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Dune is a book I put off reading. I’d heard about it for years, and every time I picked it up I looked at the size of it and put it back down.
It also turns out to be more than one book. Frank Herbert wrote six Dune novels, and after his death his son Brian Herbert and co-author Kevin J. Anderson added seventeen more. That makes 23 novels written over almost sixty years.
Eventually I plucked up the courage and started, and Herbert did not disappoint. If you want something big, with politics, interstellar travel, giant sandworms and prophecies, Dune is a good place to start.
This post ranks all 23 novels by their Goodreads rating, and adds my own notes on Herbert’s original six.
Last updated 4 October 2026. Goodreads ratings were checked on that date.
Every Dune book ranked by Goodreads rating
| Rank | Book | Author | Year | Goodreads |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dune | Frank Herbert | 1965 | 4.29 |
| 2 | The Butlerian Jihad | Brian Herbert & Kevin J. Anderson | 2002 | 4.03 |
| 3 | Dune: The Heir of Caladan | Brian Herbert & Kevin J. Anderson | 2022 | 4.00 |
| 4 | Dune: The Lady of Caladan | Brian Herbert & Kevin J. Anderson | 2021 | 3.98 |
| 5= | Mentats of Dune | Brian Herbert & Kevin J. Anderson | 2014 | 3.97 |
| 5= | Navigators of Dune | Brian Herbert & Kevin J. Anderson | 2016 | 3.97 |
| 7 | Children of Dune | Frank Herbert | 1976 | 3.95 |
| 8 | Sisterhood of Dune | Brian Herbert & Kevin J. Anderson | 2012 | 3.91 |
| 9 | Dune Messiah | Frank Herbert | 1969 | 3.90 |
| 10 | Dune: The Duke of Caladan | Brian Herbert & Kevin J. Anderson | 2020 | 3.89 |
| 11 | God Emperor of Dune | Frank Herbert | 1981 | 3.88 |
| 12 | Princess of Dune | Brian Herbert & Kevin J. Anderson | 2023 | 3.86 |
| 13 | Chapterhouse: Dune | Frank Herbert | 1985 | 3.85 |
| 14= | Heretics of Dune | Frank Herbert | 1984 | 3.84 |
| 14= | House Atreides | Brian Herbert & Kevin J. Anderson | 1999 | 3.84 |
| 16 | The Machine Crusade | Brian Herbert & Kevin J. Anderson | 2003 | 3.83 |
| 17 | The Battle of Corrin | Brian Herbert & Kevin J. Anderson | 2004 | 3.82 |
| 18 | The Winds of Dune | Brian Herbert & Kevin J. Anderson | 2009 | 3.80 |
| 19 | House Corrino | Brian Herbert & Kevin J. Anderson | 2001 | 3.78 |
| 20 | House Harkonnen | Brian Herbert & Kevin J. Anderson | 2000 | 3.77 |
| 21 | Paul of Dune | Brian Herbert & Kevin J. Anderson | 2008 | 3.75 |
| 22= | Hunters of Dune | Brian Herbert & Kevin J. Anderson | 2006 | 3.71 |
| 22= | Sandworms of Dune | Brian Herbert & Kevin J. Anderson | 2007 | 3.71 |
The list covers novels only, so short stories, collections, comics and graphic novels (of which there are a few) have been left out.
Frank Herbert’s original six
Here are the original novels in order of Goodreads rating, with my notes on each.
Dune (1965) ★ 4.29
Paul Atreides arrives on Arrakis, the desert planet that is the only source of the most valuable substance in the universe, and everything changes. Herbert builds a world with a lot of detail. Ecology, politics, religion, economics and power are linked closely enough that a change to one affects the rest.
The detail always serves the story and the ideas Herbert is working through. It is also the only book in the series with more than a million Goodreads ratings.
Children of Dune (1976) ★ 3.95
Paul’s children, Leto and Ghanima, deal with a world changed by the events of the first two books. The political plotting deepens, the ecological and religious themes develop, and the consequences of Dune are still playing out. It has the highest rating of Herbert’s five sequels.
