Dreamer of Dune: The Biography of Frank Herbert

Dune Universe

by Brian Herbert

Everyone knows Frank Herbert's Dune.This amazing and complex epic, combining politics, religion, human evolution, and ecology, has captured the imagination of generations of readers. One of the most popular science fiction novels ever written, it has become a worldwide phenomenon, winning awards, selling millions of copies around the world. In the prophetic year of 1984, Dune was made into a motion picture directed by David Lynch, and it has recently been produced as a three-part miniseries on the Sci-Fi Channel. Though he is best remembered for Dune, Frank Herbert was the author of more than twenty books at the time of his tragic death in 1986, including such classic novels as The Green Brain, The Santaroga Barrier, The White Plague and Dosadi Experiment.Brian Herbert, Frank Herbert's eldest son, tells the provocative story of his father's extraordinary life in this honest and loving chronicle. He has also brought to light all the events in Herbert's life that would find their way into speculative fiction's greatest epic.From his early years in Tacoma, Washington, and his education at the University of Washington, Seattle, and in the Navy, through the years of trying his hand as a TV cameraman, radio commentator, reporter, and editor of several West Coast newspaper, to the difficult years of poverty while struggling to become a published writer, Herbert worked long and hard before finding success after the publication of Dune in 1965. Brian Herbert writes about these years with a truthful intensity that brings every facet of his father's brilliant, and sometimes troubled, genius to full light.Insightful and provocative, containing family photos never published anywhere, this absorbing biography offers Brian Herbert's unique personal perspective on one of the most enigmatic and creative talents of our time.Dreamer of Dune is a 2004 Hugo Award Nominee for Best Related Work.At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction, History, Science Fiction Fantasy, Philosophy, Memoir, Audiobook

576 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 19, 2003

About the author

Brian Patrick Herbert is an American author who lives in Washington state. He is the elder son of science fiction author Frank Patrick Herbert.

Reviews

[Kay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Frank Herbert was a jerk. But also a genius. He was also capable of intense love, loyalty, and feeling. In short, he was complicated.

That may not come as a surprise to many, especially when studying the life of an artist. Complicated people often produce art that is as nuanced and disquieting as they are. I recently read the original six Dune books and was curious to read a little more about the mind that came up with such hauntingly weird stories. There is a layered complexity to Dune that almost gets under your skin; after about book four you will decide it's either a masterwork of culture and religion or pretentious crap. Likewise, reading about Herbert himself may either inspire deep admiration or loathing.

Some of what I learned was not surprising. Herbert was an autodidact who eschewed mainstream academics. He voraciously read everything he could get his hands on, with an emphasis on topics like religious mysticism, philosophy, and psychology. Prone to wide emotional swings and bizarre fixations, he may have had a mental illness such as a bipolar or personality disorder. Life was chaotic but adventurous to him; he experienced more on a daily basis than some people do their entire lives.

This is also an interesting look at a father/son relationship, a kind of subgenre of biographies (along with any book that centers around parents and children). It reminded me other similar literary family dynamics, like "Father and I," written about Lafcadio Hearn by his son, or the relationship between Mark Twain and his daughters. There is a tenderness to such accounts that is often tinged with the bittersweet. Herbert was, by even Brian Herbert's own admission, frequently abusive, physically and especially emotionally. His family often suffered for the sake of his writing. While his admirable and long-suffering wife Beverly stoically shouldered the hardship, his children did not (and could not be expected to) understand why their father ignored them. Brian frequently mentions that one of his father's greatest weaknesses was his inability to understand children. To him their shortcomings seemed intentional; one of many roadblocks in his quest to complete his work. The tragedy of Herbert was that he produced something enjoyed by millions of strangers at the cost of his own, and his loved ones happiness.

We are tempted to judge such fathers alongside the judgments being made by the children--to become angry at them if they are too forgiving, or too harsh, or even both. It reflects the struggle we go through ourselves to admit things about where we came from or how we were raised; a coming to terms with the emotional baggage that inevitably arises in any family unit. In the end Brian had a very positive view of his father, one that developed over many years and took into account his many flaws (as well as what seemed like true regret on the part of Frank Herbert and attempts to make things right later in life). I can't excuse some of the things Herbert did (like his emotional rejection of his gay son, Bruce), but I can respect the path Brian took to arrive at the conclusion he did. It was his decision to make.

If you are a fan of the Dune series, this makes for a fun coda after finishing Chapterhouse. They say you should write what you know. Terrible advice if you don't know or do much, but great if you lived a life as diverse and intriguing as Herbert's. Much of what he did found its way into his fictional universes. The time they lived in Mexico, his religiously strict aunts, when he jumped a broken bridge in a car. Or when he researched desertification and the ecology of arid climates for a journalism story, something that would trigger one of the most famous sci-fi epics of all time. If you learn nothing else reading this book, it is to be endlessly curious. Never stop learning and reading, especially if you want to create something.

