Like a lot of people, I read dune and thought it was great. So, I didn’t want it to stop, so I kept reading. two books later, it wasn’t as good as it was in the beginning, so I took a break. after a long time, i thought i could pick up where i left off, thinking it would be easy. wrong, things get more complicated the further you go in the series. so i tried to compile what i found and this is the result.
what is the dune?
well, it’s a classic and a franchise. Dune, written by Frank Herbert and published in 1965, is a science fiction epic set in the distant future where whoever controls the “spice” controls the universe; it’s an overly simplistic way of presenting the story.
You are reading: What order to read dune books
dune takes us to a feudal interstellar society in which the noble houses that controlled individual planets had sworn allegiance to the Padishah emperor. The story begins with the young Paul Atreides, whose family accepts the stewardship of the planet Arrakis, where you can find the only source of the “spice” mixture. politics, religion, ecology, and technology collide as the forces of the empire conspire against each other to take control of the arrakis.
what is the reading order of the dunes?
That’s the million dollar question. For some, there’s nothing good after the original dune, but if you’re here, you probably want more than that. so, here is a possible reading order. it’s not chronological, because I think the best way to start is with the first published book.
- dune: the first and only entry point that makes sense. This is the story of the boy Paul Atreides, who would become the mysterious man known as Muad’dib. he would avenge the treacherous plot against his noble family and fulfill mankind’s oldest and most unattainable dream.
- dune messiah — paul atreides, prince turned revolutionary leader and messiah of a fanatical religious brotherhood, will be brought down by the very forces that created it. However, foreseeing the plans of his enemies, he decides to drive towards his own surprisingly different vision of the future.
- Children of Dune: The sand world of Arrakis it has become green, watered and fertile. Gone is the old Paul Atreides, who led the desert Fremen to political and religious domination of the galaxy. but for the sons of dune, the very blossoming of their land contains the seeds of their own destruction.
at that point, you can stop. Well, if you want more, I’d rather stick with Frank Herbert’s work. That said, there is what is known as Heroes of Dune: Paul of Dune and The Winds of Dune. half of the paul of dune story takes place between the first dune and dune messiah. well, it’s more complicated. ditto with dune winds. I refer you to the chronological order of reading, it is easier for me.
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- god emperor of dune — Centuries have passed on dune, and the planet is green with life. leto, the son of the savior of dune, is still alive but far from human, and the fate of all mankind depends on his own sacrifice.
- heretics of dune: the Lost are returning home from the far reaches of space. the big sandworms are dying. and the children of the children of dune awaken from the empire as from a dream, wielding the new power of a heresy called love.
- chapter house: dune: the desert planet arrakis, called dune, has been destroyed. Now the Bene Gesserit, heirs to the power of Dune, have colonized a green world and are turning it into a desert.
chapter house: dune ends with a cliffhanger. With the death of Frank Herbert in 1986, there was no conclusion in sight, until Brian Herbert and Kevin J. anderson published two sequels based on notes left by frank herbert:
- hunters of dune: the exotic odyssey of duncan’s no ship, who is forced to elude the diabolical traps laid by the fierce and unknown enemy. to strengthen their forces, the fugitives have used genetic technology from scytale, the last tleilaxu master, to revive key figures from dune’s past.
- sandworms of dune — the end with plenty of answers about the origin of honored matres, the tantalizing future of the planet arrakis, the final reveal of the kwisatz haderach, and the resolution of the war between man and machine.
another possible ending. Now, if you really want to go deeper into the story, you can go back in time with the prequels.
the dune prequel series
This trilogy is known as the Dune Prelude, the story leading up to the first Dune novel.
- house atreides: while emperor elrood’s son plots regicide, young leto atreides leaves for a year of education on the mechanized world of ix; A planetologist searches for the secrets of Arrakis, and eight-year-old Idaho slave Duncan is hunted by his cruel masters in a terrifying game from which he vows escape and revenge.
