How to read the Dune books in order

Dune: Part Two is hitting screens next month, making now a good time to brush up on your knowledge of spice and sandworms. So here’s how to read the Dune books in order.

Frank Herbert published Dune in 1965, and it quickly became one of the most successful and acclaimed sci-fi novels of all time.

Herbert followed the first with five sequels, while after his death in 1986, Frank’s son Brian Herbert wrote more sequels and prequels with Kevin J. Anderson – stories that continue to this day today.

Meaning there’s plenty of material mine should Warner Bros. wish to keep making movies after director Denis Villeneuve has turned Dune Messiah into Dune Part Three.

How to read the Dune books in order

The Dune saga is a complicated series, so like how Denis Villeneuve split the first novel into two movies, we’re creating two lists – one containing just the Frank Herbert books, and the other featuring everything else.

We’re leaving out short stories and comics, and grouping trilogies and novel series together, or this would get very messy.

So this is how to read the Frank Herbert books:

• Dune (1965)
• Dune Messiah (1969)
• Children of Dune (1976)
• God Emperor of Dune (1981)
• Heretics of Dune (1984)
• Chapterhouse: Dune (1985)

While the following list features all the Dune novels, with each additional work or collection written by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson:

• Legends of Dune (2002-2004)
• Great Schools of Dune (2012-2016)
• Prelude to Dune (1999-2001)
• Heroes of Dune (2008-2023)
• The Caladan Trilogy (2020-2022)
• Dune (1965)
• Dune Messiah (1969)
• Children of Dune (1976)
• God Emperor of Dune (1981)
• Heretics of Dune (1984)
• Chapterhouse: Dune (1985)
• Hunters of Dune (2006)
• Sandworms of Dune (2007)

Dune Part Two hits screens worldwide on March 1, 2024, and you can read the Dexerto review here.