37 of 40 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Mine's well thumbed -- like any good reference work, July 27, 2003
With another God-awful post-Dune book due soon, it seems as if the blasphemers (who shall remain nameless) continue to cash in on Frank Herbert's legacy. And that's the fault of anyone who continues to buy them. It only feeds the greed.
And yet this tome, the only Dune book not written by Herbert yet endorsed by him, is out of print!
I got hooked on Dune many years ago as a teenager, right around the time Lynch's movie was coming out, and I remember flipping through the Dune Encyclopedia in a bookstore before I read the books. Something in its near-scientific comprehensiveness, it's meticulous faith to the Herbert's vision really mezmerized me.
When I finally got around to reading the first three Dune novels, I went right to that store and picked up my copy of Dune Encyclopedia. My thirst to know more about Herbert's universe was insatiable. How did the Sardaukar develop into the most fearsome tool of Corrino power? What are the other worlds of the Imperium like? How was the Guild founded? Here I found a wealth of information that made Dune much more complete and inspiring.
What's more astonishing is that the contributers are faithful Dune-thinkers. Yes this is a work of fiction, but the articles are written in the style and manner of scholarly works. In a way, this style also serves as it's own contribution to the original Dune saga: that regardless of the legendary feats of the great, the historian always has the final word.
Dune Encyclopedia is an incredible, valuable companion to Herbert's work. Find a copy and keep it safe. I still have mine, which I read regularly, with its well-worn pages and torn cover that I've mended with packing tape several times.
[If you're the publisher, please reprint it, and try to prevent another post-Dune abomination from being published while you're at it. Thanks.]
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24 of 25 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
I DEMAND A REPRINT!!!!!!!!, September 6, 1999
By A Customer
Many years ago, I had only a casual interest in the Dune series, and I had to buy this book to clarify some events and characters. Eventually, I got rid of it, and sure enough, after a re-read in college, my interest in the series grew stronger - now some lucky person is proudly displaying that copy of the Encyclopedia on their shelf, and I have none! Argh!!!
This is the best guide EVER written on any series, covering all characters, objects, and events major and minor, with plenty of illustrations, and it is very well written. It's so in-depth, it's scary. Come on, the structural formula for melange? How cool is that? I can only hope that with the new books (?) coming out, this will be put back in print.
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22 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Far Superior to the Prequels, January 4, 2002
The authors of the three Dune prequels (House Atreides, House Harkonnen, and House Corrino) have repudiated The Dune Encyclopedia and it is very unlikely to be reprinted because parts are inconsistent with the prequels. Having read both, I believe that The Dune Encyclopedia is closer to Frank Herbert's vision than the prequels. For example, in the prequels the planet Ix, source of technology for the Empire, is ruled by one of the Great Houses. In Frank Herbert's books no mention is made of Ix being affiliated with the nobility, and The Dune Encyclopedia follows Frank Herbert in making it an exception to the general system. This book also fills an important place because Frank Herbert enjoyed introducing concepts such as the Orange Bible or the Bulterian Jihad without much explanation. The conclusions reached here seem plausible given the structure of the Dune books written by Frank Herbert. If you can find this book at a used book sale, buy it.
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