Good news for Dune 7 (KJA responds!)

[NeoDevilbane]

Below is my original E-mail (to dunenews@dunenovels.com) and Kevin J. Anderson's response. The good news is that we WON'T have to wait for Dune 7 too much longer... after Legends of Dune, KJA/BH have now decided to make Dune 7 their next project (maybe it was my badgering them?). Here it is:

Date: Tue, 01 Oct 2002 09:35:03 -0600

Subject: Re: McDune's

From: <dunenews@dunenovels.com>

To: <andrewm@innpros-inc.com>

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

on 9/12/02 9:43 AM, Andrew Modeen at andrewm@innpros-inc.com wrote:

> Dear Kevin J. Anderson & Brian Herbert,

>

> I'm going to be absolutely frank with you guys, and for that I apologize in

> advance. I have nothing but the utmost respect for both of you and your works

> thus far.

>

> According to you two it seems the whole purpose behind writing/releasing this

> "Legends of Dune" prequel trilogy in the era of the Butlerian Jihad is more or

> less to put "necessary" background bits and stuff you *must* do that will

> "lead into" Dune 7, am I right?

>

> In short, what kind of bullshit is this? Are we supposed to believe that Frank

> Herbert was really going to stop after Dune 6 (Chapterhouse: Dune), sit down,

> and start leading up to Dune 7 by going back 10,000 years, writing about the

> Jihad and then going back before Dune and tell the oh-so necessary tale of how

> Paul grew pubes before diving into Dune 7? No! He had Dune 7 all outlined and

> ready to start being worked on.

>

> You two are clearly stalling... you *fear* Dune 7, though with good reason. I

> believe up until the point that you are actually writing Dune 7 and not just

> filling in acceptable blanks in the timeline with misc. books (see the

> ludicrously & ill-conceived "Paul of Dune" and these "Legends of Dune" books),

> you won't really be *TRULY* attempting to emulate Frank Herbert's work or do

> good by it.

>

> Let's face it, Dune 7 will be billed as the completion of Frank Herbert's Dune

> masterwork. As far as I'm aware, there were no outlines for House Atreides,

> House Harkonnen, or House Corrino by Frank, just notes about misc. things from

> that era that you two went on. For Dune 7, there IS an outline to go off of,

> AND notes... for all intents and purposes you two will be attempting to fill

> Frank's boots for the first time in Dune 7. I just you two would stop being so

> chicken-shit, quit the B.S. posturing and milking the franchise by doing books

> we don't need (what's this crap I read in the Landsraad site about doing Dune

> "young adult novels"? What do you guys think this is, the Star Wars series???

> Christ...), and just dive into it already.

>

> For the record, I have no doubt the "Legends of Dune" & "Paul of Dune" books

> will be excellent reads (at least as good as the "Prelude to Dune" books,

> anyway) and be meticulously weaved into the Dune timeline proper. But are

> these books necessary? Maybe you two, with the "House" books selling well, are

> getting pressure from publishers to whore the Dune name out for more books...

> and maybe the fanboys in you have no problem with that, I don't know. I just

> don't want to see the Dune book series become like the Star Wars books... I

> have no wish to see "Dune: The Young Dune Chronicles," "Dune: The Junior Dune

> Chronicles," "Dune: The Courtship of Irulan," or "Dune: The Fremen Academy

> Trilogy." If you two wanted to "warm up" for Dune 7 by writing House Atreides,

> Harkonnen, and Corrino, that's cool and I've got no real problem with that,

> MAYBE even the Butlerian Jihad trilogy (granted, fans DO want to see that)...

> but the line should have been drawn there. I'm speaking as an outsider, but

> where I stand as a 30 year observer of Frank's works if you want to do good by

> Mr. Frank Herbert, then you two need to quit jerking off around the bush and

> complete Dune 7, the only unpublished book we know for a fact was left

> unwritten because of his death.

>

> A suggestion of compromise? If you want to branch off and do all these crap

> stories about young adult novels and Chani of Dune or whatever, fine, just

> make Dune 7 your next project after the Butlerian Jihad trilogy, not the last

> book you will write as you two have said... telling Dune fans you are going to

> write Dune 7 but it will be the last novel you will write, then putting it off

> more and more is a crime. If Book #11 of the Junior Fremen Knights comes out

> in the year 2039 and then you guys decide, "OK, we'll do Dune 7 now," I'm

> seriously going to your guys houses and beating some asses. OK, I'm kidding

> about that last part, but I've conveyed my concern enough that you understand

> where I'm coming from on this.