[Jcrew · Rating 1 out of 5]

I just finished this biography written by Brian Herbert and......wow...I really disliked it. Let's just say I have personal reasons for reading this book. This account read like a 13-year old's diary - shoving snippets here and there - oddly mashed, incomplete and a lot of times out of place. The constant tug of pity-me/praise-me irritated me the whole way through and made it apparent that Brian has unresolved daddy issues. Cry me a river....

What strikes me most about this book is how Brian wrote in regard to his younger brother Bruce. The "number 2 son" (an unnecessary, self propelling label - I mean really, Brian?) was barely mentioned and mostly coupled with his "unfortunate homosexuality" that Brian and his whole family "wished he wasn't". This made Brian almost seem no better than a bigot - with lines like "Brian and his gay lover arrived" or "experimenting in homosexual practices because my father didn't give him enough attention". Are you kidding me? Maybe Brian turned to drugs, because he couldn't come to terms with his homosexuality - which NEWS FLASH, isn't a choice. This book was published in 2003, not 1973. Herbert did not even mention that Bruce died from AIDS, alone, in 1993. My heart goes out to him and the unfortunate family situation that he was born into.

Ultimately, this book did try and portray the fantastic life of an amazing author, but was overpowered by obvious misgivings felt by Brian. I guess I could not expect any more than this from a man who has made his living by coat-tailing off the legacy started by his father.

[Gilbert Stack · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sometimes I think it’s a mistake to read a biography of an author you really like because sometimes it happens that the man behind the fantastic stories is not a very nice person. That’s what I discovered when I read this biography of one of my favorite science fiction writers, Frank Herbert. The book has all the wonderful details regarding how and when Herbert’s great novels and stories came out and how success affected him and his family. If it were just that, I would have loved everything in it. Unfortunately, it also tells us a lot about the dark side of Frank Herbert. He spent a considerable amount of effort hiding from his ex-wife so she couldn’t collect child support payments from him. He was an overly strong (the word abusive comes to mind) disciplinarian of his children. He was an obsessively reckless driver routinely terrifying and risking the lives of his passengers. (In fact, the famous jump the bridge scene in The Santaroga Barrier appears to have been based on his decision to do exactly that with his wife and friend in his vehicle). He got friend Jack Vance to co-sign a car loan and then purposely didn’t make the payments so he could focus his money on other bills—stiffing Vance for years until he finally made enough to pay him back. In short, Frank Herbert wasn’t a nice man, even though apparently he had a gift for making people like him. And I find that sad, not that it changes how I feel about his stories.

As a biography, this is a pretty fine endeavor, but Brian Herbert also spends more than a small portion of it talking about his own life and his own writing career. To a certain extent, this is fine as he is Frank Herbert’s son and it shows his father’s influence, but often it seemed gratuitous to me. On the other hand, Brian Herbert is pretty honest with his own feelings toward his dad and how they changed for the better after he became an adult. Perhaps the nicest part of the biography is the picture he paints of his mother, Frank’s second wife, and a loving and dedicated spouse. If you enjoy Frank Herbert’s books, you’ll probably want to read this tribute, but be aware, Herbert is a complex man with a dark side.

[Tudor Ciocarlie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm still waiting for the real biography of Frank Herbert.

[James · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is more of a Brian Herbert pitty party than a biography of Frank Herbert. The writing is as bad as his Dune sequel/prequels. Really, if someone is reading this there's a good chance they're a fan of FH and have read his books, you don't have to tell us what they're about every time they're mentioned. I gave it two starts just for the information about FH I didn't know before.

[Post Defiance]

The following originally posted at http://postdefiance.com/son-of-tacoma..., written by Erik Hanberg.

He wrote one of the bestselling science fiction novels ever. He won both the Nebula and the Hugo Awards – the two most prestigious awards in science fiction. NASA has officially approved the naming of geographic features on Saturn’s moon Titan after words coined by him.

He’s from Tacoma, but no one here seems to know it.

The man is Frank Herbert, and he is the author of the science fiction classic Dune, as well as five sequels set in the world that book imagined.

Frank Herbert was born in Tacoma on October 8, 1920 – his mother’s 19th birthday. His binge-drinking father rarely held a steady job. At the time of Frank’s birth, his father operated a bus line between Tacoma and Aberdeen. Among other jobs, he later sold cars, managed a dance hall, and worked for the Washington State Patrol.

