How many Dune books are there?

6 March, 2024

Dune: Part 2

Dune has been a sci-fi classic for decades but a whole new generation has discovered its influence thanks to director Denis Villeneuve.

Frank Herbert’s original 1965 novel has spawned an entire book series, several film and TV adaptations, along with various video games set in the world of Arrakis.

Director Denis Villeneuve’s film duology based on the first book, however, marks the most successful adaptation yet. The 2021 film received a nomination for Best Picture at the Oscars, while Dune: Part Two hit $200million worldwide in its opening weekend.

The films star Timothée Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson, Oscar Isaac, Josh Brolin, Stellan Skarsgård, Dave Bautista, Zendaya and Javier Bardem.

How many Dune books are there in total?

Dune Part 2
Timothée Chalamet in ‘Dune: Part Two’. Credit: WarnerBros

There are technically 23 books in the entire Dune saga, but only six of these have been written by original author Frank Herbert. The main six novels are listed below.

  • Dune (1965)
  • Dune Messiah (1969)
  • Children Of Dune (1976)
  • God Emperor Of Dune (1981)
  • Heretics Of Dune (1984)
  • Chapterhouse: Dune (1985)

The remaining 17 novels have been written by Frank’s son Brian Herbert and science-fiction author Kevin J. Anderson following Frank Herbert’s death in 1986.

These range from prequel novels and two sequels, Hunters Of Dune and Sandworms Of Dune, which were partially based on notes discovered a decade after Frank’s death. You can check out a list of these novels below.

Prequels to Dune

  • House Atreides (1999)
  • House Harkonnen (2000)
  • House Corrino (2001)
  • 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)
  • Dune: The Duke Of Caladan (2020)
  • Dune: The Lady Of Caladan (2021)
  • Dune: The Heir Of Caladan (2022)

Sequels to Dune

  • Hunters Of Dune (2006)
  • Sandworms Of Dune (2007)

Others

  • Paul Of Dune (2008)
  • The Winds Of Dune (2009)
  • Princess Of Dune (2023)

There are also a number of short story collections, including The Road To Dune by Frank Herbert which was released in 1985.

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