Dune is a science fiction franchise which originated with the 1965 novel Dune by Frank Herbert. Considered by many to be the greatest science fiction novel of all time, Dune is frequently cited as the best-selling science fiction novel in history.

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Similar books to Dune [closed]

Can anyone suggest smth similar to Herbert's Dune? I tried different series, incl Hyperion (very good, btw), The Chronicles of Amber. But they are just not that good. I know that similarity is pretty ...
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What couple was “first”: Omnius/Erasmus or The Architect/The Oracle? [closed]

In other words, between Frank Herbert and Wachowski brothers, who inspired who? (or who plagiarize who, if you prefer). I remember that at the end of the sixth Dune book (1985), the author mentions ...
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How did Duncan Idaho become so familiar with the fremen

I've been reading [in God Emperor of Dune], and there's been something that was bothering me When Duncan went to Tuono Village A large part of the book was about How much un-fremen like the museum ...
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181 views

Leto II or III? Son of Paul who becomes GOD EMPEROR OF DUNE

In Herbert's first book of DUNE, the first child, a son of Paul and Chani né Leto II, is murdered as a toddler. Paul announces this presciently/psychically when the Sardaukar raid and kill a sietch ...
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The geography of Arrakis

Does the geography of Arrakis make sense? I'm always a bit confused about how big the planet is, and where everything fits. According to the map, every point of interest is above the 60 degree north ...
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177 views

Why didn't Leto II use prescience?

Muad' Dib often made great use of prescience. As far as I understand, he literally saw parts or threads of the future. Even though he couldn't grasp everything, he'd consciously chosen to avoid ...
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226 views

Did Jordan base the Aiel on Herbert's Fremen?

Were the Wheel of Time's Aiel based on Dune's Fremen? Did Robert Jordan acknowledge or otherwise address this connection?
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162 views

Was Jessica the only Bene Gesserit who majorly violated her orders?

The main plot of Dune revolves around the fact that Jessica, as Duke Leto Atreides' concubine, chose to bear him a son out of love for him, when the Kwisatz Haderach breeding program was dependent ...
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481 views

Why is the gom jabbar seldom administered to males?

At the beginning of Dune, Gaius Helen Mohiam uses the gom jabbar to test Paul Atreides and confirm that he is human. During the preceding conversation, she states plainly that it is seldom ...
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Muad'Dib vs. Mahdi

When the Atreides arrive on Arrakis, there are a number of instance where the Fremen call Paul Mahdi. While I realise that Mahdi is Arabic for guided one, I can't help but wonder at its close ...
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446 views

Why are the Bene Gesserit tonsured/bald in the movie?

The opening paragraphs of Dune explicitly state that the Bene Gesserit Reverend Mother has a full head of hair: The old woman was let in by the side door down the vaulted passage by Paul’s room ...
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How is faeces processed in stillsuits?

Kynes studied the underarm seals, adjusted one. “Motions of the body, especially breathing,” he said, “and some osmotic action provide the pumping force.” He loosened the chest fit slightly. ...
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197 views

Where did the Sandworms/Sandtrout originally come from? [duplicate]

Possible Duplicate: How did the sandworms/sandtrout appear on Arrakis? I'm going to ask a more pointed version of this question: How did the sandworms/sandtrout appear on Arrakis? Has ...
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581 views

How do the Dune sandworms move?

The sandworms of Dune are huge and powerful. But how exactly do they move beneath all that sand? They don't necessarily skim above the surface as they apparently only raise smallish (relative to their ...
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153 views

Gender of Bene Gesserit offspring

The plan to produce the Kwisatz Haderach was that all Bene Gesserit would have daughters only, until the time was ready (and we know that Jessica Atreides disobeyed). All this stems from the idea of ...
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292 views

Original source of the term “Siaynoq”?

Re-reading the Dune novels, and I remembered an old question: What is the source of the term "Siaynoq" as found in God Emperor of Dune? Most of the non-english terms in the Dune universe come from ...
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638 views

What does 'Combine Honnete Ober Advancer Mercantiles' mean?

