From Publishers Weekly
Frank Herbert's oldest son (playfully called "number one son" by his father) paints an extraordinary portrait of the visionary behind the ecological SF classic Dune (1965), its bestselling sequels, the David Lynch film and many other works. Compulsively readable, despite the often extraneous detail, the biography explores the evolution of a "modern day Socrates" who "tore into... unexamined linguistic and cultural assumptions," extrapolating "words and traditions he thought might exist in the future." At age eight, Herbert, the child of impoverished, "on-again, off-again alcoholic" parents, announced, "I wanna be a author" and went on to sell his first short story at 17. Brian charts the influences on his father's masterpiece, from T.E. Lawrence and Jung to world religions, particularly Zen Buddhism. The author also depicts the symbiotic relationship between Herbert and his second wife, Beverly (Brian's mother), a talented copywriter, but admits that Herbert, an incessant nitpicker, never quite accepted "number two son" Bruce's gay lifestyle and regularly used a lie detector on both boys. Estranged for many years, Brian and his father eventually made peace, learning "how to talk story" and collaborating on Man of Two Worlds (1986) shortly before Frank's death from cancer at age 65. This moving, sometimes painfully obsessive biography is an impressive testament of family loyalty and love. A must-read for Herbert fans (both senior and junior), it includes family photos and a bibliography.Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Booklist
Arguably the most popular twentieth-century science fiction novel, Frank Herbert's Dune (1965) integrated social, ecological, and religious commentary into a new kind of world-building that captivated sf readers much as Lord of the Rings enthralled fantasy fans. Brian Herbert's heartfelt, if not highly polished, biography of his father portrays a man with large faults and virtues. Impatient with children, Herbert insisted on quiet and order to write, and when little, Brian and brother Bruce suffered their father's booming voice and such tricks as being hooked up to a homemade lie detector they were convinced revealed their every thought. While Herbert lavished affection on their mother, the boys felt dispossessed. Brian became a binge drinker, Bruce struggled with drugs and homosexuality. Half-sister Penny, child of a brief first marriage, enjoyed better relations with Herbert because she visited only occasionally. Herbert shone, however, when he encouraged Brian to write. Eventually father and son became companionable. Hard-won appreciation pervades a book also distinguished by commentary on David Lynch's film Dune and Herbert's passage from struggling to world-renowned author. Roberta Johnson
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved


Book Description
Everyone knows Frank Herbert's Dune.

This amazing and complex epic, combining politics, religion, human evolution, and ecology, has captured the imagination of generations of readers. One of the most popular science fiction novels ever written, it has become a worldwide phenomenon, winning awards, selling millions of copies around the world. In the prophetic year of 1984, Dune was made into a motion picture directed by David Lynch, and it has recently been produced as a three-part miniseries on the Sci-Fi Channel. Though he is best remembered for Dune, Frank Herbert was the author of more than twenty books at the time of his tragic death in 1986, including such classic novels as The Green Brain, The Santaroga Barrier, The White Plague and Dosadi Experiment.

Brian Herbert, Frank Herbert's eldest son, tells the provocative story of his father's extraordinary life in this honest and loving chronicle. He has also brought to light all the events in Herbert's life that would find their way into speculative fiction's greatest epic.

From his early years in Tacoma, Washington, and his education at the University of Washington, Seattle, and in the Navy, through the years of trying his hand as a TV cameraman, radio commentator, reporter, and editor of several West Coast newspaper, to the difficult years of poverty while struggling to become a published writer, Herbert worked long and hard before finding success after the publication of Dune in 1965. Brian Herbert writes about these years with a truthful intensity that brings every facet of his father's brilliant, and sometimes troubled, genius to full light.

Insightful and provocative, containing family photos never published anywhere, this absorbing biography offers Brian Herbert' unique personal perspective on one of the most enigmatic and creative talents of our time.



About the Author
Brian Herbert, the son of science fiction legend Frank Herbert, is a prolific and respected writer. His novels include Sidney's Comet, Prisoners of Arionn, Man of two Wolds (written with his father), Sudanna Sudanna, and a trilogy of Dune prequels written with Kevin J. Anderson. A new trilogy of prequels, also written with Kevin J. Anderson, has begun with Dune: The Butlerian Jihad published by Tor Books. Herbert has also edited The Songs of Muad'dib, the Notebooks of Frank Herbert's Dune, and created The Dune Concordance. Brian Herbert lives in Washington State.

FROM OUR EDITORS

The Barnes & Noble Review
Dreamer of Dune, the biography of Frank Herbert written by his eldest son, Brian, is an intensely honest, heartfelt, and unforgettable account of the extraordinary life of one of the most popular authors in science fiction history.

