Questions About Dune (Dune, #1)

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Answered Questions (72)

I really want to read the novel Dune. I was wondering, is it necessary to read the rest of the series or not?

Nasos Delveroudis - (warning, wall of text incoming)

Short answer: No, it's not necessary to read the rest of the series. Dune can be treated as a standalone book and st…more- (warning, wall of text incoming)

Short answer: No, it's not necessary to read the rest of the series. Dune can be treated as a standalone book and story.

But why would you want to do that? You'll miss most of the fun, as some of the subsequent books are arguably better (especially God Emperor of Dune which, in my opinion, is probably the best and deepest sci-fi work of all time by far). Moreover the saga of Dune by no means ends with that #1 book, as only in the second volume there are huge plot twists and the story develops drastically taking a whole new turn (quite unexpected too).

Long answer: The Dune saga practically consists of two parts. The first six books were written by Frank Herbert in the period between 1965 and 1985. These are::

1) Dune (1965)
2) Dune Messiah (1969)
3) Children of Dune (1976)
4) God Emperor of Dune (1981) (like I said, arguably the best book of its genre)
5) Heretics of Dune (1984)
6) Chapterhouse: Dune (1985)

One may read them in this exact order, as they're not only sorted by publishing date but it's also how the epic unfolds in chronological order. Unfortunately Frank left his work unfinished and the story incomplete, because he passed away before he had the chance to finish the seventh book.

But his legacy lived on and it was his son Brian Herbert who resumed the Dune series, in collaboration with Kevin Anderson (widely known for contributing to the Star Wars universe by writing lots of original stories, especially "The Jedi Academy Trilogy").

Not only that but just after they'd started writing the first few books of the "modern" Dune era, they discovered long lost and forgotten material by late Frank, sealed for 15 odd years in a bank locker. It turned out these notes were actually rough guidelines about the legendary Dune 7, the missing part of the saga, the one which would complete the series, which no one had expected to see.

Brian and Kevin have released 12 books so far (but we should be expecting more to come), which I'll cite below. They are separated by thematic context, which is required as most have been written in trilogy form and need to be read in this particular order:

--- Prelude to Dune series (it's about a period beginning about 35 years before the events of the original Dune and ending about 15 years before them):

1. House Atreides (1999)
2. House Harkonnen (2000)
3. House Corrino (2001)

--- Legends of Dune series (refers to the old galaxy-wide war between humankind and machines, about 10 thousand years before Dune, when the foundations of the saga were actually built):

4. The Butlerian Jihad (2002)
5. The Machine Crusade (2003)
6. The Battle of Corrin (2004)

- Dune 7 (as a matter of fact it's an untitled series but it's practically Dune 7, split in two parts and it obviously resumes the story from where Frank Herbert left it in distant 1985):

7. Hunters of Dune (2006)
8. Sandworms of Dune (2007)

--- Heroes of Dune series (it's about a period starting around 15 years before Dune until its very beginning):

9. Paul of Dune (2008)
10. The Winds of Dune (2009)

--- Great Schools of Dune series (OK, I'll have to admit I haven't read these two yet, so I haven't got the slightest idea what they're about! Hopefully I'll find out soon enough)

11. Sisterhood of Dune (2012)
12. Mentats of Dune (2014)

The emerging question is in which order does one have to read all these books (the usual and everlasting dilemma of non-linear/multi-volume series such as the Lord of the Rings/Hobbit/Silmarillion, Ender's Saga etc). Do we have to follow the order in which they were written/published or the chronological order in which the story develops? Do we need to first read Dune (1965) or perhaps go with the Butlerian Jihad (2002) which, after all, takes place 10 thousand years earlier?

My suggestion is to read them exactly in the order in which they were presented above. I think it'd be a sin (really) if your first impression about Dune were from the books of Brian Herbert and not from Frank's.

One could also ponder if all these books are really worth it, all 18 of them. Perhaps some might actually be skipped altogether? I'd say the first twelve of them (from Dune-1965 to The Battle of Corrin-2004) are really a must read. Obviously the first six books (by Frank) are MUCH deeper but if you could make some concessions, Brian's volumes are pretty good themselves. You only need to not expect the same level of depth and lower your requirements. They'll turn out to be pretty enjoyable.

However I believe that beginning from Hunters of Dune, the story takes a somewhat Star Wars-ish turn and deviates from Frank's original spirit (eg. instead of the usual layered plots within plots within plots with increasingly difficult to grasp notions, you're starting to read more and more about space fights and lasers and the like).

All in all, I hope you'll enjoy the Dune Chronicles!(less)

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Appropriate for 12 year old?

Rafael Patacas I'd say it's readable for a 12 year old ( well, as in not inappropriate) but maybe it'd be better apreciated in a couple of years. at that age i'd adv…moreI'd say it's readable for a 12 year old ( well, as in not inappropriate) but maybe it'd be better apreciated in a couple of years. at that age i'd advise "have spacesuit will travel" by Heinlein or "Ender's game" by O.S.Card as lighter books.(less)

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How appropriate is the book?

Sam appropriate for what

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is it important to read the appendix? Would I be missing something if I didn't?

Daniel Rumbell The appendix has some information that might be useful for keeping various groups and their overall purpose in mind, but you don't need to read any of…moreThe appendix has some information that might be useful for keeping various groups and their overall purpose in mind, but you don't need to read any of it. The novel covers the information very well on its own, and, frankly, the appendix is very boring.(less)

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Is there more of Alia in the later Dune books? Her too-brief scene with the emperor was wonderful. Related question: Can anyone recommend other novels in which hyper-intelligent two-year-old girls talk trash to fat old imperialists?