Дюна
Afterword by Brian Herbert
Similarly,throughouttheDuneseries,hedescribedtheheroicBenGesseritwomenas“witches.”
Duneisthemostadmiredsciencefictionnoveleverwrittenandhassoldtensofmillionsofcopiesallovertheworld,inmorethantwentylanguages.ItistosciencefictionwhattheLordoftheRingstrilogyistofantasy,themosthighlyregarded,respectedworksintheirrespectivegenres.Ofcourse,Duneisnotjustsciencefiction.Itincludesstrongelementsoffantasyandcontainssomanyimportantlayersbeneaththestorylinethatithasbecomeamainstreamclassic.
Asonedimensionofthis,justlookatthecoveronthebookinyourhands,thequietdignityexpressedintheartwork.
Thenovelwasfirstpublishedinhardcoverin1965byChiltonBooks,bestknownfortheirimmenseauto-repairnovels.Nootherpublisherwouldtouchthebook,inpartbecauseofthelengthofthemanuscript.Theyfeltitwasfartoolongat215,000words,whenmostnovelsofthedaywereonlyaquartertoathirdthatlength.Dunewouldrequireimmenseprintingcostsandahighhardcoverpriceforthetime,inexcessoffivedollars.Nosciencefictionnovelhadevercommandedaretailpricethathigh.
Publishersalsoexpressedconcernaboutthecomplexityofthenovelandallofthenew,exoticwordsthattheauthorintroducedinthebeginning,whichtendedtoslowthestorydown.Oneeditorsaidthathecouldnotgetthroughthefirsthundredpageswithoutbecomingconfusedandirritated.Anothersaidthathemightbemakingahugemistakeinturningthebookdown,buthedidsoanyway.
