Overview
Frank Herbert's Dune is widely known as the science fiction equivalent of The Lord of the Rings. Now The Road to Dune is a companion work comparable to The Silmarillion, shedding light on and following the remarkable development of the bestselling science fiction novel of all time.
In this fascinating volume, the world's millions of Dune fans can read--at long last--the unpublished chapters and scenes from Dune and Dune Messiah. The Road to Dune also includes some of the original correspondence between Frank Herbert and famed editor John W. Campbell, Jr., along with other correspondence during Herbert's years-long struggle to get his innovative work published, and the article "They Stopped the Moving Sands," Herbert's original inspiration for Dune.
The Road to Dune also features newly discovered papers and manuscripts of Frank Herbert, and Spice Planet, an original novel by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson, based on a detailed outline left by Frank Herbert.
The Road to Dune is a treasure trove of essays, articles, and fiction that every reader of Dune will want to add to their shelf.
Synopsis
Frank Herbert's Dune is widely known as the science fiction equivalent of The Lord of the Rings. Now The Road to Dune is a companion work comparable to The Silmarillion, shedding light on and following the remarkable development of the bestselling science fiction novel of all time.
In this fascinating volume, the world's millions of Dune fans can read—at long last—the unpublished chapters and scenes from Dune and Dune Messiah. The Road to Dune also includes some of the original correspondence between Frank Herbert and famed editor John W. Campbell, Jr., along with other correspondence during Herbert's years-long struggle to get his innovative work published, and the article "They Stopped the Moving Sands," Herbert's original inspiration for Dune.
The Road to Dune also features newly discovered papers and manuscripts of Frank Herbert, and Spice Planet, an original novel by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson, based on a detailed outline left by Frank Herbert.
The Road to Dune is a treasure trove of essays, articles, and fiction that every reader of Dune will want to add to their shelf.
Library Journal
In this companion to Herbert's groundbreaking series, the listener meets the author through his correspondence with his editor and learns how difficult it was to find a publisher willing to take a risk on his masterpiece. Included is Herbert's unpublished article "They Stopped the Moving Sands," which foreshadowed Dune. Herbert's son Brian, along with the coauthor of the current prequels to Dune, Kevin J. Anderson, found several boxes containing Herbert's notebooks, unfinished manuscripts, and notes for new Dune stories, as well as personal papers. Immensely fascinating is Spice Planet, written by Brian and Anderson from an outline and extensive notes left by the elder Herbert. The coauthors have also included some of their short stories about Dune. The final portion of the set, and one of its high points, is an in-depth interview with Scott Brick and Brian Herbert. Brick is an excellent reader, bringing the characters to life and showing the ability to bring the Dune world and its creator into focus. A necessary purchase for libraries where the Dune series is popular.-Nancy Reed, McCracken Cty. P.L., Paducah, KY Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.
Editorials
From Barnes & Noble
The Barnes & Noble ReviewDune fans are in for a once-in-a-lifetime treat with The Road to Dune, a companion to the 1965 classic that has been appropriately called science fiction's supreme masterpiece. Included within are a treasure trove of never-before-published chapters, private correspondence, essays, and short stories, as well as the novelette "Spice Planet" by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson, written from extensive outlines left by Frank Herbert.
The immensely fascinating "Spice Planet" is subtitled "The Alternate Dune Novel" for good reason; readers who have enjoyed Dune will catch innumerable similarities throughout. When Jesse Linkam, the foremost aristocrat on the planet Catalan, is sent to a remote world in the Arrakis system named Duneworld, his mission is to produce more melange in two years than the previous overlords, the House Hoskanner. If Linkam can achieve this lofty goal, his House will be awarded a virtual monopoly on spice production. But with broken-down equipment and no knowledge of the many dangers lurking on the desert planet, will Linkam and his eight-year-old son survive the challenge? Also included is Frank Herbert's unpublished article "They Stopped the Moving Sands" -- the initial thematic inspiration for Dune -- as well as numerous short stories by Herbert and Anderson that include exceptional entries like "A Whisper of Caladan Seas" and "Whipping Mek."
Herbert and Anderson put it best in the introduction when they describe finding boxes containing vast notebooks left by Frank Herbert. "Once we started the laborious process of sifting through these thousands of pages, we felt like religious archaeologists who had discovered a verified map to the Holy Grail." The Road to Dune is just that -- an invaluable literary treasure that will be absolutely cherished by science fiction fans. Paul Goat Allen
From the Publisher
"This collection of essays, stories, and selections from Herbert's papers will certainly be high-priority reading for Dune fans. . . . Of particular interest are the communications between Herbert, John Campbell, and others during and after the release of Dune, and unpublished sequences from Dune and Dune Messiah. . . . Dune was a social and publishing phenomenon; it moved science fiction into general publishing (and marketing) awareness and spurred a wide public awareness of ecological balance. This account of its genesis should interest no only fans but also students of popular culture."--Booklist on The Road to Dune
"One of the monuments of modern science fiction."--Chicago Tribune on Dune
"I know nothing comparable to it except The Lord of the Rings."--Arthur C. Clarke on Dune
"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 on Dune
"Powerful, convincing, and most ingenious."--Robert A. Heinlein on Dune
"Herbert's creation of this universe, with its intricate development and analysis of ecology, religion, politics, and philosophy, remains one of the supreme and seminal achievements in science fiction."--Louisville Times on Dune
"The kind of intricate plotting and philosophical musings that would make the elder Herbert proud."--Publishers Weekly (starred review) on Dune: The Butlerian Jihad
"Sit back and enjoy."--Booklist on Dune: The Machine Crusade
"Dune addicts will happily devour Herbert and Anderson's spicy conclusion to their second prequel trilogy."--Publishers Weekly on Dune:The Battle of Corrin
Booklist
"This collection of essays, stories, and selections from Herbert's papers will certainly be high-priority reading for Dune fans."