Dune: The inspiration for the blockbuster film

Description

The Duke of Atreides has been manoeuvred by his arch-enemy, Baron Harkonnen, into administering the desert planet of Dune. Although it is almost completely without water, Dune is a planet of fabulous wealth, for it is the only source of a drug prized throughout the Galactic Empire. The Duke and his son, Paul, are expecting treachery and it duly comes - but from a shockingly unexpected place. Then Paul succeeds his father and he becomes a catalyst for the native people of Dune, whose knowledge of the ecology of the planet gives then vast power. They have been waiting for a leader like Paul Atreides, a leader who can harness that force... DUNE: one of the most brilliant science fiction novels ever written, as engrossing and heart-rending today as it was when it was first published half a century ago.

Frank Herbert (1920 - 1986) was born in Tacoma, Washington and worked as a reporter and later editor of a number of West Coast newspapers before becoming a full-time writer. His first sci-fi story was published in 1952 but he achieved fame more than ten years later with the publication in analog of DUNE WORLD and THE PROPHET OF DUNE, amalgamated in the novel DUNE in 1965. Previous titles: Great Dune Trilogy (TPB March 06); Dune; Dune Messiah; Children of Dune; God Emperor of Dune; Heretics of Dune; Chapter House Dune; White Plague; Man of Two Worlds; God Makers; Eye; Dragon in the Sea; Soul Catcher; Whipping Star; Santaroga Barrier; Heaven Makers; Dosadi Experiment; Eyes of Heisenberg; Green Brain; Jesus Incident; Lazarus Effect

I know nothing comparable to it except The Lord of the Rings -- Arthur C. Clarke It is possible that Dune is even more relevant now than when it was first published * NEW YORKER * An astonishing science fiction phenomenon * WASHINGTON POST * One of the monuments of modern science fiction * CHICAGO TRIBUNE * Powerful, convincing, and most ingenious -- Robert A. Heinlein A novel of extraordinary complexity ... the work of a speculative intellect with few rivals in modern sf * THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF SCIENCE FICTION * A tight mesmerising fabric, interwoven with a potent element of mysticism ... intensely realised -- Brian W Aldiss Huge and important . . . it feels grand, it's blood-stirring * Neil Gaiman * The most significant science fiction novel of the twentieth century * The Times Literary Supplement *