Brian Herbert | |
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![]() Herbert at a book signing in 2008 | |
Born | Brian Patrick Herbert June 29, 1947 Seattle, Washington, U.S. [1] |
Language | English |
Genre | Science fiction |
Notable works | Dune series |
Spouse | Jan Herbert (m. 1967) |
Children | 3 |
Parents | Frank Herbert (father) |
Website | |
www |
Brian Patrick Herbert (born June 29, 1947) is an American author, known for his work on the Dune franchise, which was created by his father, Frank Herbert.
Brian Herbert's novels include Sidney's Comet, Prisoners of Arionn, Man of Two Worlds (written with his father), and Sudanna Sudanna. In 2003, Herbert wrote a biography of his father titled Dreamer of Dune: The Biography of Frank Herbert . The younger Herbert has edited the Songs of Muad'dib and the Notebooks of Frank Herbert's Dune. Herbert created a concordance for the Dune universe based on his father's notes, though, according to the younger Herbert, there are no immediate plans to publish it. [2] He has written several comic books with Kevin J. Anderson based on Dune novels and short stories.
Herbert is known for his collaborations with author Kevin J. Anderson, with whom he has written multiple prequels (and some sequels) to his father's landmark 1965 science fiction novel, Dune , all of which have made The New York Times Best Seller list. The duo began with the prequel trilogies Prelude to Dune (1999–2001) and Legends of Dune (2002–2004). Herbert and Anderson next published Hunters of Dune (2006) and Sandworms of Dune (2007), two sequels to Frank Herbert's original Dune series, which was left incomplete at the end of Frank's sixth Dune novel, Chapterhouse: Dune . These novels are based on an outline and notes left behind by Frank Herbert after his 1986 death for what he referred to as Dune 7, his own planned seventh novel in the series. [3] [4] [5] In 2008, Herbert and Anderson began publishing Heroes of Dune (2008–2023), a series of four novels which take place between the first five novels of Frank Herbert's six original Dune series, but only two were published initially. The others were set aside, first for the Great Schools of Dune trilogy (2012–2016), and later for the Caladan trilogy (2020–2022). However, in 2023, Herbert resumed the Heroes of Dune series by publishing Princess of Dune (2023). Herbert and Anderson have also written numerous Dune short stories (2001–2017).
(all with Kevin J. Anderson)
with Kevin J. Anderson
The new prequels ... will be based on notes and outlines Frank Herbert left at his death in 1986.
Frank Herbert wrote a detailed outline for Dune 7 and he left extensive Dune 7 notes, as well as stored boxes of his descriptions, epigraphs, chapters, character backgrounds, historical notes—over a thousand pages worth.
I got a call from an estate attorney who asked me what I wanted to do with two safety deposit boxes of my dad's ... in them were the notes to Dune 7—it was a 30-page outline. So I went up in my attic and found another 1,000 pages of working notes.
Brian was cleaning out his garage to make an office space and he found all these boxes that had 'Dune Notes' on the side. And we used a lot of them for our House books.
We had already started work on House Atreides ... After we already had our general outline written and the proposal sent to publishers, then we found the outlines and notes. (This necessitated some changes, of course.)
... we are ready to tackle the next major challenge—writing the grand climax of the saga that Frank Herbert left in his original notes sealed in a safe deposit box ... after we'd already decided what we wanted to write ... They opened up the safe deposit box and found inside the full and complete outline for Dune 7 ... Later, when Brian was cleaning out his garage, in the back he found ... over three thousand pages of Frank Herbert's other notes, background material, and character sketches.
Anderson said that Frank Herbert's notes included a description of the story and a great deal of character background information. 'But having a roadmap of the U.S. and actually driving across the country are two different things,' he said. 'Brian and I had a lot to work with and a lot to expand...'
the co-authors have expanded on Herbert's brief outline