One of the reasons reviewers initially disliked Dune was its resemblance to J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings (1954-1955), which had profoundly influenced popular fiction.

Tolkien created an imaginary world called "Middle Earth," replete with its own history, customs, societies, languages, and literature. Dune, too, had these elements, and some reviewers seemed weary of seeing them in imitations of Tolkien's trilogy. One such similarity between The Lord of the Rings and Dune is the use of quotations from imaginary writings to give events the illusion of historical perspective, as if each story were part of a larger history of either Middle Earth or the galactic empire. Tolkien scatters his quotations throughout his trilogy, whereas Herbert begins each chapter with them, quoting from such works as A Child's History of Muad'Dib by the Princess Irulan. Like The Lord of the Rings, Dune has appendices...