Yahoo Lifestyle How to Read All 23 'Dune' Books in Order
Even the most casual Dune fan can probably guess that the book series is a lot more complicated than the movies, but only the truest Arrakis stans know how deep the lore really goes. Beginning with Frank Herbert’s original Dune in 1965, the franchise has grown to include 23 novels, two books of novellas and short stories, and multiple graphic novels. There’s also tons to keep track of within the books, as they span a period of tens of thousands of years and are set across an entire galaxy. The films are basically just the Cliff's Notes of the first chapter.
With a third Dune film potentially on the way and the Dune: Prophecy TV series coming to HBO, however, there's no better time to start reading some of the books the adaptations are based on.
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If you’re ready to dive into the written world of Dune, there are two basic ways to do it: in publication order and in chronological order. Each one has its merits, but neither one is quick or easy. Keep reading for a complete guide to reading the Dune books in order.
How many Dune books are there?
There are a whopping 23 books in the Dune series, plus two books of novellas and short stories set in the Dune universe.
How many Dune books did Frank Herbert write?
Frank Herbert, who created the Dune universe, only wrote six of the books himself: Dune, Dune Messiah, Children of Dune, God Emperor of Dune, Heretics of Dune and Chapterhouse: Dune. He planned to write a seventh book to complete the series, but he died in 1986 before he could finish it. After his death, his eldest son, Brian Herbert, continued the Dune series with Kevin J. Anderson.
How to read the Dune books in release order
Many Dune fans believe reading the series in release order is the best way to tackle the series even though a lot of the later novels are technically prequels to the original Dune. If that’s your plan, proceed as follows (and note there are spoilers ahead):
Ace Books
1. Dune (1965) - Dune Book #1
The behemoth that started it all, Dune introduces readers to the noble Atreides family and the desert planet Arrakis. Set far in the future, the book follows Duke Leto Atreides as he moves his family to Arrakis, also known as Dune, after being ordered there by the emperor. Once they arrive, however, they are betrayed by the rival House Harkonnen, and Leto’s son, Paul, is suddenly thrust into the role of leader and potential messiah. (This book is the basis for both Denis Villeneuve and David Lynch’s film versions of Dune.)
2. Dune Messiah (1969) - Dune Book #2
Messiah picks up 12 years after the events of Dune, with Paul having embraced his role as Lisan al Gaib, otherwise known as messiah to the Fremen people of Arrakis. Unfortunately, he’s also started a jihad that’s left 61 billion people dead, and now several factions are conspiring to take him down. (Denis Villeneuve’s forthcoming third movie will be based on this book.)
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3. Children of Dune (1976) - Dune Book #3
As the title suggests, Children of Dune follows the exploits of Paul’s kids, the twins Leto II and Ghanima. The novel begins nine years after Messiah, which ends with Paul’s disappearance. As his sister, Alia, rules the empire in his stead, Leto II and Ghanima grapple with the possibility that they’ll end up like their controversial father.
4. God Emperor of Dune (1981) - Dune Book #4
This is the one where things start to get really weird. Leto II, having transformed into a human/sandworm hybrid, has ruled the universe with an iron fist for 3,500 years. People understandably don’t love this, so a rebellion — led by his relative Siona — is forming.
5. Heretics of Dune (1984) - Dune Book #5
The fifth book in the original series picks up 1,500 years after the death of Leto II. Arrakis, now called just Rakis, is once again a desert wasteland, but a young girl named Sheeana seems to fulfill a prophecy foretold by the late God Emperor. Will she be able to set the Empire back on course?
6. Chapterhouse: Dune (1985) - Dune Book #6
Chapterhouse is the final book in Frank Herbert’s original series and famously ends on a cliffhanger, as he died before he was able to finish his seventh book. After the destruction of Arrakis, the Bene Gesserit are in charge of the Empire, but they find themselves locked in a battle with another matriarchal organization called the Honored Matres.
Del Ray Books
7. House Atreides (1999) - Prelude to Dune Book #1
More than a decade after Frank Herbert’s death, his son Brian Herbert returned to the Dune universe with House Atreides, the first book in his and Kevin J. Anderson’s Prelude to Dune trilogy. House Atreides is set 35 years before the events of the first Dune novel and follows a young Leto Atreides (Paul’s father) and a young Baron Harkonnen.
8. House Harkonnen (2000) - Prelude to Dune Book #2
The second book in the Prelude to Dune trilogy picks up with Shaddam IV, who was a prince in the previous novel, having succeeded his father as Padishah Emperor. Meanwhile on Caladan, Leto meets Jessica, who will become his concubine and the mother of his son, Paul.
9. House Corrino (2001) - Prelude to Dune Book #3
The third and final Prelude to Dune book chronicles the beginning of Shaddam IV’s Great Spice War and the lead-up to Paul Atreides’ birth, which the Bene Gesserit have been eagerly awaiting.
