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8th out of 44 books
—
22 voters
The Road to Dune (Dune Chronicles)
Frank Herbert's Dune is widely known as the science fiction equivalent of The Lord of the Rings. Now The Road to Dune is a companion work comparable to The Silmarillion, shedding light on and following the remarkable development of the bestselling science fiction novel of all time.
In this fascinating volume, the world's millions of Dune fans can read--at long last--the unp...more
In this fascinating volume, the world's millions of Dune fans can read--at long last--the unp...more
Paperback, 464 pages
Published
August 29th 2006
by Tor Science Fiction
(first published November 1985)
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I really liked the 'Spice Planet' (Duneworld) novel this book opened with. It wasn't nearly as long or complex (or good) as Dune, but had a lot of similar (and similarly exciting) material, but was set much more like a 50s/60s pulp sci-fi novel in complexity and length. I also enjoyed the letters between Frank Herbert and his agent, editor, and publishers which gave a very interesting insight into his goals in writing and the process of the writing of Dune. After that I thought the quality and c...more
I had hoped this would be extremely interesting, but unfortunately it turned out to just be "quite" interesting. Written by Herberts son, Brian Herbert, with Kevin J. Anderson, the main part is taken up by the novelette "Dune World", written on the basis of Herberts discarded initial outline for the story that turned into "Dune" and its sequels. It is a quite interesting read, much flatter and simpler, but you can see the start of many characters and concepts that made it into "Dune". As such it...more
This was a very entertaining collection of deleted scenes, short stories, and letters about the novel Dune and its sequels. It's definitely one for the Dune enthusiast and probably won't be much use to the casual fan.
"Spice Planet" takes up most of the first half of the book. The cover advertises this as a "new" novel by Brian Herbert & Kevin J. Anderson. In reality, it is a short novel length work that they put together based on an outline by Frank Herbert. This outline was a very early dra...more
"Spice Planet" takes up most of the first half of the book. The cover advertises this as a "new" novel by Brian Herbert & Kevin J. Anderson. In reality, it is a short novel length work that they put together based on an outline by Frank Herbert. This outline was a very early dra...more
As an author creates a work of fiction it is normal to do a lot of revising. Entire sections and chapters may be removed or added. It is also not uncommon for others to get into the creative act and that was the case with Dune. Frank Herbert's agent, editor and publisher made demands about revisions. They demanded that chapters be removed and the ending changed and so forth. After Herbert's death a lot of this excised material along with many notes were found in his papers. It was enough to show...more
This is a really cool book for any Dune fan. It includes letters Frank Herbert wrote while writing and editing the first novel, drafts of chapters from Dune and Dune Messiah, which are absolutely fascinating.
My one complaint is, although it's called The Road to Dune, this collection mostly showcases Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson's work. The first half of the book is an alternate Dune novel entitled Spice World that Frank Herbert outlined. Unfortunately BRIAN Herbert wrote the novella, so t...more
My one complaint is, although it's called The Road to Dune, this collection mostly showcases Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson's work. The first half of the book is an alternate Dune novel entitled Spice World that Frank Herbert outlined. Unfortunately BRIAN Herbert wrote the novella, so t...more
Mar 27, 2012
AndrewP
rated it
2 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
science-fiction,
audio-books
This book has not had many very good reviews, but some people found parts of it interesting. As I picked it up brand new on CD for $2 and can resell it for more than double that, I thought I would give it a try.
Overall, I have to agree with most peoples opinion. The letters and extracts from Frank Herbert, to and from, people such has John W. Campbell and Jack Vance were very interesting. These document a lot of the story of how Dune was conceived, written and marketed. The novella 'Spice Planet...more
Overall, I have to agree with most peoples opinion. The letters and extracts from Frank Herbert, to and from, people such has John W. Campbell and Jack Vance were very interesting. These document a lot of the story of how Dune was conceived, written and marketed. The novella 'Spice Planet...more
This book was in thirds. The first third this book was an "original" edition of Dune, which was quite different from the published book, but an interesting story. The next part was was letters that Frank Herbert wrote, or was written to him from publishers, etc., which I pretty much skipped because it was dull. The final part is missing chapters from Dune, some of which are better that they weren't included in the published book and some were interesting. Finally, they had little short stories t...more
This book is more of an historical document for fans of the great Frank Herbert. It gives you insight into how he created and refined his masterworks.
