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The Dune Encyclopedia is a collection of essays written by Dr. Willis E. McNelly and 43 fans of Frank Herbert's Dune novels. It was published in 1984 — its first and only edition. No further editions are planned due to copyright issues.
Publication and contents
Written and compiled by Dr. Willis E. McNelly (a friend of author Frank Herbert) and others at California State University, The Dune Encyclopedia is a companion to Frank Herbert's classic science fiction series Dune. The encyclopedia includes many rare Dune-related pictures and drawings. Currently out of print, it is in great demand by fans.
With over 536 pages, The Dune Encyclopedia describes in great detail many aspects of the Dune universe not found in the novels themselves, such as biographies of the major characters, the languages of Fremen, Galach, and Spacing Guild (including alphabets and pronunciation), and shortened summaries of the plots of the novels. The encyclopedia also includes explanations of the armies, major schools (Bene Gesserit, Mentats, Sword Masters of Ginaz, etc.), and major industries (including Spice), as well as descriptions of future technologies and artwork on the major concepts of the novels.
Canon dispute
The canon status of The Dune Encyclopedia is a matter of some dispute. Frank Herbert approved the work, considering it "interesting and entertaining," and reputedly wrote some of it himself and drew on it, but he also did not hesitate to render it erroneous through later developments in his Dune series (the book was compiled and published some time between God Emperor of Dune and Heretics of Dune, although Herbert "read large portions of God Emperor of Dune, then in the final stages, to McNelly during the compiling of the volume so that McNelly could keep abreast of developments."). It is also worth noting that the nature of The Dune Encyclopedia itself makes its canonical status somewhat unique; the book is written as an encyclopedia published within the Dune universe itself, rather than claiming to contain absolute fact about this universe. Thus, much of the information (such as the biographical or historical) may be seen as a possible later interpretation by "historians" and not the absolute truth of the matter. One could conceivably hold The Dune Encyclopedia to be canon in this sense while agreeing that some of its information is downright wrong.
Many of its ideas go directly against the prequel trilogies Prelude to Dune and Legends of Dune, written later by Brian Herbert (Frank Herbert's son) and Kevin J. Anderson, as well as their novels Hunters of Dune and Sandworms of Dune, which complete the original series. When writing these books, Brian Herbert and Anderson drew on Frank Herbert's own notes, left behind after his death.
Brian Herbert has declared The Dune Encyclopedia non-canon on the official Dune website, with the consent of Dr. Willis E. McNelly:
THE DUNE ENCYCLOPEDIA reflects an alternate "DUNE universe" which did not necessarily represent the "canon" created by Frank Herbert. Frank Herbert's son, Brian Herbert, writing with Kevin J. Anderson, IS continuing to establish the canon of the DUNE universe. This is being done with the full approval of the owner of the DUNE copyright, the Herbert Limited Partnership.
References and external links
- Template:Harvard reference
- McNelly, Willis E. The Dune Encyclopedia, October 1984. ISBN 0-552-99131-7
- Excerpts and Photos from The Dune Encyclopedia
- Official Dune website ~ FAQ page
- TheDune.ru: The Dune Encyclopedia ~ Russian website.