I picked up my first copy of Dune in 1973, and have re-read it, and the following books by both Frank, and his son, Brian, around every 5 years or so since then, so I guess I am classed as a real fan of Frank Herbert's seminal work - which means that finding this book was such a treat for me.

I really loved reading the alternate endings to his works, but what really fascinated me, were the letters he wrote to various people, which gave an insight to his thought processes.

I really enjoyed Spice Planet, seeing the embryo of Dune in the story. The deleted, and unpublished, scenes and chapters threw a real glimpse of Frank's life as an author, and how he worked so closely with various editors, in order to make his work both fit their criteria for publishing, while still keeping the heart of his stories as close to his imaging as possible.

His complex thought processes really showed in his short stories, too, and I loved reading something new of his, so long after his passing.

Bill Ransom, Brian Herbert, and Kevin J. Anderson have done us all a tremendous favour, in gathering these works together, to be enjoyed, and thought about, whenever we read them, and I was so happy to have found this book, before I read the series once again - so much of it made me wonder how differently they would have been read, with the alternate writings!

Sort of alternate story & character development from Frank Herbert's own development of the Dune universe plus some fleshing out of the Dune universe with prequel shorts by Frank's son Brian and co-author Kevin Anderson.

A book you can pick up and read a short bit of at a time. Will most likely prompt me to read some more of the Dune collection beyond the first 3 of Frank's. Some of the shorts in this book dealing with the Butlerian Jihad were intriguing... how the Dune universe was shaped by a war against intelligent machines.

Yet another Dune book released by the duo of Brian Herbert and Kevin Anderson, but this one is a lot different from their normal milking of the cash cow.

In many ways this is a fascinating read, presenting discovered material from Frank Herbert himself, allowing an insight, not only into the way that books come together, especially in the pre-digital age, but also in the way that Dune itself came into existence.

The Road to Dune is divided into different parts, first and foremost the science fiction story/novel that was the precursor to Dune, unpublished but where one can clearly see Herbert’s imagination percolating as ideas fall into place.

Duneworld is a SF romp, lacking much of the depth of the final novel, but is a fun read all the same. Apparently the manuscript was a rather vague affair and Herbert jr. and Anderson have reconstructed it. In the broadest strokes it tells the Dune story, but many of the names are different, or not quite the same – and then there are those that are the same and it is a warm glow to see that some of them made it through from these early stages.

There are no Fremen (but there are Freemen!), no Bene Gesserit, so consequently no messianic outing, the main character is the Duke not his son and the properties of the spice are still being discovered.

There are notes on Herbert as a journalist trying to get interest in an article based on something he had discovered from a scientific gathering, how sand was being knitted together by one certain type of grass, slowing or stopping erosion in deserts and uh, other sandy areas.

It is obvious that the writer was incredibly intrigued by the idea and it is almost certain this was the genesis of an idea that would evolve into Dune.

The next part of the book contains letters going back and forwards between publishers, both magazine and book, as interest is either shown or not shown in the novel. It is interesting to note that one of the reasons Dune was such a hard sell was the size of it, far too big apparently. 600 pages is probably quite standard for many novels these days, but back then it was excessive and broke the mould.

There are also chapters from the first two Dune novels that were cut. These are interesting reading, and although perhaps irrelevant, give an insight into the way the book was written and edited. Had they been included, particularly those from Dune Messiah, would have given a totally different ending to the novel.

The final part of the book are a selection of short stories, all written by Brian Herbert and Anderson, all set in the Duniverse , and all become hard to come by in their original published format. All the stories are solid and well told, with only one seeming to have no point. Even those that seem a little far-fetched are told well enough, for me they seem to step outside the elements that make Dune, Dune.

It does not stop them from being entertaining and well told tales.

This could be an invaluable guide and insight for anyone wanting to be a writer, showing different aspects of the publishing world, from the genesis of an idea, to the development, to the attempted publishing, unprecedented success and the continuing process of creation as others continue your work.

