Interest in the Dune universe has only grown in the days since the release of the most recent film. The second installment is already in production, and authors Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson have remained busy expanding and exploring the stories within the series created by the late Frank Herbert. Now we have DUNE: THE HEIR OF CALADAN, the final entry in the Caladan trilogy, which rounds out the 12-month period before the events of the initial Dune novel.

"Like its predecessors in this series, THE HEIR OF CALADAN is easy to read, with short chapters and jumps from each of the story threads to keep the movement fluid."

Within these pages, we continue to see the seeds planted by House Harkonnen, disseminating rumors that Duke Leto and his House Atreides are no longer aligned with the Emperor. The Noble Commonwealth rebellion is underway, and the ire of Emperor Shaddam is growing. In the midst of this, Duke Leto looks to infiltrate the Commonwealth with a goal to save the Empire from being usurped.

With the title THE HEIR OF CALADAN, one would think that the book would be more directly focused on Paul, but that is hardly the case. Yes, we do get to spend some time with Paul and Duncan Idaho as they are embroiled in a chaotic turn of events on Caladan. And we see Paul trying to learn how to take on the role of a duke and the weight of that title. But the authors also pay attention to Lady Jessica and her mission from the Bene Gesserit. In addition, we get a great look at Thufir Hawat, along with Leto’s efforts to prevent a potentially Empire-ending plan concocted by Jaxson Aru.

Like its predecessors in this series, THE HEIR OF CALADAN is easy to read, with short chapters and jumps from each of the story threads to keep the movement fluid. It also helps to keep each of those story elements fresh in mind by revisiting them in quick succession. As a prequel, it does tend to suffer from the usual problem --- moments of jeopardy are just not as intense, as readers know the characters will appear in DUNE, which follows this trilogy in the timeline. That being said, it does not take away from the interesting story beats, or the scheming of the Harkonnens as they look to undermine House Atreides, laying the groundwork for the events of DUNE.

Readers of the previous installments will find THE HEIR OF CALADAN a more than worthy finale. Those who read the original Dune series and may have had questions about the Harkonnen plot, or wondered about the shifting rule over the desert planet Arrakis, will find some of those answers here.