Dune: Prophecy, what to read for additional story context?

[bryantcl]

So far I've been enjoying the show but I am curious to hear from those a little more knowledgeable of the Dune universe as my knowledge is only of the first Dune book, The 1984 movie, The Sy-fy channel Dune and Children of Dune mini series and the most recent two movies. How much material is it pulling from the Dune books (both the original Frank Herbert and the Brian Herbert books)? If so, what books could fill in some knowledge gaps?

 

[BillTre]

Interesting question.

There are a lot of Dune books. Frank Herbert wrote the first 6. He died bu left an outline of some kind.
His son Brain wrote another 20 or so with Kevin Anderson based on the outline, which may have just been background info for the first books.

Googling tells me that there is a "Sisterhood of Dune" book (2012), but it seems to be more focused on the founding of the Mentant and Suk schools, the Spacing Guild.
However, there is another book: "Navigators of Dune" (2016) is supposed to have more on the Sisterhood.

Here is a list of Dune novels, publication dates, and what book series they are in:

(from: )

I read a lot of these books with my kids to get them to read.
I don't remember any of the particular events in the HBO series, but my kids may have aged out of the Dune reading by the time those books got published.

I think the actors and cinematography are good.

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

Googling tells me that there is a "Sisterhood of Dune" book (2012), but it seems to be more focused on the founding of the Mentant and Suk schools, the Spacing Guild.
However, there is another book: "Navigators of Dune" (2016) is supposed to have more on the Sisterhood.

Both of these books are well after Herbert's death, so they aren't canon? Rebooting this thread because I am interested in starting this series.

 

[Frabjous]

I read the first 6 books back in the ‘80’s. The first two got multiple reads.

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

I read the first 6 books back in the ‘80’s. The first two got multiple reads.

I finished the first 3 and lost my copy of God Emperor somewhere. Need to find that to pick it back up!

 

[Ibix]

The list is missing the Dune Encyclopedia, which as far as I know is long out of print and quite hard to come by. It was written with Frank Herbert's approval, but is supposedly an in-universe text written by historians from fragmentary records. So it's canonical while directly contradicting canon.

Edit: I note that Wikipedia says that the Encyclopedia was de-canonised and called an "alternate universe". That seems to me like a massive sense of humour failure by someone (or perhaps someone's lawyers).

I really need to dig out my copies too. It's been a long time since I read them.

 

[BillTre]

The first few books (3 maybe) were written by Herbert. The rest, as I understand it, were written by his son and another guy. A big outline from Frank Herbert was supposed to be used as a basis for his son writing the rest of the stories. Don't know how accurate that is though.

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

The first few books (3 maybe) were written by Herbert. The rest, as I understand it, were written by his son and another guy.

I think it's the first 6

 

[Klystron]

I received the first three Dune novels in paperback as a boxed set way back in the day. Over the years the first two novels nearly disintegrated from re-reading. The third paperback still survives.

I have read many of the subsequent Dune novels and watched several screenplays based on the novels. As a fan of David Lynch's 1984 movie with its fantastic sound, I thoroughly enjoyed HBO's 2021 two-part Dune series with its more detailed character development inherent in multipart series compared to a single film (and novel). The acting and production values of the series rival the original film IMO.

Partway through watching the HBO series "Dune: Prophecy", I also feel the lack of source material but enjoy the excellent acting and interleaved storylines. I suppose watching the many film incarnations of Peter Parker as Spiderman, as one example, prepares us for shifting character and family histories particularly in a prequel such as "Prophecy", but I find this new series quite entertaining. Fans of Emily Watson and Travis Fimmel should not be disappointed.

 

[Ibix]

The first few books (3 maybe) were written by Herbert.

The first six.

A big outline from Frank Herbert was supposed to be used as a basis for his son writing the rest of the stories

Well, his son collaborating with others, in particular Kevin J Anderson. The only Kevin J Anderson I've read was his Jedi Academy trilogy. They rode on the wave of Star Wars popularity following Timothy Zahn's excellent Thrawn trilogy and were so terrible that Michael Stackpole eventually wrote I, Jedi to thread through them and make them make some kind of sense, so I decided I couldn't be bothered with the new Dune. Curious to hear what anyone who has read them thought of them.

 

[Hornbein]

The first six.

Well, his son collaborating with others, in particular Kevin J Anderson. The only Kevin J Anderson I've read was his Jedi Academy trilogy. They rode on the wave of Star Wars popularity following Timothy Zahn's excellent Thrawn trilogy and were so terrible that Michael Stackpole eventually wrote I, Jedi to thread through them and make them make some kind of sense, so I decided I couldn't be bothered with the new Dune. Curious to hear what anyone who has read them thought of them.

Zahn is German for "tooth".

 

[bob012345]

I thought the miniseries with Alec Newman and James McAvoy was the best. It’s length lets one really soak in the Dune universe.

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

I thought the 2000 miniseries with Alec Newman and James McAvoy was the best. It’s length lets one really soak in the Dune universe.

