Here's how to read the Dune books in order

Enter the Duniverse 🪐

14 March 2024

Dune books in order How to read the novels chronologically

Dune: Part Two left us longing for more Arrakis content, but given the fact that the newest film was only just released, we sadly have a bit of waiting to do until we get a Dune 3. The good news, however, is that there's certainly no shortage of reading to do in the meantime, with there being 23 (yes, you read that right) Dune books in total.

So if you're feeling ready to take the leap and embark on the rich and rewarding world of Frank Herbert's Dune, you've got some catching up to do. Power, prophecy and politics rule the themes of the desert sci-fi books, with the original Dune book being written in 1965 by Frank Herbert. Despite being rejected by 20 publishers, Dune defied all odds to become the best-selling science fiction novel of all time globally, with Herbert going on to write a further five sequels before his death in 1986.

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12 years on, Frank's son Brian and sci-fi writer Kevin J. Anderson picked up the baton and wrote 17 prequels and sequels, spanning galaxies and thousands of years, and bringing the grand total of Dune books to 23. Plenty of material if you're hoping to finally get into science fiction!

That said, embarking on your Dune experience can understandably seem a little intimidating given its vastness – though if you're hoping to finally get stuck in and find yourself wondering where to start, there are several ways you could go about it.

While there's no one right answer, there is a way of reading them chronologically – and a way of reading them in order of release. Either way will make for good reading, so it's entirely up to you, though to equip you with the information you need to go forth into the Duniverse, we've listed out the Dune books in order of release and chronology below.

What we would personally advise on is starting with Frank Herbert's first six novels first, before you begin any foray into the further prequels and sequels. After all, there's a reason that Dune has become the phenomena that it is, so where better to start than with the OG?

Either way, dust off your stillsuit and get ready for some sandworm surfing – we're entering the Duniverse, baby.

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