Whipping Mek

Legends of Dune #1.5

by Brian Herbert, Kevin J. Anderson

If you are a fan of Dune, you'll be captivated by this short story by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson. The story is a bridge between the events in the first and second books of the new Dune trilogy about the war against thinking machines.

Here you'll find some of the same characters from the first book, Dune: The Butlerian Jihad and you will get a sneak preview of some of the characters and action in the Dune: The Machine Crusade.

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction, Short Stories, Fantasy, Ebooks, Space Opera, Novella

16 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published July 3, 2003

About the author

Brian Patrick Herbert is an American author who lives in Washington state. He is the elder son of science fiction author Frank Patrick Herbert.

Reviews

[Alina · Rating 3 out of 5]

A short story about Vergyl, Xavier's half-brother, and his first encounter with a battle mek.

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

So now for another of my little admissions - I hate reading a series where material is still being released - partly because I am impatient and hate waiting for another book and partly because I worry that the material for whatever reason will not get released at all. Anyway that is really the reason why I have not read as much of the extended Dune universe as I really should especially since I have so many of the book squirrelled away in various corners of my library.
Anyway that aside - on my travels came across these short stories which illuminate small sections and frames of that universe but help link in and explain a few things I was not so sure about (but I am sure would have been answered if I was up to date with the books).
The story is pretty straight forward but for me its more that fact it explains one of those "ahh I see, that explains it..." moments that you remember from elsewhere but now it makes so much more sense (unlike my explanation). Anyway the whole Dune universe is truly an amazing and complex place to explore and I suspect the scope for new material is almost limitless but at least now one little part of it fits together just that little bit more closely.

[Ramón S. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Una historia corta ambientada en el universo Dune. Entretenida y ligera

[Leonor · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reseña

Este es el segundo libro corto, que se sitúa entre el primero y el segundo de Leyendas de Dune. Está centrado en Vergyl Tantor, cuando estaba asignado al equipo de reconstrucción de la Jihad, y allí conoce a Zon Noret, quien se encuentra entrenando en una nave con Chirox, el mek de combate que es el sensei de los maestros de armas de Ginaz.

Crítica

En esta historia tendremos algo que casi pasó por alto en los libros largos: la relación entre Xavier y su hermano Vergyl. Vergyl es un personaje que pasó casi desapercibido en los libros, así que este pedacito de interacción se agradece bastante.

Como es una historia tan corta (es como leer un capítulo más de los libros largos), y da a conocer facetas nuevas de los personajes de la historia, creo que no tiene desperdicio. Lo recomiendo a quienes disfrutaron con la saga principal.

3 / 5 estrellas

[Lois · Rating 3 out of 5]

decent short story

[Iliyan · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you don’t read it you won’t miss out on anything that’s all I can say

[Christoph Meyer · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's a'ight. Not horrible. Not Great.
I like that it's a little stapled booklet and being a Dune completist I had to have it.

[PageTurners; · Rating 5 out of 5]

I started reading the Dune world chronologically and this is the first time I've started a series but have understood the characters, the world, the setting, the style. How much am I about to enjoy this series..

7⭐

[Eloy Nogueira · Rating 3 out of 5]

El relato me ha gustado. Si no te lo lees tampoco te pierdes nada, no aporta gran cosa al lore de Dune, pero me pareció entretenido y muy interesante que apareciera Chirox, al que conocimos por primera vez en los Preludios.

[Austin Wright · Rating 3 out of 5]

As of January 2022, I have only read the first five Dune novels by Frank Herbert. I have decided to dive into the expanded universe by KJA/BH by reading simultaneously "The Road To Dune" and "House Atreides".

The paperback of "The Road To Dune" has five short stories by KJA/BH, the third of which is "Whipping Mek"

This is my least favorite of the five stories, but it is still good.

The namings of the characters is a bit difficult to follow, as they are all letters at the end of the Alphabet (VY,XV,X,Z / Vergyl, Xavier, Chirox, Zon) -- I will reread this story when I finish the TBJ novel.