Frank Herbert had the kind of childhood that would cause statewide news alerts today, filled with tales that sound more like The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn rather than anyone’s actual experiences.

At the age of nine he rowed from Burley on the Kitsap Peninsula to the San Juan Islands alone, often hitching rides with tugboats by holding on to their hulls.

In his youth, he went hunting (alone) and brought back game for his family to eat.

At 14, he swam across the Tacoma Narrows (there was no bridge until 1940).

Shortly thereafter, he and a friend sailed nearly 2,000 miles round-trip to the fjords of British Columbia.

In Brian Herbert’s biography of his father, Dreamer of Dune (which provided many of the details in this article) he writes that on the Puget Sound, “Frank Herbert developed a deep respect for the natural rhythms of nature. The ecology message, so prevalent in much of his writing, is one of his most important legacies.”

Frank Herbert loved the Puget Sound, and anytime he traveled or moved away for a job, he always returned, calling the Sound his “Tara,” a reference to Scarlett’s refuge in Gone With the Wind.

Herbert’s feats weren’t all in the natural world, however. At 12, he read the complete works of Shakespeare, and gobbled up Marcel Proust and Herman Melville. Like many avid readers, he tried his own hand at writing, and at 14 he was given his first typewriter.

“One day my father went for advice to a writer living in Tacoma who had sold a couple novels and several short stories,” writes Brian Herbert. “The response: ‘Work like hell, kid.’”

Herbert took this counsel to heart. His writing career included work as a journalist, a political speechwriter for a US Senator from Oregon, and as a short story writer before he was finally able to devote himself to writing his novels full time.

When reviewing the life of Frank Herbert, one gets the impression that he was trying to live in every part of Tacoma and do all things quintessentially Tacoman. At various points, he lived on Day Island, in Dash Point, Browns Point, and on the Eastside. He attended Stewart Middle School and Lincoln High School. He wrote for the Tacoma Ledger and the Tacoma Times. At age 21, he and his sweetheart fell in love in Salem, Oregon, where they were then living. On a whim, they drove to Tacoma to get married, because he thought it would be meaningful to have the ceremony in his hometown.

In 1955, Herbert had a budding family in Tacoma and needed a car for them. Being short on funds, as writers often are, he found a sweet deal on a used car: $300 for a funeral home hearse. He enjoyed wearing his darkest suit, impersonating a funeral director, and pulling his hearse up next to carloads of teenagers. Herbert would leave them sobered, giving them a dark scowl and intoning a significant “Drive carefully,” and then peel rubber as he drove away.

The origins of the novel Dune came to Herbert while visiting the sand dunes of Florence, Oregon. But the idea of a world destroyed by environmental catastrophe and the environmental theme at the heart of Dune, draw directly from Herbert’s life in Tacoma.

Brian Herbert reveals the connection to Tacoma in Dreamer of Dune:

In a conversation with Dad, [his lifetime friend] Howie told me he said angrily, “They’re gonna turn this whole planet into a wasteland, just like North Africa.”

“Yeah,” Frank Herbert responded. “Like a big dune.”

By the time Dad said this, the elements of his story were coming together. He had in mind a messianic leader in a world covered entirely with sand. Ecology would be a central theme of the story, emphasizing the delicate balance of nature …

Dad was a daily witness to conditions in Tacoma, which in the 1950s was known as one of the nation’s most polluted cities, largely due to a huge smelter whose stack was visible from all over the city, a stack that belched filth into the sky. The air was “so thick you could chew it,” my father liked to quip. The increasing pollution he saw all around him, in the city of his birth, contributed to his resolve that something had to be done to save the Earth. This became, perhaps, the most important message of Dune [emphasis added].

In other words, Tacoma’s pollution was so bad, primarily due to the ASARCO smelter, that it inspired Herbert’s message of conservation. It may not be a legacy that Tacomans want, but it is a legacy nonetheless.

The growing environmental awareness of the 1960s, of which Dune was very much a part, led to environmental reforms and regulations to put a stop to the most egregious assaults on the environment. ASARCO shut down its smelter, and on January 17, 1993 – exactly 20 years ago this week – its stack was demolished.

Just as the iconic stack is gone without a trace (save for remnants of its toxic plume), it seems all memory of Frank Herbert has disappeared from Tacoma as well. How could a Tacoma artist with his fame, literary significance, and quirks of character have so little recognition in his hometown?

Thea Foss has a waterway. Murray Morgan and Dale Chihuly both have bridges. Where is the Frank Herbert Bridge or Frank Herbert Park? Dune Boulevard? The Frank Herbert Center for the Literary Arts?

