Frank Herbert

HERBERT, FRANK, 1920 to 1986

Frank Herbert

Frank Herbert (1920-1986) was an American science fiction author and journalist, best known for Dune (1965) and its sequels.

Books
25
Editions tracked
47
First editions
24
Nationality
United States

WikidataOpen LibrarySearch within Frank Herbert

About Frank Herbert

Frank Herbert (1920-1986) was an American science fiction writer and journalist, author of Dune (1965), which won the inaugural Nebula Award for best novel and tied for the 1966 Hugo Award. He was born Franklin Patrick Herbert Jr. in Tacoma, Washington, on 8 October 1920 and died in Madison, Wisconsin, on 11 February 1986.

Herbert worked for newspapers for much of his life, from the Glendale Star in 1939 to the Oregon Statesman, the Seattle Star, the Santa Rosa Press-Democrat and the San Francisco Examiner, and he was education writer for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer from 1969 to 1972. His earlier novel The Dragon in the Sea was serialised in Astounding from 1955 and published by Doubleday. He began researching Dune in 1959; it was serialised in Analog as "Dune World" (1963 to 1964) and "The Prophet of Dune" (1965). Nearly twenty book publishers turned it down before Chilton Books, a firm known mainly for car repair manuals, published it. The sequels were Dune Messiah (1969), Children of Dune (1976), God Emperor of Dune (1981), Heretics of Dune (1984) and Chapterhouse: Dune (1985). Dune has sold close to 20 million copies.

For collectors

The Chilton first edition of Dune (1965), a 412-page hardback priced at $5.95, is among the most valuable books in science fiction collecting. The first printing sold poorly, and Chilton regarded the book as a loss; Wikipedia reports copies selling for more than $20,000 at auction.

For collectors

Collect Frank Herbert

Earliest first editionThe Dragon in the SeaDoubleday, 1956 Most editions trackedChapterhouse Dune2 editions
First published by
Series
Reading guide

Frank Herbert books in order

In publication order

  1. 1The Dragon in the Sea1956
  2. 2Dune1965
  3. 3Destination Void1966
  4. 4The Green Brain1966
  5. 5The Heaven Makers1968
  6. 6The Santaroga Barrier1968
  7. 7Dune Messiah1969
  8. 8Whipping Star1970
  9. 9Soul Catcher1972
  10. 10The Godmakers1972
  11. 11Hellstrom's Hive1973
  12. 12Tomorrow, Tomorrow, and Tomorrow ..1974
Show all 25 books in order
  1. 13Children of Dune1976
  2. 14The Dosadi Experiment1977
  3. 15The Great Dune Trilogy1979
  4. 16The Jesus Incident1979
  5. 17God Emperor of Dune1981
  6. 18White Plague1982
  7. 19The Lazarus Effect1983
  8. 20Heretics of Dune1984
  9. 21Chapterhouse Dune1985
  10. 22Eye1985
  11. 23Man of Two Worlds1985
  12. 24House Corrino2001
  13. 25The Road to Dune2005

By series

Dune 5 books
  1. Dune Messiah 1969
  2. Children of Dune 1976
  3. God Emperor of Dune 1981
  4. Heretics of Dune 1984
  5. Chapterhouse Dune 1985
In order

First editions, year by year

  1. 1956The Dragon in the SeaDoubleday
  2. 1965DuneChilton Book Co
  3. 1966Destination: VoidBerkley
  4. 1966The Green BrainAce Books
  5. 1968The Santaroga BarrierBerkley
  6. 1968The Heaven MakersAvon Books
  7. 1970Whipping StarBerkley
  8. 1972The God MakersNew English Library
  9. 1972Soul CatcherG.P. Putnam's Sons
  10. 1973Hellstrom's HiveNelson Doubleday
  11. 1974Tomorrow, Tomorrow, and Tomorrow ..Harcourt School
  12. 1976Children of DuneGollancz
  13. 1977The Dosadi ExperimentBerkley
  14. 1979The Great Dune TrilogyLittlehampton Book Services Lt
  15. 1979The Jesus IncidentGollancz
  16. 1981God Emperor of DuneGollancz
  17. 1982White PlagueG.P. Putnam's Sons
  18. 1983The Lazarus EffectGollancz
  19. 1984Heretics of Dune (in Slipcase)G.P. Putnam's Sons
  20. 1985Chapter House DuneOrion Publishing Group
  21. 1985EyeBerkley
  22. 1985Man of Two WorldsG.P. Putnam's Sons
  23. 2001House Corrino (Dune: House Trilogy, Book 3)Spectra
  24. 2005The Road to DuneHodder & Stoughton
Books and editions

Which edition do you have?

Questions collectors ask

Frequently asked questions

What order should I read Frank Herbert's books in?

In publication order they begin with The Dragon in the Sea (1956), then Dune (1965) and Destination Void (1966). Books in a series are listed in series order on this page.

What was Frank Herbert's first book?

The earliest book we list is The Dragon in the Sea, first published in 1956.

When was Frank Herbert born?

Frank Herbert was born in 1920 and died in 1986.

How many Frank Herbert books does MyVolumes track?

We track 25 books by Frank Herbert across 47 editions, 24 of them first editions.

How do I know if my Frank Herbert book is a first edition?

Open the book's page here and compare the publisher, place, date and the issue points we list for the first printing with your copy's title page and copyright page.

Sources

Where these facts come from

Every fact on this page was checked against the sources listed. Checked 17 October 2026.

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