All 23 Dune novels, laid out in chronological canon order

20. Heretics of Dune (1984)*

After the end of God Emperor of Dune, masses of humanity travel into the stars in an event known as the Scattering. In Heretics of Dune, which is set a another few thousand years after God Emperor, some of those people are returning to our corner of the galaxy, much changed in the meanwhile.

Heretics of Dune introduces us to some of the characters we'll be hanging out through to the end of the story, including Sheeana, a girl who can control sandwords; a militarily minded mentat named Miles Teg; and Murbella, a member of a new group called the Honored Matres. The main conflict in Heretics of Dune is between the Bene Gesserit, who are still around after all these years, and the Honored Matres, who have returned from the Scattering with conquest on their minds. The book ends with the story incomplete; it's clear that Frank Herbert was building to something.

21. Chapterhouse: Dune (1985)*

Chapterhouse: Dune continues the fight between the Bene Gesserit and the Honored Matres. Things are more or less settled between the two factions by the end of the book, but there's a hint about a greater enemy — the reason why the Honored Matres returned from the deeper reaches of space in the first place — that humanity will soon have to contend with.

Unfortunately, Frank Herbert died before he could reveal the nature of that enemy. However, working off Frank's notes, Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson eventually concluded the story as Frank outlined it. The final two books bring things to a close, at least for now.

22. Hunters of Dune (2007)

Much of Hunters of Dune concerns further conflicts between the Bene Gesserit and the Honored Matres, now uneasily integrated into one group, as well as fights against Tleilaxu Face Dancers, shape shifters who use their abilities to infiltrate and undermine organizations.

But the biggest surprise comes near the end, when we find out the idenity of "the great enemy": It's Omnius, the artificial super-intelligence from way back at the start of this list, the AI that humanity thought it had destroyed in the Butlerian Jihad! Well, Omnius found a way to survive. It took a long time for it to regroup, but it's back with an army of killer robots bent on destroying humanity. That sets up the final book:

23. Sandworms of Dune (2007)

The final book in the Dune saga brings much of these storylines to a head, as the new characters we've met — along with some old favorites brought back as ghola, aka clones — battle it out with Omnius and its robotic menace. It's a cool way to bring things around back to the start of the story, with the caveat that Frank Herbert never actually wrote the story of the Butlerian Jihad, nor the books that brought the killer AI back to bear.

There are two sets of novels within the Dune series: the original six written by Frank Herbert, and the 17 prequels and sequels written by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson. Fans debate back and forth whether the later books are part of the official canon or not, but altogether these books comprise a huge body of work that gives any fan plenty to sink their teeth into.

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