A fantastic, book for fans of the 'Dune' series. Dive into the intricacies of the world built by Frank Herbert's imagination. Trace the inspirations and symbolism. With the rebooted movies coming out, this would be a great gift for a true fan.

My thanks to Quarto Publishing Group Frances Lincoln for a temporary digital edition of ‘The Worlds of Dune’ by Tom Huddleston.

The subtitle of this attractively presented coffee table book is ‘The Places and Cultures that Inspired Frank Herbert’ and that describes its contents well.

Since its publication in 1965, Frank Herbert’s ‘Dune’ has become a phenomenon and is among the best-known works of science fiction ever written. Huddleston seeks to answer the question as to how an ex-Navy newspaperman from Washington State came to write such a world-conquering novel incorporating many layers of myth and meaning? 

He explores how Herbert’s imagination was inspired by a wide array of ideas, from classical history to cutting-edge science, from environmentalism to Zen philosophy, and from Arabic texts to Shakespeare’s tragedies.

Huddleston begins with Arrakis and then considers the other planets as well as the institutions that made up Herbert’s epic creation. ‘The Worlds of Dune’ is accompanied by many illustrations and photographs, including from its two film adaptations. There are also plenty of notes and an index.

I was interested to read of Frank Herbert’s youthful friendship with Henry Martin, a Hoh man who had grown up on La Push, the Quilete reservation well known from the ’Twilight’ saga. As a result Herbert incorporated the attitudes of First Nations Peoples towards the land. He was also very committed to ecology and this too was reflected throughout his narrative.

Overall, I found ‘The Worlds of Dune’ a fascinating analysis that provided me with insight into the themes of the Dune series. This is a book that is sure to please lovers of science fiction.

An excellent overview of the influences and inspiration for Frank Herbert’s Dune. It covers the planets, cultures, great powers and more. Well researched, and beautifully illustrated (including photos from the most recent film), there was a lot of information that I found really interesting. A great read.

I received an Advanced Review Copy of this book and my thanks to the team of NetGalley, the publisher and the author for the copy.
I have been a fan of the Dune series since I read the first part way back in the early 90's. One of my earliest books in the sci-fi sphere.

In Dune, Frank Herbert had created a sci-fi universe very rarely matched by others. The desolate worlds and the life has inspired latter generations of writers and creators.

Tom in this book has taken the concepts of Dune and explored the world that influenced Frank and in turn the story. This book is a deep dive into the person Frank and his life and influences that shaped his thought and how we see it reflected in the worlds of the book. Contemporary influences and inspirations that led to the lasting effects that the book(s) have left on the sci-fi vertical.

The book is a treasure trove of information for the series fans and we have information about Frank's life, his way of life, his family especially his aunt and wife which influenced his thought especially the way he saw women that come up in the way he portrayed them in the books. His honest attempt to write an article about controlling the spurt of dunes in the Pacific area could be seen in full glory in the books.

This book is full of suitable illustrations from the movies as well as from behind the scenes while shooting and Frank personally. The book is very well researched and is one that I would like to own.

Full marks to Tom for this beautiful book.

If you are a fan of the Dune universe this is the perfect book for you. It’s incredibly insightful into the writing progress, the author and the world building. Also lots of pictures!

This is a great book for any fan of the Dune books or movies. It’s very detailed and has great photos and facts. It was a good read.

Incredibly interesting to read/look at, especially in anticipation of Dune Part 2 coming soon (albeit later than we'd hoped). A beautiful book, which I'll be looking into getting a full hardback copy of to see the images clearer.

An enjoyable guide to a world that has been captivating across multiple novels and films. I recommend this companion text for readers who want to know more about this rich story-world.

My thanks to both NetGalley and the publisher Quarto Publishing Group – White Lion, for an advance copy of this book that looks at the many events and influences that the author Frank Herbert brought to one of the most seminal books in science fiction.

Frank Herbert once wrote: "It is not the present which influences the future, thou fool, but the future which forms the present. You have it all backward. Since the future is set, an unfolding of events which will assure that future is fixed and inevitable." This is almost a perfection summation of how Frank Herbert created one of the most different, challenging and memorable science fiction books, one that has influenced many, influenced ideas, and made filmmakers create art that is still discussed today, the novel and series Dune. Herbert drew on many things, events, knowledge, facts and oddities in his own life to create Dune, and one could say that all these events culminated into book form. A mix of political, environmental, spiritual, psychedelic, and good old speculation, based on research and a live lived. In The Worlds of Dune: The Places and Cultures that Inspired Frank Herbert, Tom Huddleston, looks at the man, his life, and the times and how these came together to form a classic.

The book begins with a look at Frank Herbert's life and upbringing, his interest in reading, his sort of ungoverned life, and his aunts that helped raise him, giving him an appreciation for women that would show in his writing. Herbert was also interested in the indigenous people that lived around him, forming friendships, and watching and learning from the people their ways of survival and thoughts on dealing with nature. A time in the navy gave him ideas for his first book, his second wife helped him both in writing about strong women, and in her supporting the family while he worked on writing for a profession. Writing speeches for a Senator, gave him an introduction to both politics, and the power of favors, which would show in his writing about the Landsraad, the governing body of the Great Houses and the Emperor who controlled the universe. The biggest influence came as an attempt to write a nonfiction article about the efforts to control the growth of dunes, something that had never been attempted in such size before in the Pacific Northwest. The article never appeared, but the research and ideas fermented in Herbert's brain, until he began writing a story that soon appeared in a monthly science fiction magazine. And a phenomenon was born.

A very well-written and well-researched look at the creation of Dune, that is also lavishly illustrated. Following the biography about Herbert the book is broken down into an atlas of the worlds mention, along with chapters on the Spice Guild, corporations, and historical events. Each chapter features various influences from eastern philosophy, yoga, environmentalism, psychedelic, and more. Huddleston is quite good at describing many different ideas and tying them into the story. The book is illustrated with photos from the two movies, sketches from the Dune movie that was never made, and classic book covers. There is quite a lot covered, and Huddleston has done a very good job of bringing everything together and not going off in weirding ways.

A book for fans of course, but a book that might help struggling writers as an inspiring tale of a man who never gave up on his writing as Frank Herbert never did. To think that Dune was published by Chilton Books is just very funny to me. Also writers can learn to draw from their lives to make their books more personal, and to take an interest in many things, for no one knows where a spark of an idea could come from.

I really enjoyed the book. The information was interesting and easy to understand and follow.

Rating ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This is a book that all Dune fans should have in their collection. Full of insight into the saga on page and on film, the book contains some excellent commentary, history, and stunning photographs of all things Dune.

The dedication alone had me hooked from the start (my mother introduced me to Dune immediately) and I look forward to hardcopies being released as the only set back was trying to read though this on my phone (which is not nearly large enough to properly enjoy all this book has to offer)

An insight into the creation of the world's within the Dune universe. It's perfect for fans of the original series.

This was interesting, I enjoyed seeing all the intracies of the world of Dune, it made me appreciate this series more.