''The Road to Dune'' is a collection of science fiction works and related material by American writers

Frank Herbert Franklin Patrick Herbert Jr. (October 8, 1920February 11, 1986) was an American science fiction author best known for the 1965 novel '' Dune'' and its five sequels. Though he became famous for his novels, he also wrote short stories and worked a ...

, Brian Herbert and

Kevin J. Anderson Kevin James Anderson (born March 27, 1962) is an American science fiction author. He has written spin-off novels for ''Star Wars'', ''StarCraft'', ''Titan A.E.'' and ''The X-Files literature#Novels, The X-Files'', and with Brian Herbert is the ...

. A companion book to the ''Dune'' novels, the book was released in September 2005.

This companion work to the ''Dune'' novels includes an alternate novel based on Frank Herbert's original notes for ''Dune'', letters between Frank Herbert and his editor, the original article by Frank Herbert that inspired the creation of ''Dune'' — "They Stopped the Moving Sands" — as well as unused chapters from ''Dune'' and '' Dune Messiah'', and the short stories in the ''Dune'' universe written by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson.

''Spice Planet''

''Spice Planet'' is an alternate ''Dune'' story written by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson based upon the original story outline that Frank Herbert made for ''Dune''. It features House Linkam (a version of House Atreides) temporarily taking control of Duneworld from their rivals, House Hoskanner (the forerunner of the Harkonnens), to settle a dispute between them. The Hoskanners had received a monopoly concession on the recently discovered Duneworld, but as melange had grown in popularity in the Empire, other Houses had begun to dislike the Hoskanner's wealth and pushed House Linkam to challenge House Hoskanner. The Emperor, secretly allied with the Hoskanners, orders Linkam to take over Duneworld for two years with the promise that if they produce more melange, then they will receive the concession — else it will go permanently to the Hoskanners. Much like in ''Dune'', the Hoskanners sabotage and thwart to the best of their abilities, although the Linkams enlist the help of the Imperial Planetologist to devise a way to neutralize the sandworms and vastly increase the efficiency of operations. The story has some obvious links to the original ''Dune'' novel, such as many of the same characters, but some key themes are underdeveloped in this version:

When we arranged all the chapters and read through the remarkable outline, we found that ''Spice Planet'' was a unique and worthy story in its own right, not just a precursor to ''Dune''. Although the harsh desert is very similar to the one familiar to millions of fans, the tale itself is thematically different, focusing on decadence and drug addiction instead of ecology, finite resources, freedom, and religious fanaticism.

The work is a view into "what-might-have-been" had Frank Herbert bowed to the pressure of his editors and written a novel at a length of most paperbacks during the mid-1960s — roughly 20,000 words."Ironically, if Frank had written ''Spice Planet'' according to his original plan — a science-fiction adventure novel about the same length as most paperback books published at the time — he might have had a much easier task finding an editor and a publishing house." pg 27, Introduction to ''Spice Planet'', ''The Road to Dune''

Letters of ''Dune''

This collection of letters details the trials and tribulations that Frank Herbert went through to have ''Dune'' published in ''

Analog Analog or analogue may refer to: Computing and electronics * Analog signal, in which information is encoded in a continuous variable ** Analog device, an apparatus that operates on analog signals *** Analog electronics, circuits which use analo ...

'' magazine and later by Chilton Books. The letters detail how he was encouraged to cut the length of the novel and to ease up on his descriptions of Paul Atreides's prescient powers.

"They Stopped the Moving Sands"

"They Stopped the Moving Sands" is an uncompleted article about how sand dunes were held in place by specially designed grasses. The article was never published, but was the impetus for Frank Herbert writing ''Dune''.

Missing chapters from ''Dune'' and ''Dune Messiah''

Also included in ''The Road to Dune'' are deleted chapters and alternate scenes from the first two novels in the ''Dune'' chronicles, ''Dune'' and ''Dune Messiah''. These include alternate and extended scenes between Paul and Reverend Mother Mohiam, between Paul and Dr. Yueh, between Paul and

Thufir Hawat The following is a list of secondary fictional characters from the science fiction media franchise ''Dune'' created by Frank Herbert. The characters listed originate in Herbert's novel series (1965–1985), but some also appear in the ''Prelude to ...

, between Paul and his father Duke Leto Atreides, the passage to Arrakis on the Spacing Guild heighliner, the escape from Arrakeen and between Paul and a muad'dib mouse. The ''Dune Messiah'' scenes include a new chapter between Alia Atreides and Duncan Idaho, a new introduction and a discarded ending that features the death of the conspirators Edric, the Reverend Mother Mohiam and possibly Princess Irulan at the hands of a Fremen mob incensed by Paul Atreides' death.

Short stories

The ''Dune'' short stories "A Whisper on Caladan Seas", "Hunting Harkonnens", "Whipping Mek", and "The Faces of a Martyr" by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson are included in this collection. The story "Dune: Sea Child", originally published in '' Elemental'', a 2006 benefit anthology for children who survived the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, is also included in the paperback edition of ''Road to Dune''.

References