The tourism slogan we currently use to promote Tacoma is “Where Art and Nature Meet.” That describes Frank Herbert to a T.

It’s time to embrace the boy who swam the Narrows, who fished on Tacoma’s beaches, and who grew up to be one of the most influential science fiction authors of all time.

Erik Hanberg is a Commissioner on the Metro Parks Tacoma Board, elected in 2011. He is also the author of The Saints Go Dying and The Marinara Murders and will be publishing his first science fiction novel in 2013.

[Hendrik · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5 - 'Dreamer of Dune' offers fascinating insights into the life and personality of Frank Herbert, yet it also left me feeling conflicted as the book has some significant issues.

Despite being called „The Biography of Frank Herbert“, in reality, Brian Herbert irritatingly made this book just as much about himself, seemingly with the intention of showcasing himself as his father's ideal successor in continuing the Dune universe. (In retrospect, looking at the cover art, I realized that both „Frank Herbert“ and „Brian Herbert“ are the exact same font size, which could have given me a hidden clue.)

Another significant problem with the book is the way Brian Herbert repeatedly discusses his brother Bruce Herbert's homosexuality in a regressive, unsympathetic, and frankly appalling manner. It is difficult to believe that such attitudes still persist in books published in the 21st century.

Even setting aside these issues, this book would have greatly benefited from a more aggressive editor making some necessary revisions, as the writing delves into self-indulgent diary-like territory at times.

Despite my reservations, 'Dreamer of Dune' is worth reading for those interested in a glimpse into Frank Herbert’s life, considering the lack of alternatives. However, the book's shortcomings and its regressive treatment of certain subjects should not be overlooked.

[Ethan · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you're looking for a detailed biography of what Frank Herbert was thinking as he wrote Dune and other works... you won't find much of that here. A little. But not much. But if you want an insider's perspective on Herbert's family life, then maybe this has something for you. The writing is a bit uneven. It's occasionally moving, as when Brian Herbert is discussing the illnesses and deaths of his parents. But having read some of Brian Herbert's latter day Dune books, I recognized his bland, matter-of-fact "and then this happened, and then this happened" narrative style. Often there are huge jumps in subjects between paragraphs, and little sense of a cohesive narrative. For all that, I did find the family stuff interesting (less so Brian's detailing of his own writing career), and I did learn a few things about an author whose work has been a part of my life for decades. A few examples: the chapters that included (all too brief!) discussions of what Frank was reading and thinking about as he wrote Dune were great, Frank Herbert could be impulsive, overbearing, and a bit of a jerk to his kids sometimes (Brian seems to bend over backwards to excuse some of Frank's behavior, especially toward his other brother whose sexual orientation Frank never accepted), I had no idea that Frank Herbert liked the script and was enthusiastic about the Lynch version of Dune, at least until it was a box office disappointment, and I didn't realize he remarried about a year after his beloved Bev died (kind of a bummer given his tribute to her at the end of Chapterhouse: Dune that has always moved me). Lastly, the book is unnecessarily long at over 500 pages, and could probably have used some serious editing for both style and length. I put it aside several times and almost didn't bother to finish. But serious Dune fans such as myself will find something of interest here.

[Kingsley L. Dennis · Rating 4 out of 5]

There is a lot of detail here about Frank Herbert's life - I mean, a lot of tiny family details...so a real peek into his daily life. What is lacking is insight into the inspiration behind Frank Herbert. This is a well-written 2-D account of FH.... yet it shows that Brian Herbert doesn't - or didn't - really know what was going on inside his own father...

[Rowan Lister · Rating 2 out of 5]

I could bash this book by focusing on Frank Herbert as a man child and Big Brian’s need to explain his dads “complex behavior”, such as using a lie detector on his kids, reneging on child support payments to his ex-wife, or estranging his homosexual son.

But you can read all about that in other reviews so for now I’ll stick to the writing style and themes.

Brian’s writing style leaves a lot to be desired. As a foundation for this book, he began keeping a “family journal”, writing snippets of Herbert lore and collecting them from other family members, and the formatting feels like a hastily assembled family scrapbook as a result. Paragraphs with vastly different thoughts are incoherently mashed together. Chapters are semi-chronological, but don’t focus on one particular theme or time, leapfrogging from point to point with no transitions. This book is infuriating to read for many reasons, but one of the biggest is that Brian foreshadows a larger discussion about certain topics (such as his younger brother Bruce) throughout the novel but never actually gets around to talking about them. Brian also repeats himself constantly so that the reader wants to yell “We get it!” It feels unedited.

This book was published in the early 2000s, but suffice it to say that the attitudes regarding white saviors, Native Americans, sexuality, and child rearing belong in 1970s.

