Folio Society Published Works Number 3218
Herbert, Frank - Dune
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Herbert, Frank - Dune (Published in by The Folio Society in 2015. Introduced by Michael Dirda. Illustrated by Sam Weber . Afterword by Brian Herbert. Illustrated by award-winning artist Sam Weber, a collector's edition of Frank Herbert's phenomenal tale of far-future desert warriors, fallible messiahs and interplanetary intrigue. Published to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the world's best-selling science-fiction title. 'No more terrible disaster could befall your people than for them to fall into the hands of a Hero'. Arrakis, or Dune, is a planet of nothingness its torched wastelands are home to a fierce nomadic people, and under the endless deserts stalk gargantuan sandworms the size of starships. It is a place where water is sacred 'a substance more precious than all others' where to shed a tear is the most taboo of all sacrifices. And yet the planet is also humanity's sole source of 'spice', the mysterious, addictive substance that underpins the workings of the galaxy-wide Padishah Empire. To control Arrakis is to control all. And it is across its vast expanses and in its arid caves that Frank Herbert's epic adventure of political subterfuge and messianic deliverance is played out, a story that has become the best-selling science-fiction novel of all time, and is considered by many to be the genre's greatest work. Production Details. Bound in buckram, printed and blocked with a design by Sam Weber. Set in Dante with Helvetica Neue and Black Tulip display. 576 pages; frontispiece, 11 colour illustrations and a number of black & white tailpieces. Endpaper map by Martin Sanders. Pictorial slipcase with a design by Sam Weber. 10" x 6.75". A science-fiction phenomenon. Dune. The far-future universe created by Herbert is nothing short of a phenomenon. After the novel's publication in 1965, it won both the Hugo and Nebula awards, going on to sell over 12 million copies, and spawning five sequels, as well as multiple board games, computer games, television series and feature films. It is a universe of 'traps within traps', of human computers, secretive witch-cults and fanatic warriors, all with their own intricate histories and intentions. Humanity has resorted to a delicately balanced feudal system of governance, each aristocratic family struggling for survival, competing for control of a decadent empire. However, despite the grand scale of Herbert's fully formed universe, at its heart Dune is the story of a single boy, Paul Atreides, who finds himself caught in the web of a myth, centuries in the making. Is he the fabled Kwisatz Haderach, able to span time 'who can be many places at once'? Betrayed and exiled into the waterless deserts of Arrakis, his destiny will not only be fulfilled, but the future of humankind decided, and from the dunes will arise a saviour Muad'Dib both terrible and beautiful in his absolute power. In the construction of Dune Herbert drew on a range of influences, both literary and scientific, from the origin stories of the Abrahamic desert religions and T. E. Lawrence's Bedouin desert revolt to cutting-edge terraforming techniques and the burgeoning environmentalist movement. For this edition, Pulitzer Prize-winning critic Michael Dirda has contributed a new introduction, examining both the origins of Herbert's unlikely success and the hidden depths of his 'grand operatic vision'. On the surface it is a classic adventure story a boy coming of age to reclaim his birthright but soon Herbert strikes a darker vein, exploring the terrors of prescribed destiny and the problematic notion of hero-making. As the chosen 'one' emerges, we discover his role has little to do with goodness; the quakes of fanatical jihad like the desert's giant sandworms rumble under the surface, waiting to swallow the galaxy one planet at a time. It is a compelling dissection of literature's, and humanity's, mania with the godlike 'hero'. As Paul's friends become worshippers and his family become idols, the thin line between god, liberator and oppressor is increasingly indistinct. 'Dune seems to me unique among SF novels in the depth of characterisation and the extraordinary detail of the world it creates. I know nothing comparable to it except . The Lord of the Rings '. ARTHUR C. CLARKE. Dune. 'As he emerged from the shadows, his figure took on dimension grossly and immensely fat'. Dune. 'It came from the southeast, a distant hissing, a sand-whisper'. Illustrated by award-winning artist Sam Weber. Dune Dune. 'Congratulations to Sam and The Folio Society on creating a stunning, evocative new take on one of science fiction's greatest novels'. Tor.com. The meticulously constructed characters and ecology of Dune have become enshrined in science-fiction folklore, from the grotesque, bloated mass of the evil Baron Harkonnen to the towering sandworms, breaching the mountainous dunes. This much anticipated edition is illustrated by Sam Weber, whose work also appears in the acclaimed Folio editions of Fahrenheit 451 and Lord of the Flies. His acutely detailed illustrations perfectly capture the intricacies of Herbert's vision, realising the faces and landscapes of Arrakis as never before. Also included is an illuminating afterword by Brian Herbert, son of the author, who has penned several best-selling novels that expand the Dune universe. The pictorial slipcase reproduces the undulating landscape of Arrakis, while the binding design depicts Paul Atreides, his body shrouded in a veil of stars, grain-like in their multitude. His eyes are blocked in the unforgettable 'blue within blue', consumed by both the spice and his 'terrible purpose'. 'If you've never read Dune, this handsome Folio Society edition, enhanced by the haunting artwork of Sam Weber, will introduce you to one of modern literature's most exciting and unforgettable books'. MICHAEL DIRDA. )