To me this feels like the last book that stays true to the first novel’s mix of politics and ecology.
Dune Messiah (1969) ★ 3.90
Dune Messiah picks up after Paul has taken power. Where Dune follows his rise, Messiah looks at what it costs him. Herbert has said he wanted to show the dangers of following charismatic leaders, and this is the book where that idea plays out.
It is shorter and darker than Dune, and it reads differently from the first book, so it helps to go in knowing that. It is also the book Denis Villeneuve is adapting for Dune: Part Three (more on that below).
God Emperor of Dune (1981) ★ 3.88
Set 3,500 years after Children of Dune, this is the biggest jump in time the series has made so far. Leto II has become a hybrid of human and sandworm, and he rules the known universe with a plan that spans thousands of years. The book is philosophical, light on action and slow in places.
I lean towards thinking it is Herbert’s most ambitious book, though I won’t pretend the first hundred pages aren’t hard going.
Chapterhouse: Dune (1985) ★ 3.85
Herbert’s last Dune novel, published the year before he died. The Bene Gesserit face an existential threat, and the story builds towards a cliffhanger he never got to resolve. The ending is incomplete, but it is still recognisably Herbert and still strange, and it is worth reading if you have come this far.
Heretics of Dune (1984) ★ 3.84
Another 1,500 years on. The empire has fractured and new power structures are forming from the wreckage. Heretics puts the Bene Gesserit at the centre and deals with gender, sexuality and power more directly than the earlier books. It reads to me as a return to form after God Emperor.
Reading Dune Messiah before Dune: Part Three
Dune: Part Three is due in cinemas on 18 December 2026. It is the final film in Villeneuve’s trilogy and it adapts Dune Messiah. Villeneuve has said the film will stay fairly faithful to the novel.
If you want to read the book first, Messiah is shorter than Dune, so there is time to finish it before the film arrives. If you would rather go in without knowing the story, it works just as well after the film. Either way, read Dune first, because Messiah starts where that book ends.
Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson novels
After Frank Herbert died, his son Brian Herbert and co-author Kevin J. Anderson wrote seventeen more Dune novels. They are by different authors from the original six, and on Goodreads their ratings run from 3.71 to 4.03. That overlaps with the range for Herbert’s own sequels (3.84 to 3.95), and it puts the top-rated continuation, The Butlerian Jihad, above all of them.
Keep the sample sizes in mind, though. Most of these books have far fewer ratings than the original six, so a small gap between two of them says very little.
Picking up where Chapterhouse stopped
Working from Frank Herbert’s notes, Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson wrote two books to finish the story. If you want closure after Chapterhouse, these are the ones that provide it. The rest of the continuation novels are optional.
Hunters of Dune (2006) ★ 3.71. Picks up the threads from Chapterhouse and tries to resolve Herbert’s cliffhanger.
Sandworms of Dune (2007) ★ 3.71. Concludes the storyline begun in Hunters.
Heroes of Dune: stories set during the original series
Paul of Dune (2008) ★ 3.75. Set between Dune and Dune Messiah, it covers Paul’s early reign as emperor.
The Winds of Dune (2009) ★ 3.80. Covers the period between Dune Messiah and Children of Dune.
Princess of Dune (2023) ★ 3.86. Goodreads lists it as the third Heroes of Dune book, and some chronological reading orders place it just before Dune.
Legends of Dune (2002 to 2004)
Three novels about the war against the thinking machines, which Goodreads describes as happening 10,000 years before the original series. The Butlerian Jihad has the highest rating of any book by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson, at 4.03 from about 97,000 ratings.
The Butlerian Jihad (2002) ★ 4.03
The Machine Crusade (2003) ★ 3.83
The Battle of Corrin (2004) ★ 3.82
Schools of Dune (2012 to 2016)
Set after the war with the thinking machines, these three books follow the schools that grow out of it: the Bene Gesserit, the Mentats and the Navigators.
