
Heretics of Dune is a 1984 science fiction novel by Frank Herbert, fifth in a series of six novels. It was ranked as the #13 hardcover fiction best seller of 1984 by The New York Times. 1500 years have passed since Leto II's reign ended; humanity is firmly on the Golden Path. By crushing the aspirations of humans for 3,500 years, Leto caused The Scattering, an explosion of humanity into the unknown universe upon his death. Now, some of those who went out into the universe are coming back into the realms of the Old Imperium, bent on conquest. Only the Bene Gesserit perceive the Golden Path, and are faced with a choice: keep to their traditional role of hidden manipulators, quietly easing tensions and guiding human progress while struggling for their own survival; or embrace the Golden Path and push humanity onward into a new future where humans are free from the threat of extinction.
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1920–1986
Franklin Patrick Herbert Jr. (October 8, 1920 – February 11, 1986) was an American science-fiction author, best known for his 1965 novel Dune and its five sequels. He also wrote short stories and worked as a newspaper journalist, photographer, book reviewer, ecological consultant, and lecturer. Dune is the best-selling science fiction novel of all time, and the series is a classic of the science-fiction genre. The series has been adapted numerous times, including the feature film David Lynch's Dune (1984), the miniseries Frank Herbert's Dune (2000) and Children of Dune (2003), and a motion picture trilogy currently in production, with Denis Villeneuve's Dune (2021) and Dune: Part Two (2024) having been released.
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