A fascinating and intriguing look into how Dune was created, the little pieces of story that were left behind and how the story could have gone if things had gone in another direction.

It's an interesting peek into the mind of Frank Herbert and a must read for fans who have at least read the first two books (or even the first trilogy) but maybe not for casual readers.

What a fantastic book. There is a great story that serves to explain how the idea of Dune came out and then a novella that is the precursor to Dune. While not everything is the same as the book it gives you a great idea of how ideas developed throughout the process. There are also a few stories about how the book came to be published and John W. Campbell's influence on the Dune universe.
There are also several short stories that fill some gaps in the Dune universe. Unfortunately it's been a while since I've been to Arrakis and Caladan so the later short stories in the book didn't hold a lot of resonance for me. I will probably re-read the series and then come back and end up giving this book five stars since the stories will mean more then.
Wonderful insight into Frank Herbert, the writing process, and the publishing process. How many publishers said "We may regret not publishing this book (Dune), but...?"

There was plenty of information included in this book. Some of it was interesting.
The pieces that were cut from the original Dune novel were interesting, but it would have been better to read them in a special edition of the original book with these scenes added. They tend to just be confusing if you haven't JUST gotten done with the book.


The best part about this is the precursor story that Frank Herbert wrote. This story was great on its own, but made better by the fact that the reader can see where Herbert started.

I've finished the novella portion of this book, and it was fantastic!

If you're a fan of Dune, you will enjoy this alternate, original take on the story.

Enjoyed this always been a sci-fi fan

I loved the parts written by Frank Herbert, both his letters about Dune and the deleted scenes from the first two books. However the book suffers a bit because of the addition of stories written by his son and writing companion

The Road to Dune covers so much of the Dune universe that it's hard to say where to start, there is the alternate Dune book Spice Planet where we see a very different but familiar characters talking and dealing with new characters, there are also correspondents between Frank Herbert and several authors around the time of the publication of the original novel and the sequel Dune Messiah. There are also deleted scenes from those books too plus there are new short stories that take place during the Legends of Dune trilogy. I highly recommend this book and suggest that you should pick up a copy.

This book is really bad.

4+

I found the BH/KJA version of Spice Planet to be a fairly passable work, though I would have preferred to just see what Frank's material looked like instead. And I was already familiar with the short stories, so that felt like unnecessary padding.

However, the most egregious thing to me was the presentation of the "alternate or additional chapters". They are all presented as Frank's work, but several of the chapters are very clearly the writing style of BH/KJA: simplistic language, unnecessary repetition, etc. Coming on the heels of examples of Frank's actual writing style, it is infuriating to have them claim that this is Frank's work, when the differences are striking.

What's worse is that the deception wasn't needed; had they simply stated that they were writing these chapters based on material that was found, ala the infamous "notes", then most would have accepted it as such. So why the deception?

It reinforces my overall feeling that a treatment of Frank's notes in the vein of Christopher Tolkien's "Middle Earth" series of books would have been far more palatable to most fans.

I am a huge fan of the Dune universe as a whole, and I think elder Herbert's ability to weave intricate yet far reaching plots. I saw this book as an opportunity to explore the development of his thinking as he created his worlds. For my own curiosity I was not disappointed. I relish any chance to revisit Arrakis. Each of the short stories, which had the feeling of b-roll or ideas being worked out for the final book, gave more insight into the larger tale I was already so familiar with. I recognize that my enthusiasm for the work of the author and this series as a whole can certainly be a major factor in my enjoyment of this book, and for that reason recommend it not be picked up for an introduction to the world. But it is a must read for fans.

If you are a Dune fan, this book is for you. Seeing the alternate endings and additional chapters in the first two Dune books will be a delight for you. The new short stories feel like a mixed bag, but at least they are mostly entertaining.