The book includes two parts. Part one is all about how Frank created, which is an awesome but short read. Then we have the long part two, which is a straight dump of cutting room floor material and old drafts of the Dune series. This material, frankly is just not easy to read.
Granted, it is fascinating to see that Mr. Herbert created in one huge...more
The book includes two parts. Part one is all about how Frank created, which is an awesome but short read. Then we have the long part two, which is a straight dump of cutting room floor material and old drafts of the Dune series. This material, frankly is just not easy to read.
Granted, it is fascinating to see that Mr. Herbert created in one huge...more
Frank Herbert, creator of Dune, left behind for his son Brian boxes and boxes of ideas, outlines, and unpublished materials. This book contains SPICE PLANET, an earlier and never-published adventure in which Herbert first shaped the world of Dune. There are sections that were left out of DUNE when it went to publication. Brian and Kevin Anderson together wrote several short stories set in the Dune universe. None of these give an idea of DUNE as the work of genius it is. THE ROAD TO DUNE is inten...more
Sort of alternate story & character development from Frank Herbert's own development of the Dune universe plus some fleshing out of the Dune universe with prequel shorts by Frank's son Brian and co-author Kevin Anderson.
A book you can pick up and read a short bit of at a time. Will most likely prompt me to read some more of the Dune collection beyond the first 3 of Frank's. Some of the shorts in this book dealing with the Butlerian Jihad were intriguing... how the Dune universe was shaped by...more
A book you can pick up and read a short bit of at a time. Will most likely prompt me to read some more of the Dune collection beyond the first 3 of Frank's. Some of the shorts in this book dealing with the Butlerian Jihad were intriguing... how the Dune universe was shaped by...more
The Road To Dune reminded me of the special features you might find on a DVD. It includes a short novel based on an early outline for what would become Dune. There are also some ‘deleted scenes’—chapters that Frank Herbert cut from Dune and it’s sequel to keep their lengths manageable. The collection is rounded out with a few interesting letters sent and received by Frank, and four short stories by Kevin J. Anderson and Brian Herbert. Some of this stuff is good, some is bad. A lot depends on wha...more
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One of the Dune RPGs was my very first computer game, back in 1992. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dune_%28... I own the VHS 1984 movie and the DVD miniseries. To put it mildly, I really like the series. Yet it's been over a decade and a half since I last read the whole series back to front and since that time Frank Herbert's son, Brian Herbert, and Kevin J. Anderson (whose work I admire) have written seven move books in the series with two more planned. So I've decided to reread the entire series...more
its no surprise that i am a Dune nerd. i've read nearly all of them. i've even read other Herbert books and have enjoyed them. so, i guess im a Herbert nerd. im not as big of a fan of the newer dune books that Brian Herbert and Kevin J Anderson have authored, though. this was a mix of both. i know that sounds strange, but there are tidbits of all three in here. what drew most of the readers were the deleted scenes from Dune and Dune Messiah. those were alright. but when you read them, you figure...more
Collected works like this are a mixed bag. Some of the entries are interesting, some not so much. The short story, "Spice Planet" was interesting in that it was an early pass at what turned out to be Dune. The letters of Frank Herbert, not so interesting. The 4 short stories that close the book are the best of the lot, I think, and are best read when reading the books that they take place during, if only for continuity's sake. Overall, enjoyable but not very necessary.
Dec 05, 2008
Snail in Danger (Sid) Nicolaides
rated it
2 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
science-fiction,
writing
Probably it is more accurate to say that I skimmed this, or read it in a cherry-picking sort of way. If Herbert fils and Anderson are to be relied upon, Dune started out as a fairly run-of-the-mill adventure story, with characters who were not nearly as interesting as their final versions.
The most interesting part of this book is probably the correspondence between Herbert père, his agent, and his colleagues. IMO, anyway.
The most interesting part of this book is probably the correspondence between Herbert père, his agent, and his colleagues. IMO, anyway.
I give full props to the collection. I love behind the scenes. Although the story might have been dry at times, and the pace traditionally slow, it didn't lack imagination or originality. Dune was one of the first books that got me into Sci-Fi. I believe they have masterfully represented the traditional genre - heavy descriptions, slow but steady pace, somewhat impartial author-voice, etc.
