Dune Books in Order

Frank Herbert's genre-defining 1965 novel — Paul Atreides arrives on the desert planet Arrakis, the only source of the spice melange, and is pulled into a power struggle that reshapes an interstellar empire.

Twelve years after Dune, Paul Atreides rules as Emperor — and pays the price. A conspiracy of Bene Gesserit, Tleilaxu, and Spacing Guild plots against him as he struggles with the future his own jihad unleashed.

Paul's twin children Leto II and Ghanima inherit Arrakis as the Atreides empire fractures around them. A prescient walk through their future determines the path of humanity for thousands of years.

Three and a half millennia after Children of Dune, Leto II has become a hybrid human-sandworm who rules humanity with absolute authority. His "Golden Path" is the loneliest reign in science fiction.

Fifteen hundred years after God Emperor, humanity is rebuilding after the Scattering. The Bene Gesserit, Tleilaxu, and the returning Honored Matres race to control a feral girl who can command the remaining sandworms.

Frank Herbert's final Dune novel. The Bene Gesserit retreat to their home world, Chapterhouse, and begin transforming it into a new Arrakis as the Honored Matres close in.

The first Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson Dune novel, set about thirty-five years before Dune. A young Leto Atreides, a teenage Duncan Idaho, and the rise of Baron Harkonnen.

The middle volume of the Prelude trilogy. Leto's rule deepens, the Baron's schemes ripen, and the Bene Gesserit take a hand in the bloodline that will produce Paul Atreides.

The finale of the Prelude trilogy. Shaddam IV's plot to control the spice moves into the open, Jessica carries Leto's heir, and the pieces of Dune's opening chapters fall into place.

First of the Legends of Dune trilogy, set some 10,000 years before Dune. Humanity is enslaved by thinking machines led by the tyrant Omnius, and the first sparks of the great rebellion ignite.

The middle Legends novel. Two decades into the Jihad, humanity's war against Omnius turns grinding and brutal, and the origins of the Mentats, the Swordmasters, and the Bene Gesserit take shape.

The finale of the Legends trilogy. The Army of Humanity closes on the last machine world, and the final confrontation establishes the foundations of the Imperium we know in Dune.

The first half of Frank Herbert's planned Dune 7, completed from his notes by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson. The Bene Gesserit and their refugees from Chapterhouse face the unseen enemy that drove the Scattering.

The finale of Frank Herbert's Dune saga. The Enemy is unmasked, the gholas take the stage, and Herbert's planned conclusion — built from his notes and an unfinished manuscript — plays out.

First of the Heroes of Dune interquels. Half of the novel tells a boyhood story of Paul Atreides on Caladan; the other half covers the jihad fought in his name between Dune and Dune Messiah.

Second Heroes of Dune interquel, set in the gap between Dune Messiah and Children of Dune. Jessica's return to Arrakis, Alia's regency, and the legend Paul leaves behind.

Eighty-three years after the Battle of Corrin, the Sisterhood that will become the Bene Gesserit finds itself in conflict with an anti-technology crusade led by Manford Torondo.

Second Great Schools novel. Gilbertus Albans opens the Mentat School on Lampadas, Venport Holdings' spice empire expands, and the Butlerian fanatics push humanity toward a new crisis.

Closing volume of the Great Schools trilogy. The Sisterhood, Mentats, and Navigators are locked in conflict with the Butlerian zealots, and the institutions that will define Dune solidify.

First Caladan trilogy novel, set just a year before Dune. Duke Leto Atreides is at the height of his power as the Emperor begins setting the trap on Arrakis.

Middle Caladan novel. Lady Jessica grapples with the Bene Gesserit orders that collide with her loyalty to Leto, while Paul is tested at his father's side.

Final Caladan novel. Paul comes of age, House Atreides prepares for its fateful transfer to Arrakis, and the last pieces click into place just before the opening of Dune.

A standalone novel focused on Princess Irulan of House Corrino, set around the events of Dune. A companion piece rather than a sequel — the politics of the Imperium as seen from inside the palace.