Dune prequel series

Did You Know?

• Dune itself is frequently cited as the best-selling science fiction novel in history, and won the 1966 Hugo Award and the inaugural Nebula Award for Best Novel.
• Brian Herbert and Anderson have also published Hunters of Dune (2006) and Sandworms of Dune (2007), sequels to Frank Herbert's final novel Chapterhouse: Dune (1985).
• 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.

Prelude to Dune

The Prelude to Dune trilogy, written by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson, serves as a prequel to Frank Herbert's original 1965 novel. It consists of three books: Dune: House Atreides (1999), Dune: House Harkonnen (2000), and Dune: House Corrino (2001). The series draws from notes Frank Herbert left behind after his death in 1986. In 1997, Bantam Books secured a $3 million deal with the authors for these three novels.

The story begins roughly forty years before the events of Dune, following Crown Prince Shaddam as he schemes to take the throne from his aging father Elrood IX, young Leto Atreides as he grows close to the ruling family of the technology world Ix, and the Bene Gesserit as they secretly work to create the Kwisatz Haderach. As the trilogy progresses, Leto becomes Duke of House Atreides, Shaddam ascends to emperor and allies with the Bene Tleilax to take over Ix and produce synthetic spice, and the Bene Gesserit infect Baron Vladimir Harkonnen with a metabolism-slowing disease as punishment for raping one of their members.

The Baron then plots revenge against the Bene Gesserit. The Spacing Guild discovers that the Tleilaxu synthetic spice is lethal to its Navigators, forcing Shaddam to yield to the Landsraad. Leto plays a key role in compelling Shaddam to sign humiliating peace accords, cementing his position as the emperor's chief rival. In May 2020, Boom!

Studios acquired the comic and graphic novel rights to Dune: House Atreides, planning a 12-issue adaptation written by Herbert and Anderson. That series ran from 2020 to 2021, followed by comic adaptations of Dune: House Harkonnen (12 issues, 2023) and Dune: House Corrino (8 issues, 2024). Dune: House Atreides debuted at No. 13 on the New York Times Best Seller list, rising to No. 12 in its second week. Dune: House Harkonnen entered at No. 11 and climbed to No. 8 in its second week.

Dune: House Corrino debuted at No. 8. Critic John Snider of SciFi Dimensions described the prequels as "pulpy," but noted they make Frank Herbert's complex and philosophical stories more approachable for general readers.

Legends of Dune

The Legends of Dune trilogy, written by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson, is set roughly ten millennia before the original Dune novel. It details the conflict against thinking machines known as the Butlerian Jihad and traces the beginnings of key families and groups from the broader Dune universe. The three books are The Butlerian Jihad from 2002, The Machine Crusade from 2003, and The Battle of Corrin from 2004. The story starts over a thousand years after a group of immortal cyborgs called the Titans, using indestructible cymek bodies, took over the universe and then lost control to an artificial intelligence named Omnius.

Omnius and the Titans rule five hundred planets in the Synchronized Worlds with cruelty, while a coalition of free planets called the League of Nobles fights back with limited resources. A key figure is Serena Butler, whose young son is killed by the independent robot Erasmus, sparking the Butlerian Jihad and a human offensive against the machines. This war lasts nearly a century, ending with a human victory at the Battle of Corrin. The Jihad leads to the creation of the Bene Gesserit, the Spacing Guild, the Sardaukar army, the Landsraad, and House Corrino, whose Padishah Emperors rule for the next ten thousand years until the events of Dune.

The Butlerian Jihad reached number seven on the New York Times Best Seller list in its second week. The Machine Crusade debuted at number seven, and The Battle of Corrin hit number nine. Critic John Snider of SciFi Dimensions described the AI characters in the prequels as cartoonish and little different from 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. 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), and Princess of Dune (2023).

Half of the story of Paul of Dune takes place between Frank Herbert's Dune and Dune Messiah as Paul's Jihad rages, Shaddam 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, which feature his friendship with Duncan and Gurney and Duke Leto's War of Assassins against Grumman. The Winds of Dune chronicles events between Frank Herbert's Dune Messiah and Children of Dune, as well as events between the prequel sections of Paul of Dune and the original Dune, and events between Paul of Dune and Dune Messiah.

The final two novels in the series were to be called The Throne of Dune and Leto of Dune. However, in a July 2010 blog post Anderson announced that these novels had been postponed due to plans by Herbert and Anderson to publish a trilogy about the formation of the Bene Gesserit, the Mentats, the Suk doctors, the Spacing Guild and the Navigators, as well as the solidifying of the Corrino imperium. In January 2023, Brian Herbert announced a third Heroes of Dune novel, Princess of Dune, a prequel focused on Chani and Irulan, set two years before the events of Dune.

It was released on October 3, 2023. 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. 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. 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

The Great Schools of Dune trilogy, written by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson, is a prequel series set in Frank Herbert's Dune universe. It follows the Legends of Dune trilogy and takes place about a hundred years after the events of Dune: The Battle of Corrin, where the Army of Humanity defeated the thinking machine armies of Omnius. In this era, the newly formed Bene Gesserit, Mentat, and Suk Schools, along with the Spacing Guild, face danger from independent anti-technology groups that are gaining strength after the Butlerian Jihad.

The trilogy covers the early development of these organizations, which are important in the original Dune novels. The three books are Sisterhood of Dune (2012), Mentats of Dune (2014), and Navigators of Dune (2016). In Sisterhood of Dune, the anti-technology Butlerian movement, led by the popular Manford Torondo, is growing. Torondo and his followers travel the universe destroying machines to rid humanity of its dependence on convenient technology.

His increasing power threatens Emperor Salvador Corrino, as well as the Sisterhood on Rossak and the Mentat School on Lampadas, both of which secretly use technology. Space travel magnate Josef Venport also plans to salvage machinery for his business empire. In Mentats of Dune, Gilbertus Albans runs his Mentat School cautiously under the watch of the fanatical Butlerians, while Raquella Berto-Anirul works to rebuild her Sisterhood School on Wallach IX.

To strengthen his control over interstellar trade and fight the Butlerians, Venport imposes a trade embargo on any planet that supports Torondo's movement. Sisterhood of Dune reached number 23 on The New York Times Hardcover Fiction Best Seller List, and Mentats of Dune debuted at number 17 on the same list. Publishers Weekly described Sisterhood as a shallow but enjoyable mix of space opera and dynastic soap opera.