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Summary
Though Frank Herbert is the father of theDuneUniverse, several works make up this timeless cosmos. Over a decade after Herbert’s death, his son, Brian, collaborated with the science fiction writer, Kevin J. Anderson on a series of mostly prequels, and in so doing, mapped and expanded the universe and enriched theDunesaga. The duo have co-written a sequence of a trilogy ofDuneprequels, two sequels, a collection of short stories, and a graphic novel series. One of their books directly concerns the upcoming HBO series -Dune: Prophecy.
Dune: Prophecyis billed as(and correctly so) a spin-off to Denis Villeneuve’s two-part big-screen adaptation. While it is fairly easy to comprehend that Villeneuve’sDune Part OneandTwocovered the series' first book, i.e., Herbert’sDune(1965), things get a little tricky withDune: Prophecy. Since the spin-off to theDunemovies tells a story about the origins of the Sisterhood, it is imperative to talk about the inspiration behind it.
The Profound Worldbuilding OfDuneAnd The Inspiration Behind HBO’sDune: Prophecy
Herbert’s seminal work led to an immersive saga, the nuance of which can only be rivaled byJ. R. R. Tolkien’s legendarium.Dunehas a deep orientalist imprint, and its language, as Herbert tells Timothy O’Reilly in an unpublished 1978 interview (PerO’Reilly) is adapted from"colloquial Arabic."
In the afterword found inDune, Herbert (the younger) calls the Dune universe a"spiritual melting pot,“combining various religious beliefs. It brings into play facets of the Islamic belief system, Sufi mysticism, Catholicism, Protestantism, Buddhism, Judaism, and Hinduism. As for the scheming Bene Gesserit, it is a brainchild of Herbert’s 1965 seminal work and a significant one at that. Herbert (the younger) also sheds light onthe origin of the Bene Gesseritin the afterword ofDune. He says:
When he was a boy, eight of Dad’s Irish Catholic aunts tried to force Catholicism on him, but he resisted. Instead, this became the genesis of the Bene Gesserit Sisterhood.
Herbert (the younger) adds that though the Sisterhood would claim it did not believe in organized religion, the sisters were spiritual nonetheless, just like his parents. Using various examples, Herbert (the younger) posits how his father’s personal life, beliefs, and value systems shaped theDuneuniverse.
The Wealth OfDuneNovels
FromSisterhood of DuneToDune: Prophecy
Herbert (the elder) wrote a total of6 novels in theDuneChronicles. After he died in 1986, Herbert (the younger) found his unpublished works, notes, and outlines which he and Anderson used as supplementary material to keep theDunesaga going. They co-wrote the other 17 novels in theDuneChronicles, bringing the total up to 23.
The original works, written by Herbert (the elder) are:
Thirteen years after the death ofHerbert (the elder), Herbert (the younger) and Anderson expanded theDuneuniverse by collaborating on the first ofThe Prelude to Dunetrilogy, namelyHouse Atreides,which is set 35 years beforeDune. This novel was followed by:
Herbert (the younger) and Anderson continued on a sequence of prequel trilogies withLegends of Dune[The Butlerian Jihad(2002),The Machine Crusade(2003), andThe Battle of Corrin(2004)],Heroes of Dune[Paul of Dune(2008),The Winds of Dune(2009),Princess of Dune(2023)] and most importantly,Great Schools of Dunewhich is a sequel trilogy toLegends of Dune. The first in theGreat Schools of Duneseries, i.e.,Sisterhood of Duneserves as an inspiration for the HBO spin-off.
Mentats of Dune(2014)
Navigators of Dune(2016)
Dune: The Battle of Corrin(Published in the year 2004) takes place over 10,000 years beforethe coming of Paul Atreides to Arrakis, i.e., the events of Villeneuve’sDune: Part One.Dune: The Battle of Corrincovers the thinking machines' attempt to wipe out the last of humanity.Sisterhood of Duneis set almost a hundred years after the events ofThe Battle of Corrin, when the Army of Humanity wiped out the thinking machine armies of Omnius.Sisterhood of Dunesees the beginnings of the eponymous fabled sect in the aftermath of the Butlerian Jihad.
You wish to serve the Great Houses and shape the flow of power. You must first exert power over yourself.
The heroic Bene Gesserit does get screentime in Villeneuve’sDune,but the foundation of the Sisterhood, its motives, goals, and plans will be detailed in the spin-off.Dune: Prophecymarks a screen-to-streaming transition, resembling the path taken byThe Penguinvis a visMatt Reeves' BatVerse.
What Does HBO’sDune: ProphecySay About Bene Gesserit?
The official logline of the prequel series succinctly states:
Set 10,000 years before the ascension of Paul Atreides, Dune: Prophecy follows two Harkonnen sisters as they combat forces that threaten the future of humankind, and establish the fabled sect that will become known as the Bene Gesserit.
The Matriarchal Order is at the center stage of the thrilling tale that isDune: Prophecy. As seen in various trailers, the Sisterhood is given depth and appears to be tying all the factions and characters. Before it even took the name Bene Gesserit,the Sisterhood spoke of the need to establish a sect, with Jessica Barden’s younger version of Valya Harkonnen at the forefront.
“…playing god,” creating “a network of influence throughout the Imperium…” the good of the Imperium, andthe price of powerare a few of the themesDune: Prophecytouches on.
