.G. Wells is unquestionably the father of science fiction in literature. His writing journey began with a novel called The Time Machine (1895) and he followed it up with several novels in the genre.

However, if H.G. Wells is the father of science, Frank Herbert is the prodigal son. Beginning with Dune (1966) he wrote follow-up novels in the form of the most dynamic science fiction novels you will ever read.

Long before science fiction content like The Matrix or Star Wars, became a part of cultural vernacular or even Christopher Nolan’s thoughtful and epic space expedition, Interstellar came into existence, Frank Herbert’s original work, Dune and its sequels had a permanent hold on sci-fi fans and/or just fans of good writing.

Dune arrived decades before it was interpreted as a film and allowed its readers to imagine and interpret the story in different ways as they re-read the complete series. Its earlier film adaptations quickly made a point that Frank Herbert’s Dune is one of those films that shouldn’t be adapted. The earlier films were cartoonish.

The most recent films have certainly done justice to the material thus far.

Dune ropes you in by creating a universe as extensive, addictive and grand as Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy, or the quietly simmering Matt Damon-Jason Bourne franchise (and by that we mean the first three films).

To introduce the characters is where we start. But it isn’t just one character that defines this book. There are various worlds within the book. If some seem as comfortable as a palace, others are inhabitable where you constantly fight for your life and embrace a strange kind of exile.

At the heart of this tussle between planets, people, and non-human entities, certain ideas that we’ve spent a great deal of time on ring true. The late Stephen Hawking would certain agree with the book’s premise.

That Hubert was able to predict this is what makes Dune and its follow-ups a mandatory reading.

If Arrakis is destiny, can it be saved from the sand warms and other creatures. How is spice power found in sand dunes so precious that it is worth fighting over? These are just some of the larger questions that shape the narrative of Dune. 

Giving the characters away would be unfair but apart from the various human characters and places, the very question of technological advancement is questioned in the book.

In the world created by Frank Hubert, computers are banned from the start and anything that can think like a human being (such as artificial intelligence being used by the biggest tech giants today) was forbidden.

Between the desert land that is planet Arrakis, some science fiction tools are employed as we read about [electronic] sand worms that can kill you, as well as Mentats – who are like advanced versions of human computers tasked with analytical jobs. You could also see them as a seer or a psychic but Dune is not about supercomputers and talking apps but worlds upon worlds, and acquiring desert spice that eventually converts the color of your eyes to blue. It is about the Bene Gesserit women and the authority they possess and how it translates to power.

If Arrakis is destiny, can it be saved from the sand warms and other creatures. How is spice power found in sand dunes so precious that it is worth fighting over? These are just some of the larger questions that shape the narrative of Dune.

The characters from Jessica to Paul – both of whom are wandering through the desert - as seen by many in the recent first of the two films – have the voice but will it help them on this dangerously dangerous planet where war is looming. Will Paul fulfill his destiny and what if that destiny, changes as he interacts with the desert people?

If you’re looking for the best science fiction series, stop with the film, especially one by David Lynch and start your hunt for the entire collection. The prose is so delicate and beautiful that when you start reading Dune, you will want to read the follow-up books immediately.

The effort to adapt Dune has been made many times but it is Denis Villeneuve’s adaptation that is being appreciated as he made the film in two parts, with the second film coming out in 2023.