Science fiction writer Frank Herbert is ranked among such well-respected authors of imaginary worlds as J. R. R. Tolkien, C. S. Lewis, and Isaac Asimov. Though he wrote more than twenty novels and several short stories, his fame is linked to his "Dune Chronicles." His first book in the series, Dune (1965), won the first-ever Nebula award and shared a Hugo award for best novel. Although initially rejected by twenty publishers, the book became the best-selling science fiction book in history, with more than twelve million copies sold. By the end of the twentieth century the book had not yet gone out of print. Intended as the beginning of a trilogy, Dune instead spawned five sequels, with a sixth left unfinished at the time of Herbert's death in 1986. Dune was made into a major motion picture in 1984. The series, set on the planet of Arrakis...