Dune - Hardcover

Herbert, Frank

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0575068566 ISBN 13: 9780575068568

Publisher: Gollancz, 1999

Synopsis

Herbert¿s evocative, epic tale is set on the desert planet Arrakis, the focus for a complex political and military struggle with galaxy-wide repercussions. Arrakis is the source of spice, a mind enhancing drug which makes interstellar travel possible, and therefore the most valuable substance in the galaxy. When Duke Atreides and his family take up court there, they fall into a trap set by his rival, Baron Harkonnen. The Duke is poisoned, but his wife and her son Paul escape to the vast and arid deserts of Arrakis, which have given it the name Dune. They join the Fremen, natives of the planet who have learnt to live in this harsh and complex ecosystem. But learning to survive is not enough - Paul¿s destiny was mapped out long ago and his mother is committed to seeing it fulfilled.

About this title

Review:

Originally serialised in Analog during the early 1960s, Dune has sold over 10 million copies, becoming the most successful science fiction novel ever and giving rising to five sequels and a prequel, Prelude to Dune: House Atreides. With Lord of the Rings, 1984 and Catch 22, it is, regardless of whether one normally reads science fiction, a defining novel of the 20th century. Author Frank Herbert always preferred the original magazine illustrations by Hugo Award-winning artist John Schoenherr to those of other artists, and this illustrated edition features 12 colour plates by Schoenherr together with an evocative dust-jacket painting.

Dune is epic space opera, a saga of dynastic rivalry rooted in history and ecology, the story of the planet Arrakis 10 000 years from now, and of the conflicts over possession of Melange, a psycho-mutagenic "spice" vital to maintaining the galactic Imperium. It is the story of Paul Atreides, the man who would become Dune Messiah, and of the giant sand worms which haunt the desert landscapes. More elaborate and complex than preceding SF, Frank Herbert laid the foundations that made Star Wars and Babylon 5 possible. Dan Simmon's Hyperion and David Zindell's Neverness launched even richer, more dazzling and thrilling galactic epics, but Dune retains its premiere place in the collective imagination. Decades after initial publication it is still the benchmark for popular SF, a book everyone should read, if only to know what everyone else is talking about. --Gary S Dalkin

Review:

"I know nothing comparable to it except 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."--The Washington Post Book World

"One of the monuments of modern science fiction."--Chicago Tribune

"Powerful, convincing, and most ingenious."--Robert A. Heinlein

"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

About this edition

• Publisher: Gollancz
• Publication date: 1999
• ISBN 10: 0575068566
• ISBN 13: 9780575068568
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 448