By Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson

Over the course of Frank Herbert’s original six novels, and our ten subsequent novels, the Dune Chronicles span more than 15,000 years of epic science fiction history—from the titanic struggles of the Butlerian Jihad 10,000 years before Dune, to the final battle more than five millennia after the reign of Paul-Muad’Dib. For The Winds of Dune, instead of ranging far and wide across galactic history, we went back to the core of the original story, exploring the heart of what has made the series so enormously popular.

Winds is a direct sequel to Frank Herbert’s Dune Messiah. At the end of Messiah, a blind and despairing Paul, devastated by the death of his beloved Chani, abandons his newborn twins and his turbulent empire and simply walks off into the desert to vanish. When Frank Herbert returned with Children of Dune, he picked up the story nine years later, entirely skipping the incredible period of turmoil as Alia, Duncan Idaho, Stilgar, Lady Jessica, and Gurney Halleck fought to hold Paul’s empire together against rebellions from both outside and within. The Winds of Dune fills in this crucial piece of the story, taking readers back to their beloved characters and scenarios.

The book opens with Lady Jessica, in her self-imposed retirement on Caladan, receiving word that her son has vanished in the deserts of Arrakis and is presumed dead. The novel is not only a complex political saga of an unraveling empire, but also the intensely personal story of how Paul’s mother, sister, and figurehead wife must face their grief over the loss of such a pivotal force in human history.

Just as this summer’s new “Star Trek” movie returns legions of fans to the golden age of the series, so The Winds of Dune brings the many millions of Dune devotees back to the heart of Frank Herbert’s groundbreaking universe.

(from the Tor/Forge August 2009 newsletter)