Tor Books
10. The Butlerian Jihad (2002) - Legends of Dune Book #1
Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson’s second trilogy, Legends of Dune, is also a prequel series, but it’s set much farther in the past than Prelude to Dune — the first book takes place 10,000 years before the events of the original novel. The first book in the trilogy, The Butlerian Jihad, documents the war of the same name, in which the last free humans in the universe fought against “thinking machines” led by a sentient computer named Omnius.
11. The Machine Crusade (2003) - Legends of Dune Book #2
The second book in Legends of Dune, The Machine Crusade is set two decades after The Butlerian Jihad and follows the machines as they fight back. On the planet Arrakis, a band of outlaws begin their journey to becoming the Fremen.
12. The Battle of Corrin (2004) - Legends of Dune Book #3
The Legends of Dune series wraps up with The Battle of Corrin, which is set a century after the beginning of the war known as the Butlerian Jihad. In this book, the humans and the machines finally have their last battle, which sets the scene for the world readers will recognize from the first Dune.
13. Hunters of Dune (2006) - Dune Book #7
Unlike Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson’s first six Dune books, this one is not a prequel. Hunters of Dune is the first of two books they wrote to conclude Frank Herbert’s original Dune series, meaning Hunters comes chronologically after Chapterhouse: Dune. The book picks up with the escaping fugitives who were last seen at the end of Chapterhouse and explores the aftermath of the war between the Bene Gesserit and the Honored Matres.
14. Sandworms of Dune (2007) - Dune Book #8
Sandworms of Dune is the second book in Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson’s two-part conclusion to the original Dune series. This one ties up a lot of loose ends from those first six books and includes an epic final battle that serves as the climax Frank Herbert never got to write.
15. Paul of Dune (2008) - Heroes of Dune Book #1
This book is the first entry in the Heroes of Dune series, which takes place more or less concurrently with the original Dune. Paul of Dune alternates between Paul Atreides’ childhood and the period between the events of Dune and Dune: Messiah.
16. The Winds of Dune (2009) - Heroes of Dune Book #2
The second Heroes of Dune book, The Winds of Dune, follows Lady Jessica after Paul’s disappearance into the desert of Arrakis and catches up with characters like Duncan Idaho, adding more context to Frank Herbert’s first couple of novels.
17. Sisterhood of Dune (2012) - Great Schools of Dune Book #1
After The Winds of Dune, Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson paused the Heroes of Dune series to work on another prequel trilogy called Great Schools of Dune. The first book in that series, Sisterhood of Dune, picks up 80 years after the events of The Battle of Corrin and follows the Bene Gesserit, Mentat, and Suk Schools in their early days. (This book served as the inspiration for HBO’s Dune: Prophecy.)
18. Mentats of Dune (2014) - Great Schools of Dune Book #2
In the second Great Schools of Dune book, Mentats of Dune, Herbert and Anderson focus in on the Mentat School, which trains humans to be the kind of thinking machines that were destroyed during the Butlerian Jihad. (Thufir Hawat, played by Stephen McKinley Henderson in Dune: Part One, is a mentat.)
19. Navigators of Dune (2016) - Great Schools of Dune Book #3
The third and final Great Schools of Dune book continues the origin stories of the Mentat, Suk and Bene Gesserit Schools as well as the Spacing Guild, all of which find themselves threatened by anti-technology forces rising up after the Butlerian Jihad.
20. The Duke of Caladan (2020) - The Caladan Trilogy Book #1
Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson began yet another series, The Caladan Trilogy, with The Duke of Caladan, which follows the early years of Paul’s father, Duke Leto Atreides.
21. The Lady of Caladan (2021) - The Caladan Trilogy Book #2
The Lady of Caladan is the second Caladan Trilogy book and chronicles Lady Jessica’s decision to betray the Bene Gesserit as her family becomes wrapped up in political turmoil. The book is set roughly a year before the events of the original Dune.
22. The Heir of Caladan (2022) - The Caladan Trilogy Book #3
The third and final Caladan Trilogy book is The Heir of Caladan, which provides an even deeper dive into Paul’s transformation from regular teenager to messiah of the galaxy.
23. Princess of Dune (2023) - Heroes of Dune Book #3
Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson returned to the Heroes of Dune series with Princess of Dune, which is set a few years before the original Dune. In this book, the coauthors dive into the backstories of Chani, Paul’s Fremen lover, and Princess Irulan, his eventual wife.
Important note: The above list does not include the collections Tales of Dune and Sands of Dune, which include short stories and novellas set in the world of Dune. If you want to slot those in, 2022’s Sands of Dune goes between The Lady of Caladan and The Heir of Caladan. Tales of Dune is a bit trickier because it was originally published digitally in 2011 before getting a print edition in 2017 that featured a new story. Going with the earlier date, it slots between The Winds of Dune and Sisterhood of Dune. If you want to stick with the later, expanded version’s publication date, then it fits between Navigators of Dune and The Duke of Caladan.
