Get all your news in one place.

100’s of premium titles.
One app.

Start reading

Get all your news in one place.

100’s of premium titles. One news app.

Start reading

The Independent UK

Entertainment

Lois Borny

There are 23 books in the Dune series – here’s how to read them in order

Frank Herbert Brian Herbert Arrakis Denis Villeneuve Kevin J Anderson Leto Paul Atreides

Here’s how to kickstart your Dune reading voyage - (The Independent)

Ahead of the cinema release of Dune: Part Three in December 2026, an official trailer for the next instalment of Denis Villeneuve’s adaptation of Frank Herbert’s Dune book series has finally dropped.

The conclusion to the sci-fi film trilogy sees a star-studded cast return, including Timothee Chalamet (Paul Atreides), Zendaya (Chani), Florence Pugh (Irulan), Javier Bardem (Stilgar) and Isaach De Bankolé (Farok). A new face in the line-up, Robert Pattinson is Scytale, a shape-shifting villain that manipulates and deceives in a bid to sabotage Paul Atreides.

Featuring brutal battles, tender moments and Arrakis landscapes, the teaser also hears Paul say: “War feeds on itself…the more I fight the more enemies fight back… I’m doing the best I can to protect my family”, before concluding: “I’m not afraid to die, but I must not die – yet”.

The upcoming film is based on the second book of the series, Dune Messiah. If you don't want any book spoilers, scroll away now. Dune: Part Three will pick up some time after the ending events of Dune: Part Two, which ended with Paul Atreides in power – Emperor and a messiah figure for the Fremen – and married to Princess Irulan despite loving Chani, with a Galaxy-spanning holy war imminent

In terms of the book series, Herbert himself wrote six of the them, up to Chapterhouse: Dune, published in 1985, before his death in 1986. His son, Brian Herbert, with author Kevin J. Anderson produced the other books in the series. There a couple of ways to tackle the 23 titles (total). You could choose to read the books in the order that they were published, or you could pick them up in chronological order. And, of course, you can also just read the first book as a standalone and stop there, if you wish.

‘Dune’ by Frank Herbert, published by Hodderscape: £6.99, Amazon.co.uk

Published in August 1965, the first book in the Dune series introduces us to Arrakis, an inhospitable desert planet. Rival factions are vying for a precious, psychedelic drug called “spice” – created by sandworms, this is a coveted substance that can extend human life and enhance consciousness. Expect to explore themes of religion, technology, and our relationship with our environment in this seminal sci-fi tome.

‘Dune Messiah’ by Frank Herbert, published by Hodder Paperbacks: £8.47, Amazon.co.uk

The second book of Herbert’s Dune saga, Dune Messiah, was published in 1969. Following the conflict in the first book, House Harkonnen has been defeated, and Paul Atreides – now named Muad’Dib – is the immensely powerful emperor of planet Arrakis. But with unrest still raging across the universe, his throne is under threat. This is the title that the third film will be based on.

‘Children of Dune’ by Frank Herbert, published by Gollancz, £7.90, Amazon.co.uk

The third book of the series is Children of Dune, published in April 1976. It’s nearly a decade since Paul Atreides has vanished, lost to the Arrakis deserts. His two children, twin siblings Leto and Ghanima Atreides, can foretell events. This is a prophetic skill which their aunt Alia, the new ruler of the empire, hopes will help her to hold down her reign, while she faces uprisings and treason, and a revolt, led by a mystifying figure, “The Preacher”.

‘God Emperor of Dune’ by Frank Herbert, published by Gollancz: £7.96, Amazon.co.uk

Herbert’s sci-fi epic continues with God Emperor of Dune, the fourth book of the series, published five years after Children of Dune, in 1981. We’re now thousands of years on, in the wake of the happenings of Children of Dune. Paul Muad’Dib’s son Leto, the God Emperor of Dune, is now almost immortal, but at the cost of his human morality. In a bid to preserve the human species, which he knows to be doomed unless they follow his plan, “The Golden Path”, he becomes a tyrannical ruler, and an uprising ensues. The plot explores themes of politics, total power and the human condition.

‘Heretics of Dune’ by Frank Herbert, published by Gollancz: £8.68, Amazon.co.uk

Published in 1984, the penultimate book in Herbert’s six-book original Dune series is Heretics of Dune. Hundreds of years on from the previous book’s events, planet Arrakis (which is now called Raki) is thriving no longer, now barren and desolate once again. Many people left as civilisation collapsed, but now, they’re back, fighting for whatever is left. Featuring a supernatural sisterhood called the Bene Gesserit, and a girl named Sheeana, who can control Arrakis’s sandworms, the book touches on religious themes.

‘Chapterhouse: Dune’ by Frank Herbert, published by Gollancz: £7.98, Amazon.co.uk

That brings us to the final novel in Frank Herbert’s six-book series, Chapterhouse: Dune, which was published in March 1985. Arrakis lies in ruin, and a violent matriarchal cult called Honored Matres has been chasing supreme power, conquering every planet and faction to get it. The novel’s name refers to the planet Chapterhouse, a secret base for the mystical sisterhood Bene Gisserit, as the group won’t be giving up so easily, with the spice-producing sandworms at their disposal.