Covering Frank Herbert's tumultuous childhood during the Great Depression in Washington, his stint in the Navy, and his work as a newspaper editor and political speechwriter, Brian Herbert sheds light on the people, places, and experiences in his father's life that played integral roles in the conception of the Dune series. Frank's strict Irish Catholic aunts, for example, were models for the Bene Gesserit Sisterhood. His grandmother was a paradigm for the Mentats, human computers with cognitive functions honed through discipline and breeding. An article Herbert researched for the USDA about stabilizing sand dunes sparked a potential setting for a science fiction story.

While Dreamer of Dune sheds light onto the enigmatic author behind the bestselling saga in science fiction history, it isn't so much a biography of a writer as it is a beautiful love story -- between a husband and his wife and, later in life, between a father and his estranged son. One line in particular stands out: After Herbert lost his wife to heart disease after a long battle with cancer: "No matter the glory my father achieved from writing, no matter how many millions of people read his books, it all meant nothing to him without her."

I recommend this biography not only to fans of Herbert and his Dune series but to aspiring writers as well. Herbert's bits of sage advice to his son as he was writing various novels are invaluable. Paul Goat Allen

FROM THE PUBLISHER

One of the most popular science fiction novels ever written, it has become a worldwide phenomenon, winning awards and selling millions of copies. In 1984, Dune was made into a motion picture directed by David Lynch, and it has recently been produced as a three-part miniseries on the Sci-Fi Channel. Though he is best known for Dune, Frank Herbert was the author of more than twenty books at the time of his tragic death in 1986. Brian Herbert, Frank's eldest son, tells the provocative story of his father's extraordinary life in this honest and loving chronicle. He has also brought to light all the events in Frank's life that would find their way into speculative fiction's greatest epic. From his early years in Tacoma, Washington, and his education in the navy and at the University of Washington, Seattle, through the difficult years of trying his hand as a TV cameraman, radio commentator, reporter, and editor of several West Coast newspapers, Frank Herbert worked long and hard before finding success after the publication of Dune in 1965. Brian Herbert writes about his father's life with a truthful intensity that brings every facet of the man's brilliant, and sometimes troubled, genius to full light. Insightful and provocative, containing family photos never published anywhere, this absorbing biography offers Brian Herbert's unique personal perspective on one of the most enigmatic and creative talents of our time.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

Frank Herbert's oldest son (playfully called "number one son" by his father) paints an extraordinary portrait of the visionary behind the ecological SF classic Dune (1965), its bestselling sequels, the David Lynch film and many other works. Compulsively readable, despite the often extraneous detail, the biography explores the evolution of a "modern day Socrates" who "tore into... unexamined linguistic and cultural assumptions," extrapolating "words and traditions he thought might exist in the future." At age eight, Herbert, the child of impoverished, "on-again, off-again alcoholic" parents, announced, "I wanna be a author" and went on to sell his first short story at 17. Brian charts the influences on his father's masterpiece, from T.E. Lawrence and Jung to world religions, particularly Zen Buddhism. The author also depicts the symbiotic relationship between Herbert and his second wife, Beverly (Brian's mother), a talented copywriter, but admits that Herbert, an incessant nitpicker, never quite accepted "number two son" Bruce's gay lifestyle and regularly used a lie detector on both boys. Estranged for many years, Brian and his father eventually made peace, learning "how to talk story" and collaborating on Man of Two Worlds (1986) shortly before Frank's death from cancer at age 65. This moving, sometimes painfully obsessive biography is an impressive testament of family loyalty and love. A must-read for Herbert fans (both senior and junior), it includes family photos and a bibliography. (Apr. 14) Forecast: Brian Herbert is the author of The Dune Concordance, a trilogy of Dune prequels written with Kevin J. Anderson, as well as the first volume in a second prequel trilogy (also co-written with Anderson), Dune: The Butlerian Jihad (Forecasts, Sept. 9, 2002). The airing of a miniseries based on Children of Dune on the Sci-Fi channel in March will give this an extra lift. Copyright 2003 Cahners Business Information.

Library Journal

Though subtitled a "biography," this is more of a personal memoir of the author's father, the well-known sf writer Frank Herbert. While Herbert does survey Frank's life-his childhood near and in Tacoma, WA; his hard struggle to become a successful and popular writer; his eventual triumph with the "Dune" series (which has become something of a family franchise); and his wife's debilitating illness and death-this book is almost as much about the son as the father. Herbert emphasizes his difficult childhood with a domineering father and then recounts their mostly changed relationship when the son became an adult. Unfortunately, this memoir frequently reads like a nearly unedited transcript of the author's daily journal: we get entire phone conversations, extended descriptions and analyses of his anxieties about and grievances against his parents, and long-drawn-out accounts of family meals, restaurant outings, and father-son talks. It also too often focuses on the trivial, such as Frank Herbert's obsessive dental hygiene habits. This book may please hard-core fans yearning for "inside" information about the writer, but it has limited value for those seriously interested in Frank Herbert's fiction. For extensive sf collections or where interest warrants.-Roger Berger, Everett Community Coll., WA Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews