Sandworms of Dune is a science fiction novel by American writers Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson, the second of two books they wrote to conclude Frank Herbert's original Dune series. It is based on notes left behind by Frank Herbert[1][2][3] for Dune 7, his own planned seventh novel in the Dune series. The novel was released on August 7, 2007.
At the prompting of Face Dancer infiltrators, the Spacing Guild has begun replacing its Navigators with Ixian navigation devices and cutting off the Navigators' supply of melange. Navigator Edrik and his faction have commissioned Waff, the imperfectly awakened ghola rescued by the Guild from the Bene Gesserit attack on Bandalong, to create "advanced" sandworms able to produce the melange they so desperately require. He accomplishes this by altering the DNA of the sandtrout stage and creating an aquatic form of the worms, which are then released into the oceans of Buzzell. Adapting to their new environment, these "seaworms" quickly flourish, eventually producing a highly concentrated form of spice, dubbed "ultraspice".
Meanwhile, Murbella commissions Ix to copy the destructive Honored MatreObliterators for use on the fleet of warships she has ordered from the Guild. However, Ix is now secretly controlled by Face Dancer leader Khrone; previously acting as a minion of Omnius, he continues his own plot for Face Dancer domination of the universe. Omnius's forces have begun striking world after world, releasing a deadly virus and then pressing on to the new string of inhabited planets. The thinking machine plague arrives at Chapterhouse and cripples the Sisterhood, but they rally the unified humankind into one last great stand.
Aboard the Ithaca, Sheeana restarts the ghola project. Gholas of Serena Butler, Gurney Halleck, and Xavier Harkonnen are about to be born when the axlotl tanks are poisoned, killing all three ghola babies and the tanks. Saboteurs are suspected, as many of the ship's systems have also been failing. Scytale, the last Tleilaxu Master, finally reawakens his own ghola's past memories, but only by dying in front of his younger self. The gholas of Wellington Yueh, Stilgar, and Liet-Kynes regain their memories through various traumatic experiences. Desperate to replenish their supplies, the Ithaca lands on the planet Qelso, a world slowly being terraformed into a desert planet by the introduction of sandworms years before by the Bene Gesserit. Stilgar and Liet-Kynes decide to remain behind to help the natives slow the encroaching desert and prepare them for the inevitable.
The climax
Having successfully completed his attempts to create a new incarnation of sandworm, Waff begs Edrik to return him to the ruined planet of Rakis so that he can spend what little time to live he has left attempting to reintroduce the worms there as well. Unsuccessful, Waff resigns himself to failure and prepares to die; as the last of his sandworm specimens perishes, a dozen sandworms erupt from beneath the surface. Waff realizes that the pearl of Leto II's awareness that each sandworm carries had foreseen the Honored Matre attack on Rakis and caused them to have buried themselves deep beneath the planet's surface. Knowing the planet has begun healing itself, Waff is consumed by a worm, rejoicing that his prophet has finally returned. Meanwhile, Edrik and the ultraspice are intercepted by Khrone, who seizes the spice and kills the Navigator.
The saboteurs are eventually revealed to be the Rabbi and the ghola of Thufir Hawat, who had apparently been murdered and replaced with Face Dancers back on the planet of the Handlers during the events of Hunters of Dune. In the ensuing chaos that follows the discovery of the Face Dancers, the Ithaca is ensnared by the tachyon net. Miles Teg sacrifices his life in an unsuccessful attempt to prevent their capture. The Ithaca is brought to Synchrony. They are met by a party led by the ghola of Vladimir Harkonnen. Seeing the young ghola of Alia when he arrives, he immediately kills her: the original Alia had murdered his original self 5,000 years before. The Bene Gesserit gholas of Paul, Lady Jessica, Chani, and Yueh are then taken to see Omnius and Erasmus.
Omnius explains that to complete his domination of humanity, he requires the superior Kwisatz Haderach of the two Paul gholas. Paolo and Paul are forced to duel, during which Paul is seemingly mortally wounded. Victorious, Paolo consumes the ultraspice; overwhelmed by the rapid onset of perfect prescient vision, he slips into a coma. Paul, at the urging and efforts of Yueh, Chani, and Jessica, slowly regains his past memories and is able to repair the damage to his body using Bene Gesserit physiological control. Under the guise of aiding Paolo, Yueh takes his revenge by killing Baron Harkonnen, who had orchestrated the torture and death of Yueh's wife Wanna in their original incarnations.
As this is happening, Murbella has all the new ships in place and is finally ready to launch her fleet against Omnius's oncoming armada. But the Obliterators and Ixian navigation devices all suddenly fail. Murbella realizes that they have been sabotaged. When it appears that defeat at the hands of the thinking machine forces is imminent, the Oracle of Time appears with a thousand ships piloted by Guild Navigators and begins to attack the machines. This assault leaves the machine fleet in pieces. The Oracle then tells Murbella that she is going to Synchrony to stop Omnius once and for all; she folds space, and a visual manifestation of the Oracle appears in the room where Paul and Paolo have been dueling. The Oracle then removes every aspect of Omnius and transports the Evermind away into another dimension forever.
The ultimate Kwisatz Haderach
Sheeana and the young Leto II ghola free the sandworms from the Ithaca's cargo hold, and the worms wreak havoc throughout Synchrony. Leto II regains his memories, and after the battle is finished, he tells Sheeana that he must now go back into the dreaming. Leto walks into the belly of the largest worm, Monarch, and the seven worms twist together and join into one giant superworm before digging deep into the ground.
Fresh from fighting the thinking machines outside on Synchrony with Sheeana, Duncan enters the chamber where a recovering Paul, his memories now restored, reveals that Duncan is the final Kwisatz Haderach, having evolved and perfected himself through thousands of years of ghola rebirth and altered DNA. Erasmus, the independent-minded robot, explains that he was the mastermind behind the rebuilding of the Synchronized Worlds. A mutinous Khrone declares that the universe now belongs to his Face Dancers, as both humans and machines have been crippled. Amused by Khrone's attempt to seize power, Erasmus explains that a fail-safe system had been built into the Face Dancers. Erasmus kills Khrone and his party—and then all enhanced Face Dancers across the universe—with the simple flip of a mental switch. The immediate death of so many Face Dancers exposes how much they have infiltrated human society. Erasmus then offers Duncan a choice. With both humans and thinking machines battered and beaten, Duncan can choose either destruction for one side or recovery and healing for both. Choosing peace over victory, Duncan and Erasmus then merge minds. Erasmus imparts to Duncan all the codes required to run the Synchronized Worlds, as well as all of his knowledge. Duncan now stands as the bridge between humans and machines. With little left for him, Erasmus again expresses his desire to learn everything possible about what it is to be human—he asks for Duncan to help him die. As Duncan shuts Erasmus down, he shares one of the many deaths he experienced with the robot.
Back in the Old Empire, Murbella's forces are preparing to attack Omnius's second wave when the machines suddenly stop. With the Oracle having taken Omnius, a Navigator brings Murbella to Synchrony. She and Duncan are reunited, and he explains his intent to end the divide between humans and thinking machines—the two will co-exist. Duncan gives Synchrony to Sheeana for her Orthodox Sisterhood, while he returns with Murbella to help lead the new human-machine mode of life.
Epilogue
On Qelso, the gholas of Stilgar and Liet-Kynes continue to aid in the attempt to hold back the expanding desert, while simultaneously teaching the planet's occupants how to adapt to the changes that will inevitably come. Under Duncan's control, a thinking machine convoy lands on the planet; Duncan offers the gholas the aid of the thinking machines in holding back the desert. He tells Stilgar and Kynes that just as he has become both man and machine, Qelso will become both desert and forest.
On Caladan, the gholas of Lady Jessica and Wellington Yueh have returned to the ancient Atreides castle. Having removed all traces of the Baron's occupancy, the two discuss how they will go forward with their lives. Accompanying them is the unawakened ten-year-old ghola of Leto I. Looking forward to the time when his memories will be restored, Lady Jessica finds solace in the fact that she will be reunited with her Duke.
With the aid of the Tleilaxu Master Scytale, Sheeana and the Orthodox Sisterhood on Synchrony have reestablished the ancient Bene Gesserit breeding program, resolving to never again breed another Kwisatz Haderach. At her side, Sheeana has a young ghola of Serena Butler, heroine of the Butlerian Jihad. Along with gholas of the Tleilaxu Masters, Scytale has grown Tleilaxu females from newly discovered cells, vowing that they will never again be forced into becoming axlotl tanks, in the hopes that this will prevent the creation of a vengeful enemy such as the Honored Matres from ever occurring again, and also vowing to never again allow the Masters to corrupt the recovering Tleilaxu people.
On the recovering planet Dune, the awakened gholas of Paul and Chani go about restoring the planet to its former glory. Now that Paul is able to devote all of his attention to her, Chani remarks that he has finally learned how to treat his wife. Paul reaffirms his love for Chani, telling her he has loved her for over 5,000 years.
Critical reception
The novel was commercially successful, and praised by Jackie Cassada of the Library Journal:
Complex in structure though never hard to follow, this sequel to Hunters of Dune ties together the threads left by Chapterhouse: Dune, bringing closure to a saga of planetary birth and death and human courage and hubris. At the same time, the authors have left room for further explorations of one of the genre's most enduring worlds. Highly recommended for all SF collections.[4]
Conversely, the novel was criticized by Publishers Weekly for its writing and storytelling methods:
Longtime collaborators Herbert and Anderson set themselves a steep challenge—and, in the end, fail to meet it—in this much anticipated wrapup of the original Dune cycle (after 2006's Hunters of Dune) [...] Though pacing is brisk and the infrequent action scenes crackle with tension, only two minor characters—gholas, who are young clones with restored memories, of Suk doctor Wellington Yueh and God-Emperor Leto II—acquire real depth. Everyone else is too busy reacting to mostly irrelevant subplots like sabotage aboard the no-ship Ithaca, a plague devastating the planet of Chapterhouse and the genetic engineering of marine-dwelling sandworms. The lengthy climax relies on at least four consecutive deus ex machina bailouts... Series fans will argue the novel's merits for years; others will be underwhelmed.[5][6]
Previous use
Sandworms of Dune was originally the working title for the fourth Dune novel, which was eventually published as God Emperor of Dune.[7]
Related Research Articles
Chapterhouse: Dune is a 1985 science fiction novel by Frank Herbert, the last in his Dune series of six novels. It rose to No. 2 on The New York Times Best Seller list.
Baron Vladimir Harkonnen is a fictional character in the Dune franchise created by Frank Herbert. He is primarily featured in the 1965 novel Dune and is also a prominent character in the Prelude to Dune prequel trilogy (1999–2001) by Herbert's son Brian and Kevin J. Anderson. The character is brought back as a ghola in the Herbert/Anderson sequels which conclude the original series, Hunters of Dune (2006) and Sandworms of Dune (2007).
Heretics of Dune is a 1984 science fiction novel by Frank Herbert, the fifth in his Dune series of six novels. It was ranked as the No. 13 hardcover fiction best seller of 1984 by The New York Times.
Paul Atreides is a fictional character in the Dune universe created by Frank Herbert. He is a main character in the first two novels in the series, Dune (1965) and Dune Messiah (1969), and returns in Children of Dune (1976). The character is brought back as two different gholas in the Brian Herbert/Kevin J. Anderson novels which conclude the original series, Hunters of Dune (2006) and Sandworms of Dune (2007), and appears in the prequels Paul of Dune (2008) and The Winds of Dune (2009). According to Brian Herbert, Frank Herbert's son and biographer, House Atreides was based on the heroic but ill-fated Greek mythological house of Atreus.
The Bene Gesserit are a group in Frank Herbert's fictional Dune universe. A powerful social, religious, and political force, the Bene Gesserit is described as an exclusive sisterhood whose members train their bodies and minds through years of physical and mental conditioning to obtain superhuman powers and abilities that seem magical to outsiders. Members who have acquired the breadth of Bene Gesserit abilities are called Reverend Mothers.
Duncan Idaho is a fictional character in the Dune universe created by Frank Herbert. Introduced in the first novel of the series, 1965's Dune, he became a breakout character and was revived in 1969's Dune Messiah. He is the only character to feature in all six of Herbert's original Dune novels.
Melange, often referred to as "the spice", is the fictional psychedelic drug central to the Dune series of science fiction novels by Frank Herbert and derivative works.
The Fremen are a group of people in the fictional Dune universe created by Frank Herbert. First appearing in the 1965 novel Dune, the Fremen inhabit the desert planet Arrakis, which is the sole known source in the universe of the all-important spice melange. Long overlooked by the rest of the Imperium and considered backward savages, in reality they are an extremely hardy people and exist in large numbers. The Fremen had come to the planet thousands of years before the events of the novel as the Zensunni Wanderers, a religious sect in retreat. As humans in extremis, over time they adapted their culture and way of life to survive and thrive in the incredibly harsh conditions of Arrakis. The Fremen are distinguished by their fierce fighting abilities and adeptness at survival in these conditions. With water being such a rare commodity on the planet, their culture revolves around its preservation and conservation. Herbert based Fremen culture, in part, on the desert-dwelling Bedouin and San People.
Leto II Atreides is a fictional character from the Dune universe created by Frank Herbert. Born at the end of Dune Messiah (1969), Leto is a central character in Children of Dune (1976) and is the title character of God Emperor of Dune (1981). The character is brought back as a ghola in the Brian Herbert/Kevin J. Anderson sequels which conclude the original series, Hunters of Dune (2006) and Sandworms of Dune (2007). Leto also appears as a child in the prequel The Winds of Dune (2009).
Lady Jessica is a fictional character in the Dune universe created by Frank Herbert. A main character in the 1963–65 novel Dune, Jessica also plays an important role in the later installment Children of Dune (1976). The events surrounding Jessica's conception, her birth and her early years with Leto are chronicled in the Prelude to Dune prequel trilogy (1999–2001) and the Caladan Trilogy (2020–2022) by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson. The character is brought back as a ghola in the Herbert/Anderson sequels which conclude the original series, Hunters of Dune (2006) and Sandworms of Dune (2007).
Alia Atreides is a fictional character in the Dune universe created by Frank Herbert. Introduced in the first novel of the series, 1965's Dune, the character was originally killed in Herbert's first version of the manuscript. At the suggestion of Analog magazine editor John Campbell, Herbert kept her alive in the final draft. Alia would next appear as a main character in both Dune Messiah (1969) and Children of Dune (1976). The character is brought back as a ghola in the Brian Herbert/Kevin J. Anderson conclusion to the original series, Sandworms of Dune (2007).
Gaius Helen Mohiam is a fictional character in the Dune universe created by Frank Herbert. She is a Bene Gesserit Reverend Mother, and initially appears in the 1963–65 novel Dune and its 1969 sequel, Dune Messiah. Mohiam also has a major role in the Prelude to Dune prequel trilogy (1999–2001) and the Caladan Trilogy (2020–2022) by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson.