In Frank Herbert's Dune, the name of a mega-corporation CHOAM stands for Combine Honnete Ober Advancer Mercantiles. However, while I recognize some of the word roots in the full name, I never really ...
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610 views

Why does Count Fenring choose not to kill Paul Atreides at the end of Dune?

At the end of Dune when ordered by Shaddam IV to fight Paul Atreides, Count Fenring refuses to do so even though it is strongly implied that it is well within his capability to defeat him in combat. ...
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In Dune are specifics given as to what the “Suk Imperial conditioning” of Dr Yueh actually is?

I have read the first five Dune novels and after the first I do not recall any further mention of Imperial conditioning. In the novels written since Frank Herbert's death, were any further references ...
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315 views

Did Frank Herbert ever record any Dune audio books himself?

The question pretty much says it all. On Wikipedia it states In 1993, Recorded Books Inc. released a 20-disc audio book narrated by George Guidall. In 2007, Audio Renaissance released an audio ...
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Where can one find the pronunciation of special names in Dune?

Where can one find the pronunciation of special names in Dune? I found the following site but none of the sound files on it seem to work: http://www.usul.net/books/sounds.htm EDIT: The link ...
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What does Paul mean about “terrible purpose”?

In Dune book 1, there are various mention of "terrible purpose" in the thinking of Paul and he also mention quite a few times that he didn't want the "jihad" to happen. What is this whole thing about? ...
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Could the raid on House Atreides by House Harkonnen be legal?

Why did no other Houses protest against the Harkonnens? I am sure there must be fugitives from Arrakis to recount what happened in Arrakis. I am still reading the first book and am reading the ...
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564 views

In general, should I look through a novel's appendix(es) before, during or after reading?

I'm about 100 pages into Dune. I noticed the novel has more than one appendix. As a rule of thumb, when a sci-fi or fantasy novel has an appendix, should I: read through it before I start the ...
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What is the use of the Voice in the 'Weirding Way'?

In the movie Dune, the Weirding Way is shown to be sonic based. There are problems to say the least with the rest of the interpretation, but that much follows the prerequisite of the use of the Voice ...
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Is there a canonical reference to the extent of the martial arts training that Bene Gesserit received?

This came up via discussion in another question. I do remember that Bene Gesserit get self defense training, but, basically I'd like to know any and all sources for the extent of the training, its ...
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What did Leto do to earn the enmity of the Padishah Emperor?

Leto Atreides seemed an open and honorable man. Yet the Padishah Emperor conspired with House Harkonnen to deliberately betray Leto, and destroy House Atreides. Why?
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Why did the emperor agree to send the Atriedes to Arrakis?

I am reading book 1 of the Dune series. I just read the chapter in which the Harkonnen took control over the house of Atriedes in Arrakis with the help of Yueh. I know the Emperor sent a legion of ...
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Why did the Dune mini-series (2000) not make Muad'Dib god-like, unlike the 1984 movie?

In the mini-series adaptation of Frank Herbert's Dune (2000), Muad'Dib (Paul Atreides) does not become godlike by the end of the movie. At the end of the 1984 movie
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What were the selection factors in the breeding program conducted by the Bene Gesserit to produce the Kwisatz Haderach?

I recall a line from the David Lynch film, that an Atreides daughter (presumably, Alia) could be wed to a Harkonnen heir (Feyd Rautha) to "seal the breach". ?? There's an analogy of sorts with ...
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Why doesn't the Guild control CHOAM?

Given that the Guild controls all interstellar travel, why don't they entirely control CHOAM? It's pretty clear that CHOAM is basis of the wealth of the galactic nobility (beyond what is available to ...
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Why doesn't the Emperor control Dune (Arrakis) himself?

I finally decided to read Dune as I have never read a book from that series. I immediately had a question. Why doesn't the Emperor control Dune (Arrakis) himself? Why does he let houses control it? As ...
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Why did Leto II outlaw Mentats?

I didn't recall this detail from the books -- though I do recall the multiple Idaho gholas -- but this entry in the Dune Wiki indicates that the mentat order was outlawed during the reign of Leto II ...
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In the Dune series, how was Paul Atreides' choice of the mouse's name of Muad'Dib a natural choice?

