(An extensive glossary is included in the first novel, without which many readers might find it incomprehensible) The Bene Gesserit sisterhood, an order of philosopher-nuns that considers itself the guardian of human civilization, extensively manipulate various religions over a scale of thousands of years in order to protect their agenda.
Religions such as "Mahayana Christianity" and "Zensunni" are referred to though not explicitly described, and many Arabic words have found their way into the standard language spoken by the people of the Galactic Empire, especially after the Fremen crusade spreads aspects of their culture to thousands of worlds. The entire series is steeped in Arabic language and culture it is implied that, in the future in which the books are set, Western and Eastern culture and religion have blended together into a pseudo-homogeneous whole. Arrakis is a desert planet largely populated by the nomadic, xenophobic Fremen and inhabited by giant sandworms that destroy anything caught out in the open, and would be of little interest to the rest of the galaxy if not for one thing: it is the only known source of " Spice", an all-purpose chemical that triples the human lifespan, makes it possible for females (and some few males) to transfer ancestral memories to one another, unlocks or enhances the capacity of humans for telling the future, and therefore makes Faster-Than-Light Travel possible in a culture where computers have been made illegal by religious fiat-all while being ferociously addictive.
Much of the action throughout the series takes place on the eponymous planet, Arrakis, commonly called Dune by the native Fremen. Its five sequels by the original author, and further prequels and sequels by his son Brian Herbert, span nearly 20,000 years of galactic history overall.
Dune was first published in serialized form in the Science Fiction magazine but rejected twenty times by publishers before finally being published in 1965 by Chilton, a publishing house best known for its DIY auto repair guides.ĭune is set around 19000 years in The Future, in a galaxy-spanning empire loosely based on the Holy Roman and Ottoman Empires, ruled by feuding nobles, arcane religious sects, and Byzantine corporate monopolies. It continued after his death by son Brian Herbert. Dune, in this context, refers to a series of epic Science Fiction novels by Frank Herbert.
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