The one thing that I loved the most about this book was the unique oportunity to get a glimpse of the creative process that takes a writer from a blank page into a masterpiece. The first story is basicly a Dune draft, but combined with the comments Brian and Kevin, it offers an amazing insight. A must for Dune fans, but also for those interested in the process of writing.
If there's anything Dune-related that Herbert Jr. and Anderson have done well, it's this anthology / behind the scenes non-fiction. Reading Frank's decades old draft of "Spice Planet" and seeing the early elements of the future Dune novel in it is really intriguing. And the rest of the material isn't bad either.
EVeryone who has read Dune has wondered how it all came to be and what earlier forms of the narrative looked like. This book gives us some of that and also a look into how Frank Herbert described his creation to others. Despite the different formats involved, the book hangs together and provides an exceptional insight into the mind of a creative genius.
I enjoyed reading this a few years back. The novel BH and KA created out of Frank Herbert's original outline was pretty interesting, though it was much more of a traditional space opera than Dune ended up being. Thank goodness we didn't end up with "House Linkham" though...
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Interesting for all the die-hard Dune fans (especially the first version of "Dune"), but nothing really spectacular. I enjoyed reading "Spice Planet", it was great to have the opportunity to see how the book evolved in Herbert's mind. Even the chapters that had been edited out from other Herbert's books were an amusing read. The second half of the book, however, including three short stories by K.J. Anderson and B. Herbert about the war with "thinking machines" (Bulterian Jihad), were quite dull...more
Primarily interesting as it gives an 'alternate vision' of what could have been for one of the most seminal works in science-fiction ever. Fun, but clearly doesn't achieve the original. I found other parts intriguing but not gripping enough to justify my interest completely.
It is interesting to see the evolution of a great story, although some of the deleted chapters and early short stories force mental back flips to see how they were intended to fit in. I enjoyed it. I wish there was more about Frank Herbert himself.
I have read this book and all of the Dune series more than once, each time gaining new insights as I read and as I simultaneously understand more about life on earth. These books read as though the story is down-loaded, 'channeled'.
I really enjoyed the alternate version of Dune as well as the other interjected stories, but the letters section grew tedious for me. It was still a very interesting read.
I have to rate this book by halves.
The first half, Herbert's proto-Dune novel 'Spice Planet' (which I keep calling 'Spice World'), has some novelty because you can see glimpses of the later work, but as a whole is really terrible, and I could only make it through the first 60 pages or so. 1 star for that half.
The second half covers some of the writing process for Dune as well as cut chapters and excised passages from the first few novels, and this is my reason for buying the book. It may be apoc...more
The first half, Herbert's proto-Dune novel 'Spice Planet' (which I keep calling 'Spice World'), has some novelty because you can see glimpses of the later work, but as a whole is really terrible, and I could only make it through the first 60 pages or so. 1 star for that half.
The second half covers some of the writing process for Dune as well as cut chapters and excised passages from the first few novels, and this is my reason for buying the book. It may be apoc...more
I found this very interesting. Lots of insight into not only Frank's Dune World and the creation of the first novel, but also into the publishing process in general. The alternate version of Dune is an engaging story that truly is an apocrypha to the Dune canon. I loved the insight into the relationship between Jessica and the Duke.
Feb 10, 2010
Joy
is currently reading it
Just started reading this book. I love the Dune series of novels so naturally I thought this one would be a good read too.
This was a harder read but it was a compilation of many different stories. It was interesting to see how Dune developed. I just didn't like the short stories added. It was a different shift that was not needed.
A fine collection of short stories and letters about the world of Dune. Very cool. =)
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Critically acclaimed and commercially successful American science fiction author.
He is best known for the novel Dune and its five sequels. The Dune saga, set in the distant future and taking place over millennia, dealt with themes such as human survival and evolution, ecology, and the intersection of religion, politics, and power, and is widely considered to be among the classics in the field of...more
More about Frank Herbert...
He is best known for the novel Dune and its five sequels. The Dune saga, set in the distant future and taking place over millennia, dealt with themes such as human survival and evolution, ecology, and the intersection of religion, politics, and power, and is widely considered to be among the classics in the field of...more
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Jul 12, 2011 07:50am