Language used on both sides of that conflict become terms in Herbert's world - chakobsa, a Caucasian hunting language becomes a battle language of humans spread across the galaxy kanly, a word for blood feud in the 19th century Caucasus, represents a feud between Dune's noble Houses sietch and tabir are both words for camp borrowed from Ukrainian Cossacks (of the Pontic steppe). Herbert drew heavy inspiration also from Lesley Blanch's The Sabres of Paradise (1960), a narrative history recounting a mid-19th century conflict in the Caucasus, between rugged Islamic tribes and the expansive Russian empire. In an early version of Dune, the hero was actually very similar to Lawrence of Arabia, but Herbert decided the plot was too straightforward and added more layers to his story. Lawrence and the “messianic overtones” in Lawrence's involvement in the Arab Revolt during World War I. In addition, he was influenced by the story of T. He decided to join his interests together so he could play religious and ecological ideas against each other. He found that desert environments have historically given birth to several major religions with messianic impulses. He believed that feudalism was a natural condition humans fell into, where some led and others gave up the responsibility of making decisions and just followed orders. Herbert was also interested in the idea of the superhero mystique and messiahs. Herbert claimed in a letter to his literary agent, Lurton Blassingame, that the moving dunes could "swallow whole cities, lakes, rivers, highways." Herbert's article on the dunes, "They Stopped the Moving Sands", was never completed (and only published decades later in The Road to Dune), but its research sparked Herbert's interest in ecology and deserts.
Here, the United States Department of Agriculture was attempting to use poverty grasses to stabilize the sand dunes. The Oregon Dunes, near Florence, Oregon, served as an inspiration for the Dune saga.Īfter his novel The Dragon in the Sea was published in 1957, Herbert traveled to Florence, Oregon, at the north end of the Oregon Dunes. Since 2009, the names of planets from the Dune novels have been adopted for the real-life nomenclature of plains and other features on Saturn's moon Titan.
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The series has been used as the basis for several board, role-playing, and video games. A second film adaptation directed by Denis Villeneuve was released on October 21, 2021, to generally positive reviews from critics. The book was also adapted into the 2000 Sci-Fi Channel miniseries Frank Herbert's Dune and its 2003 sequel Frank Herbert's Children of Dune (which combines the events of Dune Messiah and Children of Dune). In 1984, a film adaptation directed by David Lynch was released to negative response from critics. After three years of development, the project was canceled due to a constantly growing budget. In the 1970s, cult filmmaker Alejandro Jodorowsky attempted to make a film based on the novel. Anderson continued the series in over a dozen additional novels since 1999.Īdaptations of the novel to cinema have been notoriously difficult and complicated. Following Herbert's death in 1986, his son Brian Herbert and author Kevin J. Herbert wrote five sequels: Dune Messiah, Children of Dune, God Emperor of Dune, Heretics of Dune, and Chapterhouse: Dune. The story explores the multilayered interactions of politics, religion, ecology, technology, and human emotion, as the factions of the empire confront each other in a struggle for the control of Arrakis and its spice. As melange can only be produced on Arrakis, control of the planet is a coveted and dangerous undertaking. Melange is also necessary for space navigation, which requires a kind of multidimensional awareness and foresight that only the drug provides. While the planet is an inhospitable and sparsely populated desert wasteland, it is the only source of melange, or "spice", a drug that extends life and enhances mental abilities. It tells the story of young Paul Atreides, whose family accepts the stewardship of the planet Arrakis. In 2003, it was described as the world's best-selling science fiction novel.ĭune is set in the distant future amidst a feudal interstellar society in which various noble houses control planetary fiefs. It is the first installment of the Dune saga. It tied with Roger Zelazny's This Immortal for the Hugo Award in 1966 and it won the inaugural Nebula Award for Best Novel. Dune is a 1965 epic science fiction novel by American author Frank Herbert, originally published as two separate serials in Analog magazine.