The 'Dune prequel series' is a sequence of novel trilogy written by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson. Set in the Dune universe created by Frank Herbert, the novels take place in various time periods before and in between Herbert's original six novels, which began with 1965's Dune. In 1997, Bantam Books made a $3 million deal with the authors for three Dune prequel novels, partially based upon notes left behind by Frank Herbert, that would come to be known as the Prelude to Dune trilogy.
Dune itself is frequently cited as the best-selling science fiction novel in history,
Brian Herbert and Anderson have also published Hunters of Dune (2006) and Sandworms of Dune (2007), sequels to Frank Herbert's final novel (1985) which complete the chronological progression of his original series and wrap up storylines that began with his Heretics of Dune (1984).
Prelude to Dune
Prelude to Dune is a
prequel trilogy of novels written by
Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson, set in
Frank Herbert's
Dune universe. The series takes place in the years leading up to the events in the original novel
Dune (1965) and explores the origins of some of its characters. In 1997,
Bantam Books made a $3 million deal with the authors for three
Dune prequel novels that would come to be known as the
Prelude to Dune trilogy.
The novels draw from notes left behind by Frank Herbert after his death in 1986.
The books in the series are:
In May 2020, Boom! Studios was announced to have acquired the comic and graphic novel rights to Dune: House Atreides, with the intent of doing a 12-issue comic adaptation written by the original authors Brian Herbert and Anderson.
Plot
The
Prelude to Dune series begins four decades before the events of
Dune, with an eager Crown Prince
Shaddam IV plotting to succeed his aging father
Elrood IX, young
House Atreides heir Leto becoming close with the ruling family of the important technology world Ix, and the
Bene Gesserit scheming behind the scenes to create the
Kwisatz Haderach. As the series progresses, Leto becomes the new Atreides Duke, Shaddam becomes the emperor and aligns with the
Bene Tleilax in their takeover of Ix to develop synthetic spice, and the Bene Gesserit punish Baron Vladimir Harkonnen for raping one of them with a disease that slows his metabolism. The Baron Vladimir Harkonnen then plots his revenge against the Bene Gesserit. The
Spacing Guild, having found the Tleilaxu synthetic spice to be fatal to its Navigators, forces Shaddam to capitulate to the
Landsraad, with Leto playing a role in forcing Shaddam to sign humiliating peace accords, confirming his status as the emperor's leading rival.
Reception
Dune: House Atreides debuted at No. 13 on the
New York Times Best Seller list, and rose to No. 12 in its second week of publication.
debuted at No. 11 on the same list, and rose to No. 8 its second week.
The third installment,
Dune: House Corrino, debuted at No. 8 on the
New York Times list.
John Snider of SciFiDimensions found Herbert and Anderson's Prelude to Dune prequels to be "pulpy", though he allowed that they "make Frank Herbert's esoteric and philosophical stories more accessible to general audiences."
Legends of Dune
Legends of Dune is a
prequel trilogy of novels written by
Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson, set in
Frank Herbert's
Dune universe. The series takes place over 10,000 years before the events of the original novel
Dune (1965), and chronicles the universe-spanning war against thinking machines that would eventually become known as the
Butlerian Jihad.
It also explores the origins of the families and organizations that populate the distinctive universe in other
Dune works.
The books in the series are:
Plot
The series begins more than a millennium after a group of immortal, militant
cyborgs calling themselves the Titans seized control of the entire universe in indestructible
cymek bodies and then accidentally relinquished control to an artificial intelligence program called
Omnius. Omnius and the immortal Titans rule over the 500 planets of the Synchronized Worlds with cruelty while a handful of free planets are united under the League of Nobles, a government using what resources it has to defend against machine aggression. A prominent figure in the human rebellion is
Serena Butler, whose young son dies at the hands of the independent robot Erasmus and sparks , with humanity mounting a decisive offense against machine rule.
lasts for nearly a century, with much loss of human life but ending in human victory at the . The Jihad also gives rise to the
Bene Gesserit, the
Spacing Guild, the
Sardaukar army, the
Landsraad, and
House Corrino, whose
rule the universe for the next 10,000 years until the events of
Dune.
Reception
Dune: The Butlerian Jihad rose to No. 7 on
The New York Times Best Seller list in its second week of publication.
debuted at No. 7 on the list.
The third installment,
Dune: The Battle of Corrin, reached No. 9 on the
New York Times list.