In this instance though, it probably helps if you are a fan of the original novel.

Collection of short stories in the Dune universe. Interesting backstories.

This is a very difficult book to rate. Some parts I loved and others had to skip over.

First I would say if you are intending to read the Dune books in order, as I have chosen to do, leave this one until after you have read all of Franks books, or at least until after you have read Dune Messiah. The list I had placed this book after Paul of Dune but it just doesn't belong there. The different charcater, extra chanpetrs and alternative ending are somethign to enjoy after you have finished the originals.

After the preface you have an alternative dune novel names Spice Planet. It was basically like reading about a parallel universe where name were different but roles remained mostly the same.

Part One followed the original Dune storyline quite closely but there was enough different to amke it a good read. Some interesting fact around the great worms surfaced, whether they are true of the on Arakis I cannot tell.

Part Two had a storyline that strayed from the one in Dune (or was it Dune strayed from tis story as I believe Spice Planet was one of the original drafts) A very clever way to deal with the worms is developed that I almost wish had made it to the final cut.

I really enjoyed this alternative story even though it lacked some of the depth of the final version, although having read every book up until Dune maybe I just had the benefit of a deeper understanding of those characters. If Spice Planet were released as a short story unrelated to Dune I would probably give it 4 stars.

After this fairly short novel we move on to communications and explanation of how Dune came to be - this part did not interest me at all and I found myself scanning over it but mostly not reading it.

Then we have a section containing unpublished scenes and chapters. Many of these I enjoyed and others I am glad they were left out. There is no running story, just snippets from the book so for a lot of the time you are trying to re-orientate yourself as to what is happening in this particular scene.

The section of short stories at the end contains some but not all of the short stories that often sit between the main books. As I have already read them all I did not read them again. Each one has been rated individually as I finished them and most gained a 4 or 5 stars for their fast and fun content.

This books is definitely a book to be read after you have enjoyed the originals. It is not part of the storyline at all and if you are to read it I would recommend you leave it until last.

The short stories and unpublished chapters were not anything groundbreaking, but they did give interesting perspective on Frank's process of building the Duniverse.
I found the insight of those who knew Frank and their experiences with him the most interesting part of the book. I would have like to read more about this aspect of Frank's life.

2,5
Nie czytałem 2 ostatnich opowiadań, żeby nie robić sobie ewentualnych spojlerów do "Legend Diuny"

I had huge expectations of this book, as I love reading about the background and history of my favourite books and authors. Unfortunately, I felt just a little let down. Don't get me wrong - I did enjoy the read, but it's unlikely something I would return to again and again.

The 'alternative' Dune novella was good - just enough hints of what it was to become, while remaining a brilliant little story in itself. I enjoyed the letters between Frank and various friend and publishers, and wish this section was longer.

The 'deleted' scenes - I didn't really get. Some were interesting, in that they expanded on something or added a little nuance to a character, but most were wordy, long-winded and very obvious why they were cut. I almost felt a bit wrong reading them, like I was sneaking a peak at a dress rehearsal that had no relation to the glitz and glamour of the real thing.

The short stories at the back were alright - the one about the trapped soldiers was interesting and sad, but the others I barely remember and it's been less than a week since I read them!

Overall, an ok read, interesting for Dune fans, but maybe not worth it for anyone else.

Spice Planet: 5/10
Letters: 7/10
Deleted Chapters: 8/10
Short Stories: 6/10

Four stars but I’m obsessed so take that for what it’s worth. I particularly liked the last two short stories. Bene Gesserit sect of warrior whores? I’m in.

I wasn't sure what to expect out of this collections of stories and the history behind the original Dune book. I originally read Dune in 1968 while living through a sever drought on a subtropical island. It was fun and informative to read how the book developed and the struggles it took to get printed.

I really liked this book. Reading an Alternate Dune Novel, letters, and much more. It is a great addition to the collection.