Product Description

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #247397 in Books
• Published on: 2005-09-01
• Released on: 2005-08-11
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 496 pages

From Publishers Weekly
This companion volume to Frank Herbert's 1965 science fiction classic collects manuscript material, correspondence and cut chapters related to Dune as well as previously published Dune-related short stories coauthored by his son Brian and Kevin J. Anderson. Particularly interesting are texts related to Dune's publication, including letters, reviews and press releases that acknowledge the dizzying scope of the ambitious novel. Its length meant that Herbert had a hard time placing it, and he ended up selling it to automotive-guide publisher Chilton, but its publication-and the awards it won-ushered in a new era for science fiction publishing. The sheer novelty of Dune stands in contrast to B. Herbert and Anderson's Spice Planet, an alternate Dune novelette constructed from Herbert's original notes and a by-the-numbers action-adventure of interest only in contrast to the book Herbert ultimately wrote. Three of B. Herbert and Anderson's short stories bridge some of the events in their coauthored novel prequels; the fourth takes place during one of the battles in Dune and provides an interesting point-of-view switch. Although this miscellany of material fails to cohere, the glimpse it provides into Herbert's thoughts and the difficulty of writing and publishing illuminate one of the most important SF novels ever published.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From AudioFile
Frank Herbert's road to fame with his science fiction novel DUNE wasn't smooth; he dealt with the negative response of Editor John W. Campbell, Jr., and initial apathy from the reading public. Scott Brick reads this collection, which includes SPICE PLANET, a short novel written from the late Herbert's original outline, along with lost short stories and novel fragments by Herbert and anecdotes about how DUNE journeyed to iconic status. Brick's narration hits the mark for both the fiction and nonfiction pieces, giving the stories a poetic quality and making the publishing minutiae intriguing. Some of the fragments, however, will disappoint all but the most devoted DUNE fans. J.A.S. © AudioFile 2006, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine

From Booklist
This collection of essays, stories, and selections from Herbert's papers will certainly be high-priority reading for Dune fans. It includes two versions of Spice Planet, an unpublished novel containing many elements that later appeared in Dune, but that is a separate story. 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. The collection also includes four short stories laid in the Butlerian Jihad era. Dune was a social and publishing phenomenon; it moved sf into general publishing (and marketing) awareness and spurred a wide public awareness of ecological balance. This account of its genesis should interest fans and students of popular culture. Frieda Murray
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Customer Reviews

Great Book
Awesome Read for any Dune fan. This duo really did a wonderful job as usual on their books. Thank you Mr. Herbert, and Mr. Anderson for writing this among the many other books you have shared with all of us Dune fans.

Interesting but not necessary
The Road to Dune is intended to give the reader an appreciation of the evolution of thought that resulted in the classic novel Dune by Frank Herbert. Only a small portion of the book actually addresses this, that namely being the letters back and forth between Herbert and the editor. The novel 'Spice Planet' is interesting as it is based on the original outline for Dune that Frank Herbert had created, but the story is only of middling quality. It would've been more meaningful to simply include the original outline then to try to create a new (and rather confusing) tale that falls very short of the final novel. The outtakes from Dune and Dune Messiah are interesting, if only to see what wound up getting pulled by the editor. The short stories again are interesting, but not all that great. I think this book is really intended for the hardcore fan, but even then I think it's only so-so and definitely not necessary to the readers appreciation of Dune and the Dune series.

only for the fan
If I weren't such a Dune fanatic, I wouldn't have read this book. Although Brian and Kevin's writing has gotten better over the years, this book is still nothing but a disappointing continuation of a stellar legacy.