John Snider of SciFiDimensions found the Legends of Dune prequels as having "cartoonish" AI characters that were "little different than Harkonnens with metal faces."
Heroes of Dune
Heroes of Dune was a planned
tetralogy of novels by
Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson set in the
Dune universe created by
Frank Herbert. The potential series was initially referred to as
Paul of Dune by the authors as early as 2004.
These novels were intended to "fill in the story" between Frank Herbert's early
Dune novels.
The books in the series are:
-
Paul of Dune (2008)
-
The Winds of Dune (2009)
-
(2023)
Half of the story of Paul of Dune takes place between Frank Herbert's Dune (1965) and Dune Messiah (1969) as Paul Atreides's Jihad rages, Shaddam IV seeks to regain his throne and Princess Irulan accepts the "task of building the legend of Muad'Dib". She in turn chronicles Paul's early years (between the 2001 prequel and the 2020 prequel Dune: The Duke of Caladan), which feature "his friendship with Duncan Idaho and Gurney Halleck and Duke Leto's War of Assassins against Grumman".
The final two novels in the series were to be called The Throne of Dune
Plot
In
Paul of Dune, Paul Atreides's childhood lessons in the political intrigues of the empire are juxtaposed with his current struggle to secure his control over it. His
Fremen armies are spread across the universe in attempt to bring rebel worlds to heel, and Paul avoids one assassination attempt only to nearly die in another.
In
The Winds of Dune, Paul's disappearance into the desert has left a
power vacuum, and his closest advisors struggle to determine what path his empire should take.
Reception
The Winds of Dune rose to No. 15 on
The New York Times Best Seller list in its second week of publication.
Great Schools of Dune
Great Schools of Dune is a
prequel trilogy of novels written by
Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson, set in
Frank Herbert's
Dune universe. A sequel to the
Legends of Dune trilogy (2002–2004), the series takes place nearly a century after the events of Brian Herbert and Anderson's
(2004), in which the Army of Humanity finally defeats the thinking machine armies of
Omnius. Now, the fledgling
Bene Gesserit,
Mentat and
, as well as the
Spacing Guild, are threatened by the independent anti-technology forces gaining power in the aftermath of the
Butlerian Jihad.
The
Great Schools of Dune trilogy, first discussed by Anderson in a 2009 interview and later named by him in a 2010 blog post, chronicles the early years of these organizations, which figure prominently in the original
Dune novels.
Though the third and final novel was originally identified by Anderson as
The Swordmasters of Dune in 2009,
in 2014 Brian Herbert and Anderson confirmed that its title would be
Navigators of Dune.
It was released on September 13, 2016.
The books in the series are:
-
Sisterhood of Dune (2012)
-
Mentats of Dune (2014)
-
Navigators of Dune (2016)
Plot
In
Sisterhood of Dune, the anti-technology Butlerian movement is gaining momentum under the leadership of the popular Manford Torondo. He and his forces are scouring the universe to cleanse humanity of its reliance on convenient technologies, destroying any machinery they can find. Torondo's growing power threatens the
House Corrino Emperor Salvador, as well as the Sisterhood on
Rossak and the Mentat School on
Lampadas, each of which harbors secret technology. Space travel tycoon Josef Venport also plots to salvage machinery which he believes can be useful in his business empire.
finds
Gilbertus Albans carefully managing his Mentat School under the watchful eye of the fanatical Butlerians, while Raquella Berto-Anirul seeks to rebuild her own Sisterhood School on
Wallach IX. To secure his control of interstellar commerce and strike a blow against the Butlerians, Venport places a trade embargo on any planet which embraces Torondo's movement.
Reception
Sisterhood of Dune debuted at No. 23 on
The New York Times Hardcover Fiction Best Seller List,
and
Mentats of Dune was released at No. 17 on the same list.
called
Sisterhood a "shallow but fun blend of
space opera and dynastic
soap opera."
Caladan
In July 2020, Herbert and Anderson introduced a new trilogy of prequel novels called the
Caladan trilogy, set after
Dune: House Corrino (2001) and before
Dune (1965).
The books in the series are:
Reception
In 2011,
Publishers Weekly called the series "a sprawling edifice that Frank Herbert's son and Anderson have built on the foundation of the original
Dune novels."
Jon Michaud of
The New Yorker wrote in 2013, "The conversion of
Dune into a franchise, while pleasing readers and earning royalties for the Herbert estate, has gone a long way toward obscuring the power of the original novel."
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