This is a prequel to the famous Dune series written by the authors father Frank Herbert, and is one of a long series of books which pre-date the famous Dune books....others include Dune House Atreides, House Harkonnen, and The Winds of Dune. The various series by Brian Herbert, written after his father's death HAVE HAD A MIXED RECEPTION, some liking the continuation of his father's concept and others feeling the books didn't have the atmospheric feel of the original series and were playing on Frank Herbert's fame