[Brad · Rating 3 out of 5]

Many years after the start of the jihad against the machines, Xavier Harkonnen returns to Giedi Prime from defending the Peridot human colony from a machine attack. His adoptive brother Vergyl Tantor is working there and meets up with Xavier, and he is desperate to join the fight against the machines. Xavier is trying to protect him.
Whilst repairing a ship, Vergyl sees a Ginaz mercenary practicing his sword work against a training machine, which they nickname a "Whipping Mek". Vergyl has a turn and is almost killed by the machine, but the machine does not deliver the killing blow, which Vergyl says the machine showed compassion.

[Cathy Hunter · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the second of these short stories I have read and find then quite delightful. A few pages packed with information and action. They are great interlude between the much longer main books of the series.

[Derk · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I have strong feelings about how far from the mark any and all novels by Brian Herbert and Anderson have been from what Frank Herbert actually envisioned, the Butlerian Jihad trilogy was moderately enjoyable.

[Aleksei Uljassov · Rating 1 out of 5]

This one is so short that it is kind of hard to make an opinion on it, nothing of interest happens here.
There is a point where in training a robot is used, in a world where humans are waging a war on robots with fanatical hatred of the so mentioned robots.

[Carlos Olate · Rating 3 out of 5]

Con un Virgyl - hermano de Xavier Harkonnen - en su incipiente ingreso a las fuerzas de choque de la yihad, este pequeño relato nos deja algunas cosas sobre las maquinas pensantes y sus usos potenciales, más allá de la destrucción.

Interesante, agrega una capa más. Se puede prescindir de él.

[Stephen Masters · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice short story.

Features Xavier Harkonnen, and a classic dilemma whether all of the thinking machines are equally bad.

Even if it was completely disconnected from the Dune universe this would have been an interesting scifi story.

[Christopher M. · Rating 3 out of 5]

An engaging short story, a little exposition heavy but providing some apparently extraneous information that may prove useful later...

[Volkan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cihat dönemine ait kısa bir hikaye, düşünen makinelerde hisseder mi sorusunu atıyor ortaya.

[Johan · Rating 1 out of 5]

Waste of time. This story adds nothing to the Legends of Dune series.

[Clifford Crose · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not my type

[Jacob Gowan · Rating 3 out of 5]

[Ebook] more like whipping meh

[Alberto Lagomarsini · Rating 4 out of 5]

Es sencillamente eso: una continuación de la Yihad Butleriana. Pero ayuda a continuar con el próximo libro.

[Zdravko · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nothing special. A short story that, in a way, connects two novels. If you don't read it, you won't miss anything.

[James · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.25

[Pablo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Esta bien, pero no es gran cosa, es un relato cortísimo que nos presenta a dos personajes que serán protagonistas en el libro 2 de la trilogía. No se pierde nada si se omite su lectura.

[Elwin Kline · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it! For a mere 18 page short story, I think it was absolutely fantastic.

What more could be reasonably asked for within <20 pages? Two new very interesting characters have been introduced, the current state of a previous main character from the The Butlerian Jihad, and a status update of the state of the Jihad (war).

And... a very interesting twist at the end between human and machine interaction that I don't wait to ruin/spoil!

Looking forward to starting The Machine Crusade soon!

[Bruno Silva · Rating 3 out of 5]

Um episódio que relata a impetuosidade e inconsciência da juventude em querer combater sem saber as consequências do que vai estar a fazer.
Aqui o irmão adotivo de Xavier Harkonnen, Vergyll Tantor, descobre o robot de combate Chirox e pede ao mercenário Noret, para combater com ele com um resultado inesperado.

[Campo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mid Butlerian Jihad we encounter this story that includes mainstays of the Butlerian Jihad trilogy and some that though not of important birth made an impact in the landscape of the Dune Universe.

The whipping Mek itself and it's first opponent were very interesting characters for me in the books, so this extra story feels great.

[Emilio A. Olivieri · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another good short story from Brian Herbert and Kevin Anderson, better than the two books I've read from the Legends of Dune trilogy until now. The story tells about the first serious training of Vergyl Tantor, Xavier Harkonnen's adopted brother. He uses a thinking machine to train. But, does the thinking machine actually have mercy?

[Jose Luis Gómez Marcano · Rating 5 out of 5]

Un cuento bastante corto, pero que nos entrega una visión de como está la situación de la guerra de los humanos contra las máquinas pensantes después de 12 años de lucha. Vale la pena leerla. Es entretenida y fácil de leer.