Frank Herbert's Dune

A detailed Summary of Frank Herbert's Dune

Frank Herbert was born in Tacoma, Washington. He began his career as a journalist and served in the U.S. Navy during World War II. In 1941 he married Flora Parkinson. They divorced in 1945, and next year he married Ann Stuart. He and his wife had three children, one of whom, Brian Herbert, became a sci-fi writer in his own right. In 1946-47 Herbert studied at the University of Washington, Seattle.

Well known as a short story writer and as a professional photographer, he studied such diverse subjects as undersea geology, marine architecture, navigation, semantics, psychology, jungle botany, and oriental religions. He worked as a reporter and editor on a number of West Coast newspapers and wrote speeches for politicians.

During the Second World War he was an accredited photographer with the U.S. Navy, and he has also worked as a newspaperman, oyster-diver, judo instructor, TV cameraman, radio news commentator, jungle survival instructor, and lay analyst.

Herbert worked in Vietnam and Pakistan as a social and ecological studies consultant in 1972 and lecturer in general and interdisciplinary studies at the University of Washington. In 1973 he was a director-photographer of the television show 'The Tillers'.

Dune tells the sweeping tale of a desert planet called Arrakis, the focus of an intricate power struggle in a byzantine interstellar empire. Arrakis is the sole source of Melange, the "spice of spices". Melange is necessary for interstellar travel and grants psychic powers and longevity, so whoever controls it wields great influence.

The Duke Vladimir brings in Fyed's older brother, Rabban, to lead the Sardaukar out into the desert and kill the Fremen. The Beast Rabban, as the Fremen call him, fails and is killed by Vladimir for punishment. At the end of the third book, Paul leads the Fremen against the Sardaukar.

I would definitely recommend this book to a friend. It has a an amazing cast of characters, beautifully crafted scenes, and a story that will amaze you with it's depth and detail.

The troubles begin when the Emperor transfers stewardship of Arrakis from the Harkonnen Noble House to House Atreides. The Harkonnens don't want to give up their privilege, though, and through sabotage and treachery the Harkonnen Duke Vladimir kills the Duke Leto Atreides and casts young Paul Atreides and his mother, the Lady Jessica, out into the planet's harsh environment to die, thinking Paul is unimportant. Paul Atreides, though, is far more than just a usurped duke. He might be the end product of a very long-term genetic experiment designed to breed a super human; he might be a messiah.

After taking back the palace, Paul challenges the captured Fyed-Ruatha to a dual. During this fight Fyed nearly kills Paul with a poisoned needle. Paul, being the swordsman that he is, avoids the needle and kills Fyed. He then practically demands to be wed to the Emperor's daughter so that he will be the next in line for Emperor.

--"Right out of the Butlerian Jihad and the Orange Catholi

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Approximate Word count = 1208
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English