Dune, the novel, was originally published in two volumes over the years of 1963-1965 and has helped define some of the most core aspects of hard science fiction ever since.
Written by Frank Herbert, Dune follows the story of a young boy named Paul Atreides, the son of Leto Atreides, a powerful planetary duke who has had his planetary fief changed, by order of the Padishah Emperor of Humanity to the arid, hostile planet of Arrakis, also known as Dune.
Herbert does an almost ludicrously good job of detailing the ecology of the planet as well as the behaviours of the indigenous fremen, a mysterious group of humans who inhabit the planet.
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