Considering the messiah prophesy which was also Muad'Dib, I don't get it - how could he choose that name, and not be calling himself the messiah? The context of when he chose his name to be that of ...
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What Did Paul Atreides Do As Emperor? Who Ruled While He was Missing?

In Dune (the original and first book), Paul Atreides is able to stop the flow of spice and force the Emperor to come to Arrakis, where Paul makes it clear he will be running things from then on. He ...
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Why Didn't the Empire Transplant Sandworms to Other Planets?

Later in the Dune series, the Bene Gesserit have transplanted some sandworms and there are sandworms living on other planets besides Arrakis. Considering the importance of melenge and that it was ...
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How Does Earth Fit In With the Rest of the Galaxy in Dune?

By the time of Paul Atreides, many planets are inhabited and the galaxy is ruled from somewhere other than Earth. Is Earth still habitable? If so, what kind of place does it have in the galaxy at ...
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How Did the Bene Gesserit Plan on Controlling the Kwisatz Haderach?

Paul Atreides was the Kwisatz Haderach the Bene Gesserit planed on creating, but he appeared a generation early and they were unable to control him. Even if the Kwisatz Haderach had been born a ...
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How did Paul Atreides Differ From the Intended Kwisatz Haderach?

It's been a while since I've re-read the Dune books, but I remember the Bene Gesserit were upset with Jessica because she was ordered to bear only female children. The long range plan was to breed ...
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407 views

Do The Fremen Realize Their Plans Will Destroy Sandworms?

On Arakis the Fremen have a deep spiritual regard for the sandworms (and essentially consider them an embodiment of their view of god), but they are also collecting water and saving it, with the idea ...
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Was there specific evidence that Dune's house of Atreides was related to Ancient Greeks?

Goran Jovic in http://stackexchange.com/questions/7971/are-jews-in-chapterhouse-dune-the-same-cultural-group-as-in-our-universe-timeli question states: ... a book which features direct descendants ...
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632 views

Are Jews in Chapterhouse: Dune the same cultural group as in our universe/timeline?

Religion features a huge role in Dune universe and there are many religions involved in the story line. These fictional religions are mostly ecumenical or syncretic combinations of existing ...
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Was there a reincarnation (as opposed to a ghola) of Baron Harkonnen in any Dune book?

From http://meta.scifi.stackexchange.com/a/1056/976: questions about the reincarnation of Baron Harkonnen in the Dune saga would be entirely on topic Was there actually a reincarnation (as ...
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868 views

Why was Paul given the test in the beginning?

In Dune, Paul was given the test of the gom jabbar, where tremendous pain is inflicted on his hand by the Reverend Mother. She said the purpose behind this was to know whether Paul is human, to ...
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How true to the original vision of Frank Herbert were the sequels published by his son?

Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson based their sequels to original Dune series on research material composed by Frank Hebert before his death. Are there any sources that describe how much material ...
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Do I need to check on wiki for unknown terms in Dune?

I just started to read Dune, the terms and content is like bizarre to me. There are special terms without previous introduction of its nature. For example: Muad'Dib, Gom jabber( fortunately, it was ...
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In Dune, how is water replaced after being transformed into melange in a pre-spice mass?

If the sandtrouts turn water into a pre-spice mass resulting in desertification, wouldn't the water source deplete, which would stop the production of melange? Then the sand plankton, which feed on ...
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When did Paul become aware of the Golden Path?

The believe the first mention of the Golden Path was is in Dune Messiah, but did Herbert ever mentioned when Paul first became aware of of the Golden Path? Did he foresee it shortly after ...
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956 views

Does a good map of Dune exist?

Did Frank Herbert include a map somewhere in the books? I only found low resolution and hard to read maps on google. The Arrakeen city and surroundings would be most interesting.
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Who edited Dune?

Who was the editor for the Frank Herbert novel, Dune? I've heard that the following books in the series were not edited by the same person and suffered for it and that a lot of credit to the novel's ...

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