I love Dune as much as the next guy, and I suppose the best thing Dreamer of Dune accomplishes is to make one consider the cost of creating Frank Herbert’s Magnum Opus: Years of child abuse, poverty, and the sacrifice of Bev Herbert’s (Frank’s wife) writing career. Was it worth it?

[Chris (thebookaholic) Padgett · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story is wonderful, frustrating, incredible, ref’s to riches, found love, family drama and forgiveness, healing and more. The only problem is that there was a lot of repetition. Statements made that had already been previously made; verbatim. It seems a minor complaint and in a way it is. Overall really enjoyed this book.

[Alex Gregory · Rating 3 out of 5]

Brian Herbert's "Dreamer of Dune" is a solid, if unpolished and narratively unfocused, look at his father Frank Herbert.

As any of you reading likely already know about the man's work and legacy, I'll skip the preamble and go straight to brass tacks. This feels like the first draft of a manuscript. What interesting insights there are about Frank's life and work are marred by repetitive writing and a matter-of-fact writing style that comes off as plain boring. It reads like "babby's first novel" - Frank's full name is repeated constantly in the middle or end of paragraphs, the writing boils down to "we went to x location, we did y thing" and a lot of the compelling facts (how Frank worked for politicians, the genesis of ideas that would later show up in Dune) are buried beneath mountains of family drama and Brian whining about how much his daddy hated him.

This runs into the exact same problem as a number of other biographies written by a author/actor's child - they feel that they were aggrieved and let their bias filter into the pages. The only thing that sets this above those other biographies is that the material is JUST compelling enough to finish, although it was a chore doing so.

Only recommend for diehard Dune fans. Everyone else should skip it.

[Kieran McAndrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the biography of one of the greatest science fiction authors to ever live. Frank Herbert's magnum opus, 'Dune', should be required reading for every English Literature degree course.

More than that, though, this is the story of a troublesome relationship between father and son. Brian writes candidly about his father's overbearing nature and his intolerance for his children.

Ultimately though, this is a love story. Brian expertly draws the outline of his parents' successful marriage, where each sacrificed success for the other in a wonderful relationship that stood the test of time.

[Rob · Rating 4 out of 5]

...Brian Herbert has received a lot of criticism for the way he has dealt with Frank Herbert's literary legacy. Some of it even justified given the quality of the recent Dune books. I was afraid that with a book weighing in at well over 500 pages he had gone a bit overboard on this project. I read the book in four days in which I ought to have been studying a lot more than I actually did. Brian Herbert's description of his father's life is a fascinating read. He shows us a complex man, at once brilliant and clumsy, ambitious and stubborn. A man who has written some of the finest science fiction novels ever but only a shadow of himself without his wife Beverly. It's written in a way that will reach out and grab you, a book that will put Frank Herbert's stories in a new perspective and above all a book that will leave you with the feeling Frank Herbert wasn't nearly done with life when his time came. I should not have waited so long before reading it.

Full Random Comments review

[Ian Chapman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting work, although maybe would have been better with some editing. Brian Herbert reveals that his father, partly of Catholic Irish-American background, was extremely anti-English. This shows in the Dune universe, where there is no reference to any specifically English cultural heritage out in the future, that I can recall. Frank Herbert is also shown as a longterm Republican Party supporter, on the grounds of extreme anti-marxism, and supporter of President Nixon. He went on a mission to Vietnam to check on the development of agriculture, as part of his work as an ecological journalist, and to Pakistan, for the US government. Not much on the themes in Herbert's science fiction, so a personal rather than literary biography, but revealing and worthwhile.

[Laura · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love Frank Herbert, but this biography was very poorly written. Sped read the entire book just so I could finish it as quickly as possible.

[Scott Bodien · Rating 3 out of 5]

How could I not be swept away by the Evergreen state imagery and the fact Group Health saved both of their lives?!?

[Jamie Emery · Rating 2 out of 5]

Had it been titled, My Father and Me, or somehow indicated that it was as much about son Brian as Frank Herbert, then perhaps three stars.

[Michael Sova · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.50

I have a curious mind and an insatiable appetite for the stories behind the stories. To me, there’s nothing more shrouded in mystery than the imagination of an individual who is capable of using wordplay to build a fictional world. Where does it come from? How is one able to stack so many blocks without the tower falling before it’s finished? I don’t think I can ever answer that for myself because without possessing the ability to accomplish the herculean task of creating a literary world, it’s impossible for me to wrap my head around it on my own. And as much as I can read any given fictional universe over and over again, I may only be able to scratch the proverbial surface of its existence. That’s why biographies are like the key to unlocking the mystery, allowing us the opportunity to understand the person behind the magic. Dreamer of Dune is that key for Frank Herbert.

