Frank Herbert
Life Events
| Date | Event | Details |
|---|---|---|
8 October 1920 | Birth | Born in Tacoma, Washington, Frank Herbert worked as a journalist, photographer, and speechwriter before Dune was published in 1965 after being rejected by twenty publishers. It won both the Hugo and Nebula awards and remains the bestselling science fiction novel of all time. |
11 February 1986 | Death | Frank Herbert died of a pulmonary embolism in Madison, Wisconsin, while recovering from surgery for pancreatic cancer. He had completed five Dune sequels and was planning a seventh novel to resolve the series, leaving storylines that his son Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson later addressed in continuation novels. |
2006 | Award Won | Science Fiction Hall of Fame Posthumous inductee |
2025 | Award Won | SFWA Award Infinity Award |
Birth8 October 1920
Born in Tacoma, Washington, Frank Herbert worked as a journalist, photographer, and speechwriter before Dune was published in 1965 after being rejected by twenty publishers. It won both the Hugo and Nebula awards and remains the bestselling science fiction novel of all time.
Death11 February 1986
Frank Herbert died of a pulmonary embolism in Madison, Wisconsin, while recovering from surgery for pancreatic cancer. He had completed five Dune sequels and was planning a seventh novel to resolve the series, leaving storylines that his son Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson later addressed in continuation novels.
Award Won2006
Science Fiction Hall of Fame
Posthumous inductee
Award Won2025
SFWA Award
Infinity Award
Universes (1)
Series (1)
Books (6)
Dune
Dune (Original Series)
1965
On the desert planet Arrakis - known as Dune - the most valuable substance in the universe is found: the spice melange, which extends life, expands consciousness, and makes interstellar travel possible. When the noble House Atreides is granted stewardship of Arrakis, young Paul Atreides is thrust into a deadly political landscape where rival houses, imperial intrigue, and the planet's fierce native Fremen all converge. As Paul adapts to the harsh desert world, he begins to manifest abilities that mark him as something more than human - something the Fremen have been waiting for. A novel about power, religion, ecology, and the dangerous intersection of prophecy and politics, Dune is one of the most influential works in science fiction.
Dune Messiah
Dune (Original Series)
1969
Twelve years after claiming the imperial throne, Paul Muad'Dib rules an empire built on religious fervour and conquest. The jihad waged in his name has swept across the galaxy, killing billions - and Paul, despite his prescient visions, has been powerless to stop it. Now a conspiracy unites his most dangerous enemies: the Bene Gesserit sisterhood, the Spacing Guild, the Tleilaxu, and Paul's own wife, Princess Irulan. At the centre of their plot is a gift - a ghola, a being reconstructed from the dead - that carries a purpose Paul can foresee but cannot avoid. A novel about the trap of power and the price of godhood.