- House Harkonnen
- house harkonnen
- casa corrino
- casa corrino — the blood feud between duke leto of caladon and baron vladimir harkonnen reaches its climax, as Emperor Shaddam, leader of House Corrino, is finally forced to rein in the mighty Harkonnens or risk losing his own throne.
- the butler jihad: The tyrants turned their brains into mobile mechanical bodies and created a new race, the immortal man-machine hybrids called cymeks. Impatient with the endless disobedience of humans and the ongoing plots of the cymeks to regain their power, the planetary computers that control the world have decided that they are no longer needed. only victory can save the human race from extermination.
- crusade of the machines: the earth is a radioactive wasteland. but the initial campaign of the Butlerian jihad has given humanity new hope. Serena Butler, whose murdered child has become a symbol for oppressed humanity, inspires a war against the thinking computers led by Xavier Harkonnen and Vorian Atreides.
- The Battle of Corrin — the universal computer mind omnius has retreated to his last stronghold, where he plans a devastating new strategy that could undo the victories of the butler jihad. the surviving titans are creating new lieutenants to do their bidding when they finally return to attack the humans they once ruled.
- brotherhood of dune — eighty-three years after the last of the thinking machines was destroyed in the battle of corrin, after faykan butler took the name corrino and became established himself as the first emperor of a new empire. great changes are brewing that will shape and twist all mankind.
- mentats of dune – The Mentats, Seafarers, and Brotherhood strive to better the human race, but Each group knows that as the butler fanaticism grows stronger, the battle will be to choose the path of humanity’s future, either embrace civilization or plunge into an endless dark age.
- Dune Navigators — the story tells of the origins of the Bene Gesserit brotherhood and its breeding program, the human-computer Mentats and Navigators, as well as a crucial battle for the future of the human race, in which reason confronts fanaticism.
- dune: the duke of caladan — leto atreides, duke of caladan and father of the muad’dib. While everyone knows of his fall and the rise of his son, little is known about the silent ruler of Caladan and his mate Jessica. or how a duke from an inconsequential planet earned the favor of an emperor, the wrath of house harkonnen, and put himself on a collision course with his own death. this is the story.
- more to come…
- hunting harkonnens (story)
- the butlerian jihad
- whipping mek (story)
- the crusade of the machines
- faces of a martyr (short story)
- the battle of corrin
- brotherhood of dune
- mentats of dune
- red plague (story)
- dune navigators
- house atreides
- house harkonnen
- house corrino
- paul de dune (parts ii, iv, vi)
- bridal silk (short story)
- the winds of dune (part ii)
- whisper of the seas of caladan (short story)
- dune
- paul of dune (parts i, iii, v, vii)
- the winds of dune (part iv)
- the road to dune (short story)
- the messiah of dune
- the winds of dune (parts i, iii, v)
- sons of dune
- god emperor of dune
- heretics of dune
- child of the sea (tale)
- chapter house: dune
- dune hunters
- treasure in the sand (short story)
- dune sandworms
strong> — as shaddam finally sits on the golden lion throne, baron vladimir harkonnen conspires against the new emperor and house atreides — and against the mysterious bene gesserit brotherhood .
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This trilogy is known as Legends of Dune, the story takes place over 10,000 years before the events of the first Dune novel.
This trilogy is known as the Great Schools of Dune, this story is a continuation of the Legends of Dune trilogy and takes place nearly a century after the events of Dune: The Battle of Corrin.
coming soon
a new adaptation of dune is coming and brian herbert wrote with kevin j. Anderson a new trilogy for the occasion. It’s called the Caladan Trilogy, and it centers around Duke Leto, Lady Jessica, and Paul, leading directly into the events of Dune.
if after all that, you still want more, there are stories. I put them in chronological reading order.
chronological reading order of dune
This is the official (mostly) chronological reading order, apparently. It is useful if you want to know when to read the stories or if you are one of those who wants to try reading them that way. If that’s the case, good luck to you.
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