Written by his son, Brian, Dreamer of Dune finds Brian extolling the revered science fiction author and his greatest work, Dune. But he starts at the beginning. Who was Frank Herbert? How did he grow up? What can kind of childhood did he have? And ultimately, where did Dune come from? These questions are answered tenfold by way of telling the life behind the man whose myth has grown as large as the tome he created. Understanding the purpose of Dune allows one to see where the seeds for its existence burgeoned. Most know that in the late 1950s he began writing about sand dunes taking over the coastal land in Oregon, devastating the ecosystem and infringing on the property of those living within close proximity. This was the catalyst for the sand story. But he drew from his years as a political speech writer to carve out the personalities and social/societal interplay. Without that Dune would have been a much different affair. And this is what I find so fascinating — how certain experiences shape the way we see and understand the world. For Herbert, that experience shaped the characters, thus, shaping the story.

Besides the obvious, Dreamer of Dune also provides flashes of heartfelt reflections that overshadow the sometimes — ironically — autocratic writer. He was a focused man who needed complete silence to complete his writing, which was his purpose in life. He couldn’t be bothered with his children coming home from school and disrupting his workflow. Though, as detached as he could be as a father, he was a deep lover, someone who cherished his wife, Beverly, to the point of exhaustion. Once she was diagnosed with cancer in 1974 and only given months to live, Herbert devoted a great deal of time to her to ensure she could fight it as hard as possible. She defied the doctors’ prognosis and lived for another ten years. In that time, Herbert became the most loving, caring, and protective husband. Brian has intimate knowledge of this because he saw it and lived it. I come to this already knowing that the end of their love story happened years ago (before I was born!) and yet it affects me as if this all just happened. This is the power of the written word, transcending time and space.

This is a warts-and-all biography but one that needs to be taken with a grain of salt. Brian’s choice to point out that his brother, Bruce, was gay and that he and his parents disapproved of his lifestyle is unfortunate. It’s his prerogative to feel that way, but every time he name drops his brother he also has to remind us of his disapproval, as if he didn’t state it the last ten times Bruce is mentioned. It feels like an unfair platform for mudslinging and the singular black eye on this book. If you can move past that as I have (but had to point out since it becomes an unwarranted distraction), then you will be rewarded for tackling this lengthy but introspective story about one of the great authors of the last century.

[Dane Cobain · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is fascinating because of its subject matter and the person who wrote it. It’s a biography of Dune creator Frank Herbert, and it’s written by the person who’s best placed to tell the story – his oldest son, Brian.

I’m already familiar with Brian’s writing because I’ve read all of Frank’s Dune books as well as all of the ones that Brian wrote with Kevin J. Anderson. I’ve also read a good few of Frank’s non-Dune books, although by no means all of them. Either way, I think it’s safe to say that I’m a fan.

Reading this gave me some great insights into the way that Frank thought and the kind of person he was, and his son did a pretty good job of showing both the positive and the negative. Frank was a real person, and like all real people, he had his good sides and his bad sides. He was particularly sucky with children, and so Brian’s relationship with his father didn’t really develop until they were both a little older.

It turns out that Frank was also kind of crazy, and we’re lucky that he lived long enough to write his novels in the first place. For example, he was attacked by a dog when he was a baby, leaving him with a scar that he carried for the rest of his life. He was also attacked by a colleague with a pair of scissors when he first started working for a newspaper, and he almost drove the entire family off the round in an incident where he ended up flooring it and jumping the car over a gap in a bridge.

These stories all add a heap of colour to Frank’s character and help to illuminate what he was actually like, but they’re not the most interesting parts of this biography. For me, those bits where the parts where Brian shows how his father got his inspiration and where some of the ideas from his stories came from. This covers everything from an interest in zen Buddhism to the time that Frank tried to test whether ESP existed with a girlfriend and ended up guessing every card in a pack of cards, twice.

The result is a fascinating literary biography that looks intimidating when you first pick it up but which you’ll end up whizzing through, with the whole book only taking me three days or so, despite it having a ton of pages and pretty small print.

And so if you’ve read the Dune books and you want to know more about the author, or even if you just like a good biography, you should pick this one up. It’s a pretty good masterclass in what a biography should be like, and Brian clearly put a lot of love, work and thought into this one too.

