The epic story of the planet Arrakis, its Atreides rulers and their mortal enemies the Harkonnens is the finest, most widely acclaimed and enduring science fiction novel of this century. Huge in scope, towering in concept, it is a work that will live on in the reader’s imagination.
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 them vast power. They have been waiting for a leader like Paul Atreides, a leader who can harness that force ...
Accolades
Hugo Award Winner 1966
Nebula Award Winner 1966
1998 Locus Poll - Best SF Novel (before 1990)
1987 Locus Poll - Best All-Time SF Novel
1975 Locus Poll - Best All-Time Novel
Reviews
"Unique...I know of nothing comparable to it except The Lord of the Rings." Arthur C. Clarke
“A portrayal of an alien society more complete and deeply detailed than any other author in the field has managed...a story absorbing equally for its action and philosophical vistas...An astonishing science fiction phenomenon.”—The Washington Post
"Powerful, convincing, and most ingenious." Robert A. Heinlein
'One of the landmarks of modern science fiction ... an amazing feat of creation.' -- Analog
"So completely did Mr. Herbert work out the interactions of man and beast and geography and climate that [ Dune] became the standard for a new subgenre of `ecological' science fiction." The New York Times
Author Biography
Frank Herbert was born in 1920 and spent most of early life in the Pacific Northwest of America. He was a professional photographer, journalist and occasional oyster-diver; he also had stints as a radio news commentator and jungle survival instructor. Though he is best known for Dune, he was also the author of several other important science fiction novels including The Green Brain, The Dragon in the Sea and The White Plague. He was awarded the Nebula and Hugo Awards - the highest literary accolades in the world of science fiction - for Dune. He died in 1986.
