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The Dune Encyclopedia is a 1984 collection of essays written by Willis E. McNelly and 42 other contributors as a companion to Frank Herbert's Dune series of science fiction novels.

It describes in great detail many aspects of the Dune universe not covered in the novels themselves, such as character biographies and explanations of key elements, including planets, factions like the Bene Gesserit and Mentats, the spice melange, and technology such as heighliners and stillsuits.

The Dune Encyclopedia is written as an encyclopedia published within the Dune universe itself, edited by "Hadi Benotto", a fictional archaeologist mentioned by Frank Herbert in his novels God Emperor of Dune and Heretics of Dune. Rather than claiming to contain absolute fact about this universe, the introduction by Benotto notes that "readers of The Dune Encyclopedia should understand its limitations: it is not designed as a definitive study of the entire eras encompassed by the Atreides Imperium" and that a portion of the (fictional) source material is shaped by the interests and influences of the God Emperor Leto II.

This companion to Frank Herbert's six original Dune novels--Dune, Dune Messiah, Children of Dune, God Emperor of Dune, Heretics of Dune and Chapterhouse: Dune--provides an encyclopedia of characters, locations, terms and other elements, and highlights the series underrated aesthetic integrity. An extensive introduction discusses the theme of ecology, chaos theory concepts and structures, and Joseph Campbell's monomyth in Herbert's narratives.

Frank Herbert's Dune is one of the most well-known science fiction novels of all time, and it is often revered alongside time-honored classics like The Lord of the Rings. Unlike Tolkien's work, the Dune series has received remarkably little academic attention. This collection includes fourteen new essays from various academic disciplines--including philosophy, political science, disability studies, Islamic theology, environmental studies, and Byzantine history--that examine all six of Herbert's Dune books. As a compendium, it asserts that a multidisciplinary approach to the texts can lead to fresh discoveries. Also included in this collection are an introduction by Tim O'Reilly, who authored one of the first critical appraisals of Herbert's writings in 1981, and a comprehensive bibliography of essential primary and secondary sources.

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.

Dreamer of Dune is a 2004 Hugo Award Nominee for Best Related Work.