>

> Thank you for your time,

> Andrew Modeen

> Seattle, Washington

> (a Dune fan)

>

> PS: (to Kevin) I've read your Star Wars fiction, and you have actually replied

> years ago semi-promptly to two of my fan letters to you in the past regarding

> the Jedi Academy series, Darksaber, and other misc. stuff. I AM a fan of your

> work, so I don't want to come off wrong to you. I'm just not convinced you

> understand that Dune & the Dune name SHOULD not be whored around the way the

> Star Wars name has. A handful of book sequel/prequels, miniseries, cool...

> leave it at that, man. Leave it at that. When you expand it beyond that it

> loses the novelty it has.

>

Dear Andrew,

We're glad you're enjoying our other books. Many parts of Frank's overall

storyline needed to be established, which we are doing in the LEGENDS OF

DUNE trilogy. You'll be happy to know, though, that we have decided to

proceed directly to DUNE 7 after we finish the current trilogy. You'll see

when you read it that we weren't stalling, but doing necessary preparation.

Kevin J. Anderson

[AlteaDeo]

yipee.

? ;)

[Duke_Atreides]

it seems that the Enemy of many faces will be the Cymeks or something....

Like the Enemy of the new Trilogy will be the enemy in Dune 7...

:(

I expected more, like some ALien race or the Ultimate Face Dancer.

not just flying/walking jars.

[AlteaDeo]

yeah....

sorry, but it sounds like they're making dune 7 like they want to do it.

for me, it's pretty obivious that in Dune 7, that was the ultimates face dancers... not a bunch of humanoido-robotico-apocalypso-things ;)

[AlteaDeo]

still, it will do a good novel ;)

[nampigai]

I don't think I'll read it, I would rather see Franks own note.

[Frodo]

i would like to read it, but i doubt it will be anywhere near as good as if Frank wrote it. :(

[Gardarius]

Well as far as the enemy from the past being the enemy of the future in Book 7, I'm starting to wonder about that Titan that "retired" and left the empire. Forget the name and I don't have the book next to me right now, was it Hecate?

I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

[Duke_Atreides]

It could be great if you write *SPOILER* before your comments

[Colonel_Worf]

It's not a spoiler, just speculation.

[SiliconWarrior]

I still don't get why KJA deems it necessary to establish things in the "Legends of Dune" trilogy when Frank Herbert was going to go straight into it.

I fear that they are going to spoil Dune 7 by writing these books ie "The Battle of Corrin began as the Cymeks*cough*reader pay attention because they will come into play later*cough* attacked. Cymek Cymek Cymek."

I mean couldn't they establish this "necassary" info with an Prologue or an Appendix?

[Frodo]

It could be great if you write *SPOILER* before your comments

or if it is a spoiler put [ hide ]hidden text[ /hide ] without the spaces.

[Dunenewt]

Yes, that Hecate thing does sound quite good...but wasn't she a nice one? But then again there aren't any nice Titans.

More (intellegent) Aliens would also be good as there are only Humans and Tleilaxu.

[Anathema]

But if the enemies are actually evolved face dancers, why did LetoII not just exterminate the Tleilaxu before the dispersion started? Sounds to me that the enemy already existed before LetoII.

[AlteaDeo]

woa, you bring a interesting point there.

[Duke_Atreides]

But if the enemies are actually evolved face dancers, why did LetoII not just exterminate the Tleilaxu before the dispersion started? Sounds to me that the enemy already existed before LetoII.

That is answered in God Emperor of Dune (can remember the page), when someone (Moneo,Siona or Duncan) ask to Leto II why he didn

[Anathema]

Sounds a little vague.

Btw, what does IIRC stand for?

[Duke_Atreides]

If I Remember Correctly.

Yeah, it

[AlteaDeo]

Even if leto had the best intention of all, don't you think if humanity had to survive, even fro Leto, it would have been with something else then the tleilaxu? ;)