_The Machine Crusade_, by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson, might be considered Dune without all the mystery and wonder. The original _Dune_ novels had a rich language that evoked the mysterious future human culture that was the backdrop for the novel. Phrases like "Combine Honnete Ober Advancer Mercantiles" and the "Federated Houses of the Landsraad" reminded the reader of something European and Baroque. Groups like the Bene Gesserit and the Bene Tleilaxu sounded exotic and ancient. Then there were the throwaway words based on Arabic, like Alia, the female presence that sits at the Left Hand of God.
Compare that to the League of Nobles, or the Jihad Council, or the Seraphim, which are just three of the banal-sounding organizations that pepper _The Machine Crusade_. Yes, jargon is often pointless, but there's a different between technobabble and using language to evoke a particular feeling. The first is bad writing, while the second is poetry.
Another important tool that the original Dune novels used was the Wierding Way. The Wierding Way was never explained, only implied, and for many, ends up as one of the great mysteries of the book. I believe that it involves incredible body control (prana-bindu), and being able to read your opponent. It was so subtle that Frank Herbert decided to go with voice-powered Wierding Modules for the movie, but that least tied into the Voice which the Bene Gesserit used.
In contrast, the sorceresses of Rossak described in _The Machine Crusade_ have... psychic abilities. Yawn. And Norma Cenza, who... comes back from the dead and completely reshapes her genetic structure. Errr?
_The Machine Crusade_ also seems to lack the interesting and conflicting motivations of characters from the original Dune novel. Serena Butler is obsessed with her dead son. Iblis Genjo is interested in self-aggrandizement, plain and simple. Ho hum. Yes. characters in the original Dune novels were pretty one dimensional too, but what they wanted to accomplish seemed to interlock in a complex weave, leading to the "wheels within wheels within wheels" of the novel.
Then there's religion. Dune had an interesting and nuanced approach to religion. One of the first things that Paul did in the entire book was read the Orange Catholic Bible. Later on, Paul drinks the Water of Life and comes back from the dead. This theme of the genuine religious experience, with church and empire running out of control runs through the entire Dune series. The protagonists, from Paul, to Leto, to Super-Duncan-Idaho, are constantly trying to reshape events in order to save humanity from the excesses of the followers of their predecessors. In contrast, _the Machine Crusade_ has no mysticism, and no religious experience. Its all a great sham. Serena Butler is a crazy obsessive, and Iblis Genjo is a vile hypocrite. At least Alia the Abomination had the excuse that she was driven insane by the dark voice of the Baron Harkonnen. The only real mystics in _The Machine Crusade_ are deluded disembodied brains in jars, whose words are twisted and abused by the religious establishment to further their own ends. Its a very cynical approach to religion, but everyone in contemporary society who isn't a fundamentalist is supposed to be a cynic, right?
I think I've said enough to show that _The Machine Crusade_ has none of the positive and interesting qualities of the original Dune novels. It lacks mystery, wonder, and nuance. It really shouldn't deserve the name Dune, just like all the other Dune prequel novels don't deserve the name Dune either. Read it if you want to waste time, but don't expect anything good.
