By David Weiner
Like the sands of Arrakis through an hourglass, more than a half century has come and gone since the release of Frank Herbert’s seminal sci-fi masterpiece DUNE.
On the 50th anniversary of the release of Herbert’s towering novel, I spoke with the late author’s son, Brian Herbert, about his firsthand experience with the phenomenon, reflecting on the enduring appeal of the complex tale; discussing the process of writing a non-DUNE novel with his father; and sharing his candid opinions of 1984’s infamous David Lynch film adaptation and the 2000 Sci-Fi Channel miniseries.
The interview was for a larger DUNE celebration I wrote for Famous Monsters of Filmland magazine, issue No. 280, in 2015. We spoke before Denis Villeneuve’s epic two-part version of DUNE became a reality.
A critically acclaimed, New York Times bestselling author who has taken up the mantle of the DUNE franchise with a dozen books tackling the subject (all co-written with Kevin J. Anderson), Brian Herbert’s DUNE novels include DUNE: HOUSE ATREIDES, DUNE: HOUSE HARKONNEN, HUNTERS OF DUNE, SANDWORMS OF DUNE, and PAUL OF DUNE. His other forays into sci-fi, fantasy and dystopia include SIDNEY’S COMET, THE RACE FOR GOD, THE LITTLE GREEN BOOK OF CHAIRMAN RAHMA, and the TIMEWEB and HELLHOLE trilogies. He also wrote MAN OF TWO WORLDS with his father.
DAVID WEINER: What do you think is the fundamental appeal of the original DUNE that makes it endure 50 years later, and beyond?
BRIAN HERBERT: DUNE has gone way beyond the genre of science fiction, into the mainstream of literature, and has become immersed in the varying cultures of the world. It is the classic adventure tale of a hero, Paul Atreides, and there are also important messages layered into the novel – about ecology, politics, religion, history, women’s issues, and philosophy, to name a few. It is a very complex, polyphonic novel that can be read on many levels, by people of varying interests.
DW: Growing up with your father, did he talk much about the various worlds he was creating? Was there a place for science fiction, history, religion and politics at the dinner table?
BH: I covered this in considerable detail in DREAMER OF DUNE, my comprehensive biography of Frank Herbert. Among other things, Dad read passages from DUNE to my mother, Beverly Herbert, and obtained her important comments. When we lived in San Francisco in the early 1960s, I listened to him reading to her from his great novel on numerous occasions.
DW: What was your opinion of the 1984 David Lynch film adaptation of DUNE, as well as the subsequent 2000 Sci-Fi Channel miniseries?
BH: The 1984 David Lynch film DUNE varied somewhat from the details of DUNE, but the movie had a terrific cast and the look and feel of the great novel. The two miniseries – FRANK HERBERT’S DUNE and FRANK HERBERT’S CHILDREN OF DUNE – both airing in the early 2000s, followed the plots of the 3 novels (DUNE, DUNE MESSIAH, and CHILDREN OF DUNE) closely. I like both the original 1984 movie and the two subsequent mini-series, for different reasons.
DW: Do you think DUNE is ready for a new big-screen adaptation, or is the TV miniseries format the only way to properly tell that story onscreen?
BH: I think that a combination of the two formats would be best, with some of the novels being filmed as television mini-series, and other novels (including DUNE) being theatrical motion pictures.
DW: Your father authored many science fiction stories and sagas. Other than DUNE, what is your favorite and why?
BH: SOUL CATCHER, which was his only non science-fiction novel. It is the compelling story of a Native American who is caught between two worlds – his own tribal heritage, and the western culture in which he lives. Like DUNE, this novel is beautifully written, and contains deep meanings.
DW: You wrote the sci-fi adventure MAN OF TWO WORLDS with your father. What important lessons about writing did you learn from him?
BH: I wrote about this in great detail in DREAMER OF DUNE, my biography of Frank Herbert. The answer to this question would take much more space than we have available in this interview. Generally, though, when I write now I still hear my father’s voice speaking to me, reminding me of the various lessons that he taught me, for different situations. He was a great teacher, and a great man.
DW: You have become more prolific than your father in terms of your output of DUNE books. How is the dynamic of writing with Kevin J. Anderson compared to the experience of writing with your father?
BH: The experiences were very different, except that both were unexpected. When I wrote MAN OF TWO WORLDS with Dad in 1985, it was an unexpected experience, since he and I had not always been close when I was growing up in his household – and later we became the best of friends as adults, and we wrote the novel together. On the novels I have written with Kevin, that was also unexpected, because for years before meeting him I had thought that the best place to end the DUNE series was with the moving, three-page afterword that Frank Herbert wrote about my mother, Beverly Herbert, after she passed away in 1984. The two of them had been a writing team, and had worked on the DUNE series together. So it was a great surprise to me when I found that Kevin and I could work well together and continue the classic series.
DW: Which themes of DUNE, and which group of DUNE characters, are your favorite to write about?
BH: As for characters, there are many – especially Paul Atreides, Duke Leto Atreides, and Lady Jessica Atreides, as well as their archenemy, the Baron Vladimir Harkonnen. Of the new characters that Kevin and I have written about, Erasmus, the robot who wants to be human, stands out, as does Vorian Atreides.
The following Dune themes have also been of great interest to me:
Ecology, which I have written about in my novels OCEAN, as well as in THE LITTLE GREEN BOOK OF CHAIRMAN RAHMA, and in the 3-novel TIMEWEB series. It is also a subject that I covered satirically in my first novel, SIDNEY’S COMET, and its sequel, THE GARBAGE CHRONICLES. Of all of these novels, OCEAN is perhaps the most radical, postulating that the creatures of the sea have become so fed up with pollution and other human-caused abuses that the entire Ocean declares war on our civilization, and seeks to ban human beings from the seas of the world.
Religion, which I have written about in THE STOLEN GOSPELS, THE LOST APOSTLES, and satirically in THE RACE FOR GOD.
Women’s Issues, which I have written about in THE STOLEN GOSPELS and THE LOST APOSTLES. In these two linked novels, I postulated that certain important gospels of women were excluded from the BIBLE, because of political decisions made centuries ago by powerful men.
Politics, a theme that is woven into many of my novels, and into the non-fiction book, THE FORGOTTEN HEROES, in which I wrote about the terrible, unjust way the United States has treated the heroic U.S. Merchant Marine, an organization that did so much for this country in World War II. I also submitted testimony to the U.S. Congress about this issue, trying to get benefits for merchant seamen and their families.
DW: Like other great works of science fiction, the DUNE world is a reflection of past and current events. What are some of the contemporary issues that you believe your DUNE installments reflect?
BH: Finite Resources – the limited amount of oil and water that this planet has, and the fact that we need intelligent ways of managing these resources, planning for the future.
Politics – Political leaders lie to us on a regular basis. Frank Herbert was especially concerned about the danger of following charismatic leaders, who could lead us over the edge of a cliff.
Religion – The need for various religions to find common ground, instead of squabbling over petty matters.
Women – The probability that they would be better political leaders than men (if they don’t act like men!), because of the thousands of years of war that have been caused by men.
DW: What do you plan to tackle next in the world of DUNE and elsewhere?
BH: Our next DUNE series novel is NAVIGATORS OF DUNE, which Kevin and I are working on now. In my other writings, my wife, Jan, and are getting more and more involved with ocean issues, emphasizing the importance of treating these waters with more respect and intelligence. The ocean produces approximately 50% of the oxygen on this planet, so by harming it, our species is not only harming the ocean and its marine life forms, but we are also committing suicide as a species. I intend to write more novels like OCEAN about these issues, and I will also be writing new novels about other environmental and political issues.
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