Frank Herbert
October 8, 1920 – February 11, 1986
Frank Herbert was an American writer who became famous mainly for his novel Dune.
American writer Frank Herbert, full name Franklin Patrick Herbert Jr., is one of the authors who left behind a distinctive and enchanting work. His six-volume epic Dune is undoubtedly counted among the golden treasures of world science fiction today.
He was born in Tacoma, Washington, and graduated from the University of Washington in Seattle. Before he became a professional writer, he was a man of many trades. For a number of years he made a living on the West Coast of the United States as a reporter and editor, professional photographer and cameraman. In addition, he commentated for local radio stations, went to sea as an oyster hunter and worked as a jungle survival instructor. Later, after the dazzling success of Dune, he became a professional writer and also taught artistic writing at the university.
He began his sci-fi career at the age of thirty-two in Startling Stories magazine with the short story "Are you looking for something?". It was followed by about twenty others published in various SF magazines, but short prose was not a field in which Herbert was to reap literary laurels.
Four years later, he published his first novel, The Dragon in the Sea. It was received kindly by critics, as were his other novels Green Brain (1966), Direction: Emptiness (1966), Heisenberg's Eyes (1966), Creators of Heaven (1968), Santaro Barrier (1968), Creators of God (1972), Hellstorm Chronicles (1973).
However, real success came in 1965 with the novel Dune. To be more precise, the first part of Dune was published under the title The World of Dune in December 1963 in the leading SF magazine Analog. The story then continued as the Prophet of Dune due to the interest of readers. In the book edition, Herbert combined the two parts and called them briefly and aptly Dune. The story of the desert planet of Arrakis, with its complete lack of water and the only known deposit of a special spice that has the power to prolong human life and that provides humans with extraordinary psychic abilities, had a stunning response from readers. In 1966, Dune, together with the novel ... and call me the Hugo Award from Roger Zelazny, and the Nebula Award, awarded for the first time that year. Dune became the prototype for a new great epic in SF. Two decades later (1984), a film was made based on the novel by the well-known director David Lynch.
Frank Herbert developed his success in five sequels capturing the subsequent fate of the planet Arrakis and the struggles for its control. The second volume was published in 1969 under the title Savior of Dune. It took another seven years before readers got their hands on the third sequel, Children of Dune (1976). Although the author called it the last part, he let himself be swayed by the unceasing interest. In 1981, he published a fourth sequel, The Divine Emperor of Dune, followed by Dune Heretics three years later, and a sixth sequel, Chapterhouse: Dune, in 1986.