Mitchgant asked Brian Herbert:

Do you have a relationship with or ever speak with other authors like Christopher Tolkien or Brandon Sanderson about continuing on the saga of great Fantasy Sci Fi series after the original author's death? If you have compared notes with those two how have their efforts been similar or different from yours?

Brian Herbert Both of them understand the huge responsibility that comes with carrying on the legacy of a beloved, deceased author. I studied the Dune universe in great detail when I wrote DREAMER OF DUNE, the biography of my father, Frank Herbert. Then, before ever setting my words on the pages of new novels in the Dune series, I spent a year creating a huge DUNE CONCORDANCE (unpublished), containing hundreds of pages of actual quotes from Frank Herbert’s 6 novels in the series, so that Kevin and I could keep the myriad of details straight. It also helps a great deal that I knew Frank Herbert extremely well, and collaborated with him on the last novel he ever wrote (MAN OF TWO WORLDS).
I believe that Kevin is in touch with Brandon Sanderson, so perhaps this is a good question for him.

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