Reviews

Picking up from the mother of all cliff hangers, it's clear 'Hunters' has some big shoes to fill but it really sticks the landing.
The recap is thankfully brief and woven expertly into the start of the story. The time jumps are well managed and the pacing never lingers in one era long enough to become stale.
The resurrected ghola characters are just as much fun to read as their original counterparts, with much literary merit returning from Frank's novels in that several of these gholas reflect archetypes from Ancient Greek classics like The Odyssey. They are equally great fanservice and terrifying potential repetitions of the worst parts of Dune's history making for some immense tension.
There is an intricate philosophical debate concerning Jewish mysticism and the Bene Gesserit's Missionaria Protectiva that expounds further upon the religious, spiritual and meta themes found in Chapterhouse. The writing holds a candle to the original author's work both as a tribute and an accompanying testament.
The backstory of both the factions and individual characters is nothing short of astounding. E.g. The amount of detail in the official Tleilaxu belief originating from the Islamic faith. Not only does this add another brushstroke to the worldbuilding but also eliminates the need for exposition. The reader can defer from his or her own knowledge of religion and history to better understand why certain factions are butting heads, making for an incredibly rewarding reading experience. Our own real world history and Herbert's future history intertwine in a way that is utterly encaptivating.
The hybrid Futar beast creatures and their surprising amount of humanity spice up the conflicts with elements of body horror, in a similar vein to the Spacing Guild Navigators. Sometimes what once was human can be more alien than anything else imaginable. The exploration of these bioweapons, alongside the breeding of new sandworms and the arguments over whether these should be used for profit or personal use, makes a clever satire on the hypocrisy of the characters' actions. Their grey morality makes them ever relatable.
I've always wanted more of House Richese throughout these expanded books, they tend to be more shadowy players in the cloak and dagger games of the Dune universe and for me they are just as intriguing as the Houses Atreides and Harkonnen. I was pleasantly surprised to find 'Hunters' had Richese in spades! I adore their self professed expertise in imitation rather than innovation, allying with the highest bidder as a kind of galactic black market. They are the pirate opposite to the Spacing Guild and I'm glad the authors really gave them a chance to shine here.
The links in lore to 'Hunters' from God Emperor of Dune and Navigators of Dune are incredibly exciting, GEOD being my favourite while serving as a fantastic payoff for all the meanderings in NoD's lacklustre story.
There's so much to unpack here and it's all presented without becoming too muddled. The pacing is satisfying with equal spades of heady philosophy and wall-to-wall action.
Overall, this one has all the strengths of Chapterhouse and then some and, despite a couple of bewildering pitfalls from Heretics opening up toward the climax, I dare to say that Hunters of Dune just barely beats out the original novel. While that was nothing short of an epic beginning, 'Hunters' is everything that an epic finale should aspire to be. Here's hoping I can say the same for Part Two: Sandworms of Dune.

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