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Warner Bros.
How to read the Dune books in chronological order
Reading the Dune books in chronological order means that you’re starting with the earliest events of the saga, some of which are things that happened thousands of years before the action in the first Dune novel. The benefit here is that you’ll have a much deeper understanding of terms like “the Butlerian Jihad” by the time you get to Dune, but the downside is that it’ll take you 13 books to get there — and then you still have nine more books to go. Chronological order is as follows:
The Butlerian Jihad (2002)
The Machine Crusade (2003)
The Battle of Corrin (2004)
Sisterhood of Dune (2012)
Mentats of Dune (2014)
Navigators of Dune (2016)
House Atreides (1999)
House Harkonnen (2000)
House Corrino (2001)
Princess of Dune (2024)
The Duke of Caladan (2020)
The Lady of Caladan (2021)
The Heir of Caladan (2022)
Dune (1965)
Paul of Dune (2008)
Dune Messiah (1969)
The Winds of Dune (2009)
Children of Dune (1976)
God Emperor of Dune (1981)
Heretics of Dune (1984)
Chapterhouse: Dune (1985)
Hunters of Dune (2006)
Sandworms of Dune (2007)
An exhaustive chronological reading would also slot in the novellas and short stories from Sands of Dune and Tales of Dune. For that method, proceed as follows:
“Hunting Harkonnens” (Tales of Dune)
The Butlerian Jihad
“Whipping Mek” (Tales of Dune)
The Machine Crusade
“The Faces of a Martyr” (Tales of Dune)
The Battle of Corrin
Sisterhood of Dune
Mentats of Dune
“Red Plague” (Tales of Dune)
Navigators of Dune
“Imperial Court” (Sands of Dune)
“Edge of a Crysknife” (Sands of Dune)
House Atreides
House Harkonnen
House Corrino
“Wedding Silk” (Tales of Dune)
Princess of Dune
The Duke of Caladan
The Lady of Caladan
The Heir of Caladan
Dune
“A Whisper of Caladan Seas” (Tales of Dune)
“Blood of the Sardaukar” (Sands of Dune)
“The Waters of Kanly” (Sands of Dune)
Paul of Dune
Dune Messiah
The Winds of Dune
Children of Dune
God Emperor of Dune
Heretics of Dune
Chapterhouse: Dune
“Sea Child” (Tales of Dune)
Hunters of Dune
“Treasure in the Sand” (Tales of Dune)
Sandworms of Dune
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In what order should I read the Dune books
Most Dune fans think the best way for new readers to proceed is by going in release order. This means starting with Frank Herbert’s original Dune and his the five subsequent novels before ever diving into the spinoffs, prequels and sequels written by his son. (Some diehard Frank fans don’t consider Brian Herbert’s books as canon and suggest not reading them at all, but you can cross that bridge once you finish Chapterhouse: Dune and are staring 17 more dense sci-fi novels in the face.)
Is Dune a trilogy or six books?
A lot of readers mistakenly think Dune is a trilogy, as so many sci-fi and fantasy works are, but the original series is made up of six books: Dune, Dune Messiah, Children of Dune, God Emperor of Dune, Heretics of Dune, and Chapterhouse: Dune. Frank Herbert authored all six of those and planned a seventh book to complete the series but died before he could finish it. His son Brian Herbert has since published an additional 17 books (plus two story collections) set in the Dune universe.
Does Dune 6 end on a cliffhanger?
Yes, the sixth Dune book, Chapterhouse: Dune, famously ends on a cliffhanger that leaves a lot of things unresolved. This wasn’t on purpose, however, as Frank Herbert intended to write a seventh book but died in 1986 before he could complete it. His son Brian Herbert and the author Kevin J. Anderson used Frank’s Dune 7 notes to write Hunters of Dune and Sandworms of Dune, both of which are sequels to Chapterhouse and “complete” the series.
Which Dune books are the movies based on?
The first two Dune movies, directed by Denis Villeneuve, are based on Frank Herbert’s Dune, which was published in 1965. (David Lynch also based his own 1984 Dune adaptation on that book.) Villeneuve’s potential third Dune film will be based on Dune Messiah, the second book in Herbert’s original series.
Fans may also recall Syfy’s popular Dune miniseries, which debuted in 2000 and was titled Frank Herbert’s Dune. That series was also based on the first book. A sequel miniseries, Frank Herbert’s Children of Dune, debuted in 2003 and is based on Dune Messiah and Children of Dune.
HBO
Which book is Dune: Prophecy based on?
Dune: Prophecy is based on Sisterhood of Dune by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson, which was published in 2012. It is a prequel to Frank Herbert’s original Dune series and the first book in the Great Schools of Dune trilogy, which also includes Mentats of Dune and Navigators of Dune.
Related: Everything You Need to Know Before Watching 'Dune: Prophecy'
