In recent days, Vietnamese readers have suddenly "hunted" for the two novels Dune - which are part 1 and part 2 of the 6-book series by Frank Herbert. Nha Nam bought the copyright for both of these books and introduced them to Vietnamese readers under the names Dune (original title: Dune ) and Dune Messiah . This "effect" is partly due to the movie Dune: Part Two by director Denis Villeneuve (which was both praised for its quality of adaptation and a big hit at the box office) "rekindling" the reputation of the book series.
In the West, readers loved this epic novel, which was considered "one of the best works of science fiction ever written". In 1963, the author's agent sent the first draft of 85,000 words to Analog magazine to be published in three parts, for which the author was paid $2,295.
Analog magazine cover, March 1965 issue, artist John Schoenherr illustrates a scene from Dune
However, the attempt to turn these parts into a book for mainstream publication was rejected by 23 publishers. Until one day, the author received a call from a company specializing in publishing mass-market car repair manuals sold throughout the United States, agreeing to publish his book. Thus, the hardcover Dune was born, followed by a paperback version.
Dune Hardcover - First Edition in Frank Herbert's Long Series
Four years later, the second part of the novel series, Dune Messiah , was published. Immediately, the novel created a "publishing phenomenon", widely read by university students at that time.
After two novels, Frank Herbert's name immediately became famous. However, after 1969, he "took a break" by teaching at the University of Washington. He also wrote other science fiction works before returning to his vast Dune world with the third book. Here, he is signing books for fans in Seattle, December 5, 1971.
Portrait of the "father" of Dune - Frank Herbert taken on September 27, 1982. Initially, the writer focused on creating a beautiful, extraordinary world where three main elements were combined inside a science fiction shell: politics , religion and ecology. He did not think that Dune would be so successful after only 2 books. Especially book 2 - Dune Messiah , was welcomed and recognized as a special "case" of ecological literature.
Dune tells the story of the upheavals on the sandy planet Arrakis, where the Fremen people fight against the expansion of outside forces. The story follows the young man Paul Atreides, who later becomes Emperor and rules the dune.
Each work in the Dune series has a different time frame. The three books Dune , Dune Messiah and Children of Dune form a trilogy with quite close time frames, but from the fourth book to the end, God Emperor of Dune (1981), Heretics of Dune (1984) and Chapterhouse: Dune (1985), the time frames are very far apart. This remaining trilogy tells the story of the more than 3,500-year reign of an Emperor of the Atreides lineage - a "product" of a hybrid between a human and a giant sandworm.
By the time the third book in the series, Children of Dune , was released in 1976, forming the first trilogy, the series "sold like hotcakes". By 1977, the total number of Dune books (now a complete trilogy) sold reached 8 million copies, helping the author earn millions of dollars in book royalties and royalties from products/activities surrounding his famous book series. The author's name was widely noticed in the late 1970s and early 1980s. To promote the series, he organized his book tour across the United States, through 21 cities over 31 days.
The remaining Dune works were also successful and entered the "best seller" list, but rarely has a literary life been like the first trilogy created in the late 1970s. When the sixth book in the series, Chapterhouse: Dune , was successful, then a year later in 1986, he passed away, leaving behind one of the most beloved legacies of science fiction literature.
Dune - the first book in the series - won the Hugo Award for Best Novel in 1965 (shared with Roger Zelazny's This Immortal ). A year later, Dune won the Nebula Award for Best Novel.
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