The result is one of the best biographies I’ve ever come across. It even beats out a lot of the autobiographies that I’ve read, too. It’s just a solid non-fiction book, a hefty tome that’s a pleasure to read. I can honestly say that when I finished it, I was sad that I didn’t have any left, because I just wanted to keep reading it. It was made even worse by the fact that I saved reading this until I’d finished the Dune series, so I had none of that left, either. Meep.

[Martti · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating and controversial life of Frank Herbert through the eyes of one of the most close observers, his son Brian. It was a tough journey from Washington state to Hawaii and some spots in between. And lots and lots of plans.

Books were sacred; I was never to dog-ear pages or write on them.

Nobody looks at a hearse unless he absolutely has to.

He had such a powerful need to write, such a drive for it, that she knew she could never stand in his way.

"It’s one thing to make mistakes for yourself,” he said, “but if you’re a charismatic leader and you blunder, millions of people can follow you over the cliff."

Heroes are dangerous, especially when people follow them slavishly, treating them like gods.

"Never hold anything back,” he said. I put everything into Books I, II and III of Dune, so much so that by the time he completed the revisions for Campbell, he was wrung out—physically and mentally.

Never hold anything back. Put it all into your story. Don’t worry that you won’t have enough left for next time. It’ll be there when you need it.

The best way to learn a thing is by doing it.

The Earth is dying, it is being misused by non-Indian civilizations that take and do not give.

When you see what motivates people, you will begin to see them walking around with their intestines hanging out.

"Petroleum is a finite resource," he said.

I’m not going to spank you this time, but you’re grounded for two weeks.

I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.

Dad coined an interesting word for self-sufficiency, no matter the degree of application. He called it ‘technopeasantry.’

He believed that methane had potential large-scale applications for cities.

Let’s talk story.

If you feel sick to your stomach about something, your body is talking to you. Listen to it.

The acorn didn’t fall far from the oak tree.

In that essay, he wrote, 'Remember how you learned, and when your turn comes, teach.'

Frank Herbert was brilliant, loving, honest, loyal, generous and thoughtful. His deficiencies were more interesting than significant.

[Joe Hill · Rating 5 out of 5]

All sons should be able to know their fathers as well. I’m so glad to have been able to read this book. I have been a fan of Frank Herbert’s writing for many years since I was first introduced to Dune, but knew very little about him or his life. I had assumed that he had gone the academic route as had other great epic authors like Tolkien and CS Lewis. It is with some degree of incredulity that I read the unfolding life of Frank Herbert and his uncompromising nature, his vagabond life and his thirst for life.

I’ve also developed a much stronger appreciation of Brian Herbert who worked a regular job most of his adulthood until his mother’s illness and he’s forced to take more of a hand in their affairs. It is interesting who he became because of his love of family. I will definitely read more Brian Herbert. The Butlerian Jihad was a little gruesome for me, but am interested in how he handles other Dune stories as well as his own fiction.

This is not only a great biography of a man whose life should be remembered and celebrated. It is also a wonderful story of family, of those tensions that break family apart and of reconciliation and above all a boy who grows up to be a man in order to understand and forgive his father.

[Jeff · Rating 4 out of 5]

While Dreamer of Dune is certainly an imperfect biography, it nonetheless makes for a compelling read for any fan of Frank Herbert's writing. Weighing in at over 500 pages with a fair amount of repetition (and some blatantly incorrect factual statements), this book could definitely have used more critical editing prior to publication. There must be at least 50 pages of small incidents that don't contribute to the overall narrative, and could easily have been trimmed from this bulky work.

In spite of those shortcomings, Brian Herbert manages to deliver a heartfelt family biography, for in truth this book is as much about Brian and Beverly Herbert (Frank's second wife) as it is about the "Dreamer of Dune". If the reader is willing to accept the book on those terms, it is a fast read, full of strongly felt emotions and the author's attempt to understand his mercurial father. That very quest makes Dreamer of Dune more interesting than a standard biography written by an outside party, and if the intimacy of the content is sometimes overwrought, it is nonetheless genuinely expressed and highly readable.

[Eric David Hart · Rating 3 out of 5]

A sincere, heartfelt portrayal of the author of Dune by his son, this biography would have rated four or maybe even five stars if not for some writing/editing problems.
Brian Herbert gives a candid account of his difficult but ultimately loving relationship with his father. Brian does not avoid issues such as Frank's difficult temperament with his children, or his rejection of his gay son Bruce. The creation of the Dune series is given great attention.
The book, however, lacks tighter editing. Some anecdotes are unnecessary and often give the narrative a fragmented feeling. Brian reintroduces people over and over again, and retells episodes he's already explained. I would also have liked to know more about the aftermath of Frank's passing away - what became of Bruce, for instance. And just how extensive were the notes left by Frank and developed by Brian with Kevin Anderson Jr for the first sequels they wrote to Frank's series.
But at the heart of this biography, the loving relationship between Frank and Beverly Herbert shines through, and makes this a compelling read.

