Dune

Article written by Joshua Ehiosun

C2 certified writer.

Being a book written in 1965, the importance of ‘Dune’ cannot be overstated as it has been the building block of some of the best science-fiction stories in history. With precision and complex storytelling at its core, ‘Dune’ remains one of the best novels in existence.

Key Facts About Dune

• Book title: ‘Dune.’
• Author: Frank Herbert.
• Book Inspiration: The inspiration for Frank Herbert’s novel came from a battle between man and nature. Frank Herbert wrote ‘Dune’ inspired by what he saw and documented when covering the extent of damage caused by the encroaching desert in Florence, Oregon, in the late 1950s. Herbert, who came as a reporter, documented everything concerning the encroachment and later created an article that was never published.
• Publication Date: August 1965.
• Literary Period: Contemporary.
• Point of View: Third-person perspective.
• Number of Pages: 412.
• Genre: Science-Fiction.
• Setting: Planet Caladan, Planet Arrakis.
• Climax: The story’s climax occurs when Paul and the Fremen defeat the Harkonnen and Sardaukar troops, and Alia kills the Baron of House Harkonnen.
• Antagonists: Baron Vladimir Harkonnen, Shaddam IV, Padishah Emperor of The Known Universe.
• Protagonists: Paul Atreides, Alia Atreides, Jessica.

Frank Herbert and Dune

‘Dune’ remains one the best pieces of science fiction ever written, and the book catapulted Frank Herbert’s writing career. Before the book’s success, Frank faced rejection 20 times for ‘Dune,’ but after securing a publishing deal with Chilton Books, he quickly rose to fame. The novel became an entire franchise with five sequels from Frank, and even after his death, his son, Brian, continued his work, creating more books, expanding the ‘Dune’ universe.

Books Related to Dune

Being a novel that sheds light on heroism, science-fiction, politics, religion, and power, many books are similar to ‘Dune Messiah.’ Below is a list of books related to Frank Herbert’s ‘Dune Messiah’:

• ‘Foundation‘ by Isaac Asimov is a book that tells the story of the Galactic Empire, an empire that ruled supreme for 12,000 years. However, the Galactic Empire starts dying, and Hari Seldon, the creator of Psychohistory, peeks into the future and sees a bleak future for humanity. Determined to avert the impending doom, Hari gathers the best minds in the empire and brings them to an uninhabited planet on the edge of the galaxy. He names the society the Foundation. Soon the Foundation is forced to contend with corrupt warlords and choose between giving in or fighting.
• ‘Project Hail Mary‘ by Andy Weir tells the story of Ryland grace, a man tasked with a mission to save humanity. However, Ryland wakes up and finds himself millions of miles away from home with nothing but two corpses as a company. Drifting in space with a fuzzy memory, Ryland soon realizes his mission involved solving an extinction-level threat.
• ‘Neuromancer‘ by William Gibson is a book that tells the story of Henry Dorsett Case, a super-smart data thief in the Matrix, a world representing the entire data in cyberspace. Working as a data thief, Henry gets crippled by his former employer, who he stole from; this disabled him from accessing the Matrix. However, he gets hired by a mysterious person, who tasks him with stealing from a powerful artificial intelligence orbiting the Earth and owned by the Tessier-Ashpool business clan.
• ‘Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?‘ by Philip K. Dick is a novel that tells the story of Rick Deckard, a man tasked with an assignment of finding and killing androids in the year 2021. However, Rick faces a problem as androids look exactly like humans.
• ‘The Butlerian Jihad‘ by Brian Herbert tells the story of the war between man and the thinking machines first mentioned in Frank Herbert’s novel, ‘Dune.’ The book tells the story of how humans struggled to free themselves from their machine masters and how they discovered the properties of Melange

The Lasting Impact of Dune