Chani is a fictional character featured in Frank Herbert's novels Dune (1965) and Dune Messiah (1969). Known mainly as the Fremen wife and legal concubine of protagonist Paul Atreides, Chani is the daughter of Imperial Planetologist Liet-Kynes and his Fremen wife Faroula, and later the mother of the twins Ghanima and Leto II Atreides. The character is later resurrected as a ghola, appearing in Hunters of Dune (2006) and Sandworms of Dune (2007), Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson's novels which complete the original series.
Dune: The Battle of Corrin is a 2004 science fiction novel by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson, set in the fictional Dune universe created by Frank Herbert. It is the third book in the Legends of Dune prequel trilogy, which takes place over 10,000 years before the events of Frank Herbert's celebrated 1965 novel Dune. The series chronicles the fictional Butlerian Jihad, a crusade by the last free humans in the universe against the thinking machines, a violent and dominating force led by the sentient computer Omnius.
Hunters of Dune is the first of two books written by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson to conclude Frank Herbert's original Dune series of science fiction novels.
This is a list of terminology used in the fictional Dune universe created by Frank Herbert, the primary source being "Terminology of the Imperium", the glossary contained in the novel Dune (1965).
Multiple organizations of the Dune universe dominate the political, religious, and social arena of the setting of Frank Herbert's Dune series of science fiction novels, and derivative works. Set tens of thousands of years in the future, the saga chronicles a civilization which has banned computers but has also developed advanced technology and mental and physical abilities through physical training, eugenics and the use of the drug melange. Specialized groups of individuals have aligned themselves in organizations focusing on specific abilities, technology and goals. Herbert's concepts of human evolution and technology have been analyzed and deconstructed in at least one book, The Science of Dune (2008). His originating 1965 novel Dune is popularly considered one of the greatest science fiction novels of all time, and is frequently cited as the best-selling science fiction novel in history. Dune and its five sequels by Herbert explore the complex and multilayered interactions of politics, religion, ecology and technology, among other themes.
We've a three-point civilization: the Imperial Household balanced against the Federated Great Houses of the Landsraad, and between them, the Guild with its damnable monopoly on interstellar transport.
The Dune prequel series is a sequence of novel trilogies written by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson. Set in the Dune universe created by Frank Herbert, the novels take place in various time periods before and in between Herbert's original six novels, which began with 1965's Dune. In 1997, Bantam Books made a $3 million deal with the authors for three Dune prequel novels, partially based upon notes left behind by Frank Herbert, that would come to be known as the Prelude to Dune trilogy. Starting with 1999's Dune: House Atreides, the duo have published 15 Dune prequel novels to date. In 2011 Publishers Weekly called the series "a sprawling edifice that Frank Herbert's son and Anderson have built on the foundation of the original Dune novels." Jon Michaud of The New Yorker wrote in 2013, "The conversion of Dune into a franchise, while pleasing readers and earning royalties for the Herbert estate, has gone a long way toward obscuring the power of the original novel."
↑ Neuman, Clayton (August 17, 2009). "Winds of Dune Author Brian Herbert on Flipping the Myth of Jihad". AMC. Archived from the original on September 21, 2009. Retrieved June 16, 2020. 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."Before Dune, After Frank Herbert". Amazon.com. 2004. Archived from the original on April 9, 2009. Retrieved November 12, 2008. 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."Interview with Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson". Arrakis.ru. 2004. Archived from the original on September 8, 2012. Retrieved November 12, 2008. 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.)
↑ Ascher, Ian (2004). "Kevin J. Anderson Interview". DigitalWebbing.com. Archived from the original on July 3, 2007. Retrieved July 3, 2007. ... 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.Adams, John Joseph (August 9, 2006). "New Dune Books Resume Story". SciFi.com. Archived from the original on December 19, 2007. Retrieved December 19, 2007. 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...'Snider, John C. (August 2007). "Audiobook Review: Hunters of Dune by Brian Herbert & Kevin J. Anderson". SciFiDimensions.com. Archived from the original on March 24, 2008. Retrieved February 15, 2009. the co-authors have expanded on Herbert's brief outline
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