecological parable, written against the background of the cold war between the superpowers. After its tremendous success, 'Holit' won, Herbert wrote five sequels, none of which managed to reproduce the success of the original, except from the commercial aspect. Although so far only four of the original six volumes of 'Holit' have been translated into Hebrew (and rightly so), the publisher rushed to get a worker to translate 'Holit Beit Atreides' as soon as it was published in the USA. The story before us describes the plots of the House of Atreides, the royal house of the planet Kaladen in the period preceding the events of 'Holit'. This is a period of beginnings. Duke Lito (Paul's father) Atreides learns his role as the newly crowned duke, the Geshri girls are busy hatching their plans for the leap, and the entire galaxy mourns and celebrates Shadam IV's ascension to the emperor's throne after his father's death. Against this background, Baron Vladimir Harkonnen, the leader of House Harkonnen, who currently rules the sandy planet, conspires to overthrow the House of Atreides from its greatness.
The book, which is based on Herbert Sr.'s estate, was co-written by Brian Herbert, the son of a mediocre author in his own right, and Kevin J. Anderson, who specializes in writing various sequels and literary adaptations of scripts, such as 'Star Wars' and 'Cases in the Dark'. The two used the first book to lay out the array of forces, place the main characters in the starting position and lay out the rules of the game for what will probably later develop into a full plot story, which should lead the reader to the threshold of the original 'Holit' events. There is no doubt that as a serious reader of science fiction I became addicted to this book, like a reunion with old friends. The book is well written, rhythmic, readable and exciting. However, I couldn't shake the preserved aftertaste of recycled cardboard that clung to the reading.
Am Oved promises to translate also the two sequels of 'Beit Atreides', after their writing is completed in America. Before that, most likely, the opus, 'Fear of the Mossad' by Gregory Benford, will be published, which is another layer in the culture of sequels that refuse to die. This is the first part of a trilogy (but what?) of sequels to Isaac Asimov's successful Institutions series. The original series, which Asimov himself labored over writing until his deathbed, depicted a decadent galactic culture, on the verge of collapse, and set its sights on a new science called psychohistory. This science, which predicts future global developments, predicts the end of the Galactic Empire. The only possibility to advance the face of evil is found in the establishment of an imperial institution that will store all existing human knowledge.
The science fiction connoisseur
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