[Edward Correa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Primero lo bueno: Brian Herbert logra plasmar cosas muy interesantes de la vida de su padre en este libro. Detalles que a uno como fan de la obra de este gran escritor le encanta leer. El trabajo de investigación periodística y de registro es amplio y muy bueno, incluso en ocasiones se excede un poco en detalles que normalmente no vienen al caso en una biografía, pero es una bonita experiencia conocer la parte humana de un personaje tan importante para la literatura a nivel mundial.

Lo malo: Brian no es un buen escritor. Lo sabíamos por su trabajo escribiendo secuelas y trabajos adicionales a la saga de Dune que escribió su padre, pero esta obra también lo demuestra en cuestiones de estilo, de edición de texto y hasta en cierta coherencia y fluidez de la lectura. Desgraciadamente también se siente en esta obra el deseo de incluirse a sí mismo en la historia de su padre, como tratando de ganarse un poco el respeto que a través de los años se le ha negado como escritor por valor propio.

[Mac Ferrone · Rating 4 out of 5]

RATING: Ya’ Dune Good, Kid

I’ve been pretty mixed on Brian Herbert’s Dune output for a while now. As it turns out, what he needed was to not write a Dune book, and write a book about the guy that Dune-d…yeah.

Brian Herbert recounts his father’s life in a very fascinating way that kept me intrigued. It was both highly opinionated but also rather neutral like a nature documentary unfolding. His relationship to Frank also let me see into a whole new facet of the prolofic man’s legacy — for better and for worse. It was methodical and rich with tiny details, proving Brian does truly love his father and his works.

It also made me super emotional, especially as it goes into Frank and Beverly’s — spoiler but it’s history — decline in health. The slow pace shows gradual change in their condition, which was heartbreaking. Additionally, a slower, more gradual speed is something Brian hasn’t had with his Dune escapades…

Overall, I would read this book if Frank Herbert interests you, or his novels. It’s the best Brian Hebert book I’ve read, and a great biography on its own too!

[Tenika Fontana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Going into this book, I wasn't expecting to hear nothing but good things about FH. I'm not so naive to assume he was a good guy all the time. And Brian Herbert did an admirable enough job depicting his dad very factually for most of this book. You can tell he did his research about every job Frank held, every influence that would eventually come together to form the author he became, especially where Dune is concerned. You can feel his admiration for his father once they became good friends, and he harps on and on about how in love his parents were. While he mentions the bad, you can tell he tries very hard to smother it all over with the good later on.
Saddest parts were about the younger son, Bruce. Not sure if it was out of respect or out of disrespect that he's in the book so little, and always under the shadow of his "gay lifestyle". Very unfortunate and different things in this book hasn't aged well. But if you can wade through the praise, he does a good job depicting his father as the complex, domineering man he was.

[Sonstepaul · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is at best a family history, but mostly a middling and distracting autobiography, and certainly a disappointment. Given the writer’s intimate connection to the subject, he can’t express what the reader needs, just the son. And, sadly, the son focusing on himself rather than the man this book is about.

It made me a little mad because it’s much like what Brian Herbert has done with the disappointing series of Dune novels nowhere near on his father’s level. Coattails . . .

There’s one paltry chapter of thriving analysis of Dune. Limited interesting biography. It’s not about Frank Herbert, the writer, it’s about Brian Herbert’s dad.

[Joshua Ziesel · Rating 3 out of 5]

They say don’t meet your heroes, and for a while it felt that one should not read about them either. Now that I’ve finished, I think I’m glad I did. Frank Herbert was a complicated person - certainly not perfect, but then again no one is. Although the writing was sometimes dry and seemingly irrelevant, this was an illuminating glimpse into the personality of FH - especially his relationship with his wife, Beverly.

I put off reading this for more than 10 years, and I think that was a good decision. For the Dune-curious, I think this is a book which should come - if at all, for it is not really necessary to appreciate those texts - after several reads of the Dune series.

[Jamie]

“With the assistance of journal entries, I was coming to the realization that no matter our backgrounds, no matter the troubles we endure, each of us has to grow up one day, accepting responsibility for our own lives, not blaming others. When we attempt to transfer fault to others it frequently amounts to making excuses for our failures, thus creating the likelihood of future failures. Thus if we do not succeed, we can always say it was t our fault.” p.297

“Never hold anything back. Put it all into your story. Don’t worry that you won’t have enough left for next time. It’ll be there when you need it.” -Frank Herbert, p.304