Sisterhood of Dune (2012) ★ 3.91
Mentats of Dune (2014) ★ 3.97
Navigators of Dune (2016) ★ 3.97
Prelude to Dune (1999 to 2001)
Also known as the House Trilogy. The three books are set in the years before Dune, with one book each for the Atreides, Harkonnen and Corrino families.
House Atreides (1999) ★ 3.84
House Harkonnen (2000) ★ 3.77
House Corrino (2001) ★ 3.78
The Caladan Trilogy (2020 to 2022)
Three more prequels, set on Caladan, the Atreides homeworld, before the events of Dune. The Caladan books are the most recent prequels, and all three sit between 3.89 and 4.00 on Goodreads.
Dune: The Duke of Caladan (2020) ★ 3.89
Dune: The Lady of Caladan (2021) ★ 3.98
Dune: The Heir of Caladan (2022) ★ 4.00
Dune books in order
There are two ways to order the books, and they give different results.
Publication order. This is the order Frank Herbert’s readers got them in, and it is the one I’d use for a first read:
- Dune (1965)
- Dune Messiah (1969)
- Children of Dune (1976)
- God Emperor of Dune (1981)
- Heretics of Dune (1984)
- Chapterhouse: Dune (1985)
- Hunters of Dune (2006), if you want the story continued
- Sandworms of Dune (2007), to finish that story
The prequels and interquels can come after that, in any order.
Chronological order. This follows the story’s timeline, which starts with the prequels:
- Legends of Dune (three books)
- Schools of Dune (three books)
- Prelude to Dune (three books)
- The Caladan Trilogy (three books)
- Princess of Dune
- Dune
- Paul of Dune
- Dune Messiah
- The Winds of Dune
- Children of Dune
- God Emperor of Dune
- Heretics of Dune
- Chapterhouse: Dune
- Hunters of Dune
- Sandworms of Dune
For a first read I’d go with publication order. Chronological order puts the prequels in front of the book that introduces the world. I’d go into Dune knowing as little as possible, because finding things out alongside Paul is part of the experience.
Where to start
Start with Dune. Read it before anything else, and then see how you feel.
Read the original six in order if you want the full story. That includes God Emperor, even if the pace tests your patience.
Leave the prequels until after. They are optional, and they read better once you know the world they are set in.
Dune books FAQ
How many Dune books are there?
This guide covers 23 novels: six by Frank Herbert and seventeen by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson. Other lists reach higher or lower totals depending on whether they count short stories, collections and comics.
What order should I read the Dune books in?
For a first read, publication order: Dune, Dune Messiah, Children of Dune, God Emperor of Dune, Heretics of Dune and Chapterhouse: Dune. The full list, including chronological order, is in the reading order section above.
Which Dune book has the highest Goodreads rating?
Dune, at 4.29 from more than 1.7 million ratings. The highest-rated book after that is The Butlerian Jihad at 4.03, and the highest-rated of Frank Herbert’s sequels is Children of Dune at 3.95.
Do I need to read all the Dune books?
No. The original six make up the main story. Hunters of Dune and Sandworms of Dune continue it from Chapterhouse, and the rest are optional.
Are the Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson books worth reading?
It depends on what you want from them. Their Goodreads ratings range from 3.71 to 4.03 so they stand by their own merit. And if you are looking for more from the Dune world, and you’ve devoured the rest of the books then they are the natural next step.
Hunters of Dune and Sandworms of Dune are the two that finish the story Frank Herbert left open, and the prequels and interquels are extras.
Should I read Dune Messiah before Dune: Part Three?
You don’t have to, but the film adapts that book. Dune Messiah is shorter than Dune, so it is possible to read it before the film’s release on 18 December 2026. Read Dune first.
Finished Dune and not sure what to read next? Check out our guide to epic fantasy and science fiction, or find a friend on Litloop who’s already been through the whole series.
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