Children of Dune?
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0287839

 

[bob012345]

Children of Dune?
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0287839

Technically, it’s two miniseries but I meant both taken together as a whole story.

 

[bryantcl]

The Sy-Fy 2000 miniseries where William Hurt as Duke Leto was based off Dune. Children of Dune miniseries takes from Dune Messiah and Children of Dune.

 

[bryantcl]

Thanks for all the replies. I feel like Dune: Prophecy takes inspiration from the Brian Herbert works and weaving a narrative. Feels kind of like what Apple TV is doing with Foundation.

 

[bob012345]

Interestingly, the miniseries Dune was filmed in Prague when Eastern Europe had opened up after the Cold War. Here is an article about the cinematography.

https://theasc.com/articles/novel-a...Barrandov,like%20nobody%20had%20ever%20seen.”

 

[sbrothy]

If you want context, cult film maker, graphic novel writer, and idiosynchratic weirdo extraordinaire Alejandro Jodorowsky was initially tasked with writing the manuscript but:

Jodorowsky's script would result in a 14-hour movie […]

—— Wiki

He made some…. weird films. His Spanic version of Psycho is worth watching though. An elephant is chopped into pieces in it. For real.

 

[Klystron]

If you want context, cult film maker, graphic novel writer, and idiosynchratic weirdo extraordinaire Alejandro Jodorowsky was initially tasked with writing the manuscript but:


—— Wiki

He made some…. weird films. His Spanic version of Psycho is worth watching though. An elephant is chopped into pieces in it. For real.

An elephant dies near the climax of Jodorowsky's film "Santa Sangre", also released as "Holy Blood, Holy Grail". The meat feeds many poor people. His films contain much symbolism and abstraction. I watched "Santa Sangre" years ago at an art house theater in San Francisco quite late at night. The audience left acting a bit crazy, waving arms as if amputated then restored.

Jodorowsky may be a bit much for "Dune" aficionados but an excellent choice for lovers of strange and weird.

 

[sbrothy]

An elephant dies near the climax of Jodorowsky's film "Santa Sangre", also released as "Holy Blood, Holy Grail". The meat feeds many poor people. His films contain much symbolism and abstraction. I watched "Santa Sangre" years ago at an art house theater in San Francisco quite late at night. The audience left acting a bit crazy, waving arms as if amputated then restored.

Jodorowsky may be a bit much for "Dune" aficionados but an excellent choice for lovers of strange and weird.

True. Also his “Incal” comic (I really wanted to say “graphic novel” but I couldn’t.) makes heavy use of tarot symbolism (the protagonist is even called “John DiFool”!). Though it’s a fascinating “story” (“tour de force” is a more apt term I think). Several stories are set in his “Jodoverse” but some of them are outright silly. Much like his movies in fact.

EDIT: But yeah, weird indeed. Read the story about his Dune involvement. It wont disappoint!

 

[Klystron]

True. Also his “Incal” comic (I really wanted to say “graphic novel” but I couldn’t.) makes heavy use of tarot symbolism (the protagonist is even called “John DiFool”!). Though it’s a fascinating “story” (“tour de force” is a more apt term I think). Several stories are set in his “Jodoverse” but some of them are outright silly. Much like his movies in fact.

EDIT: But yeah, weird indeed. Read the story about his Dune involvement. It wont disappoint!

I imagine Jodorowsky to be perfectly comfortable calling them comic books.

Graphic novel better applies to amalgamations such as Chuck Palahniuk's hysterical sequel to "Fight Club" novel and motion picture: "Fight Club 2", a true graphic novel. Not only does Palahniuk expand on the human nature of his characters, the accepted province of novels, but we experience how the characters appear to the author. Marla Singer, as drawn in FC2, appears as beautiful and younger than Helena Bonham Carter in FC film. As an added bonus we see Chuck and collaborators brainstorming during a FC2 writer conference.

Yes, tarot symbolism and aspects of the Fool's Journey abound in Jado's art much as Islam and Roman Catholic symbolism enter Frank Herbert's. Bene Gesserit sisterhood reminds me of the female religious order began by Saint Francis of Assisi and close friend St. Clare, known as "Poor Clares" for their minimalism and vows of poverty. The BG mission to breed and advise monarchs and ruling class nobles better fits Benedictine and Jesuit doctrine but "Dune: Prophecy" BG reminds me of Catholic orders of cloistered nuns.

Slightly off topic, Samuel Delany wrote the definitive Tarot science fiction novel "Nova" in 1968. Delany postulates an advanced future society that understands and uses tarot readings and symbology for practical purposes bereft of mysticism. This influential novel became so popular that fans would speak with a Pleiades accent (similar to how Yoda speaks in "Star Wars" but more consistent). Delany depicts the Hero/Fool's journey from youthful hubris to old age in characters Katin, Mouse and Lorq von Ray.

 

[sbrothy]

We seem to have overlapping interests but I really need to metabolize that post before answering….