Ask a Bookseller: Loved the movie? Try reading 'Dune'
Isaac Frankel of Peregrine Book Company in Prescott, Ariz., has fond memories of picking his father's copy of Frank Herbert's sci-fi novel "Dune" off the shelf and reading it for the first time. Now, he says he's seen a huge interest in the “Dune” series since the new film version came out this fall.
Frank Herbert wrote “Dune” in 1965 and went on to publish five more books in the series. Frank’s son, Brian Herbert, along with Kevin J. Anderson, later went on to write multiple additional prequels, sequels and companions.
Frankel wants fans of the film to know that the books go even deeper into creating a complete and elaborate new world. “Dune” is a hero’s journey about a boy living 20,000 years in the future. Paul Atreides’ world changes dramatically when his family moves from a water planet to accept stewardship over a desert planet, home to invaluable spice and dangerous sandworms.
Along with the adventure, "Dune" delves into philosophy, politics, religion, environmental manipulation and other factors that play out over the course of human history. Frankel calls the first four “Dune” books “essential,” adding that the fifth and six book in the series set up a new story line that Frank Herbert did not finish before he died.
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