The novellas and short stories in this book add even more details to the already dense Dune world.
Published as a collection for the first time, the stories are mostly about periphery characters in the original novels.
The first, The Edge of a Chrysknife, is about Shadout Mapes and tells how the Fremen woman ended up in the employ of her oppressors.
The novella is the longest of the collection, taking up nearly half of the 162-page book.
The Blood of the Sardaukar tells the story of a noble boy who becomes a Sardaukar soldier.
The story gives an interesting twist to the Arakeen battle in Dune while The Waters of Kanly gives a glimpse of what Gurney Halleck might have been getting up to after the battle.
Imperial Court is the only story in the collection that takes place hundreds of years before the events of Dune. It tells the story of Atreides and Harkonnen ancestors after the war that ends the thinking machines.
The feud that fuels the Dune story is already boiling so many years before and the rivals in the story scheme against each others’ ambitious ministrations.
As you may have already guessed, this collection may not make much sense if you haven’t already read Dune or watched the first movie but it may just scratch the itch for those who are patiently waiting for the next movie instalment.