December 2, 1999
Web posted at: 8:00 p.m. EDT

(CNN) -- Authors Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson joined CNN.com on Tuesday, November 23, 1999, to chat about their new book, "Dune: House Atreides," a prequel to the original "Dune." Brian Herbert is the son of Frank Herbert, who authored "Dune." The following is an edited transcript of the chat.

Chat Moderator: Welcome, Brian Herbert and Kevin Anderson!

Kevin Anderson: Hi, everybody. Thanks for coming.

Brian Herbert: Hello.

Chat Moderator: How much of the book is based on the files of Frank Herbert and how much original material did you add to it?

Brian Herbert: It's a combination of the two. When Kevin and I started working together in January of 1997, we did not have Frank Herbert's notes available and we were trying to figure out where my father was going with the Dune series. Of course, we had read all six Dune books that Frank Herbert wrote, but when he passed away he was just beginning to work on a new Dune book (which had the working title of "Dune 7") and we did not have any of those notes. Through some fortuitous circumstances, which we have written about in the afterward to "Dune: House Atreides," we located two safety deposit boxes of my fathers that had been missing for eleven years, which contained the outline for "Dune 7." I also looked through a storage area and found 1,300 pages of Dune notes, which were my father's working notes to continue the series. While much of House Atreides involves our own imagination, we incorporated many of my father's notes into the story.

Question from NCFremenboy: Do you think you've been successful in recreating the Dune world in your novel?

Kevin Anderson: While we did not try to copy Frank Herbert's writing style, we did attempt to capture the "look and feel" of the Dune universe. So far, all of our professional reviews have been almost universally positive and congratulatory. We think we have added a companion to the Dune chronicles, not competition. We certainly spent enough time doing our homework!

Question from Dane: Brian, did you ever discuss story direction or plots with your father?

Brian Herbert: Not in the Dune series. We did discuss in general terms writing a Dune novel together at some future date, after he completed "Dune 7" on his own. Of course, we did also collaborate on the last novel that Frank Herbert wrote, "Man of Two Worlds."

Question from Ncboy: Brian, did your father's writings have any effect on you as a child? Were you allowed to read his books at a young age?

Brian Herbert: He gave me a copy of "Dragon in the Sea," which was his first published novel. On the title page of the book, he wrote a personal note to me, expressing his hopes that when I read this book I would be able to come to a better understanding of my father. Little did I know the challenge that this would be. I did not read his works in their entirety until I was in my twenties. Growing up with him, I helped to write his books by staying out of the way and by being quiet so he could concentrate in his study. I overheard many interesting conversations that he had with other science fiction writers and I listened as he read passages from his books, including "Dune," to my mother. It was not until I was an adult that I became close to my father and I was able to not only read his books but also to begin to understand him.

Question from Candyce_Gesserit: Kevin, how did you come to be involved in this fabulous project?

Kevin Anderson: "Dune" has always been my favorite science fiction novel of all time (mainly because it's the best science fiction novel of all time). I admired the work of Frank Herbert for many years and studied the way he developed his plots and characters and I learned a great deal about how to write from him. When Frank Herbert died in 1986, I was saddened to see the Dune series ending, especially after the cliffhanger that completed "Chapterhouse: Dune." One day, while hiking in Death Valley (and getting lost in Death Valley!) for some reason I started thinking about "Dune." Through a mutual friend, Ed Kramer, Brian and I began to talk about finishing the story Frank Herbert had intended to tell. As soon as Brian and I spoke on the telephone, we began to talk a different language, completing each other's sentences and getting very enthusiastic. It became apparent that there were no two bigger "Dune" fans in the world. After we had passed ideas around, then Brian discovered the notes and safety-deposit boxes. It was like discovering treasure. I can also say, personally, that this has been the most enjoyable, most ambitious project I have ever tackled in my writing career.

Question from visitor42: What was the most challenging aspect about writing the prequel?

Brian Herbert: "Dune" is sacred ground and it was not a project that we wanted to tackle without doing a tremendous amount of research. It is not only the best loved science fiction series ever written, but it is extremely complex. In the novel "Dune" itself, there are many layers. Young readers will tackle the book on the level of the story of Paul Atreides, a character who follows a typical journey of a hero. Beneath that story line, however, "Dune" is a marvelous tapestry of ideas. It has been called an ecological handbook. It also includes history, philosophy, religion, politics, poetry, and is an incredible example of world-building, which not only includes the science of building a world but the language of the people who inhabit it. Both Kevin and I spent many years researching this project before we ever wrote a single word of "Dune: House Atreides."

Question from Ncboy: For the esteemed authors, how did you go about the mechanics of actually writing the book? Did the two of you hole up in an apartment somewhere and bang it out or did you do it online?

Kevin Anderson: When we were plotting the story (for the whole trilogy) we holed up in Brian's house for several days of brainstorming. Through those intense days, we hammered out the main plot points, and then broke down the story into a detailed outline, chapter by chapter. We divided the chapters into Kevin chapters and Brian chapters, based primarily on story lines (i.e., the Harkonnen story, the Imperial story, the Bene Gesserit story,) and then we went off to write our separate pieces over the next few months. Brian and I know each other's strengths, and we tried to play to them in our writing.

After the first draft was finished, though, we then went through eight complete drafts, back and forth, exchanging diskettes and reworking all of the chapters so that, in the end, "Dune: House Atreides" should be seamless. Few people can tell who wrote the first draft of which chapter. That way, we came up with a book stronger than either of us could have done individually. We like to say that Frank Herbert left such big shoes for us to fill that we needed two feet in each one.

Question from Skwitz: Was your father pleased with the movie adaptation and can we expect any movie based on the new book or other chapters?

Brian Herbert: In 1983, my mother and father saw five hours of "Dune" outtakes at the studio in Mexico City. Since David Lynch had been a painter at one time, Dad was extremely pleased with the look of the movie, the settings, and the costumes. Dad referred to the movie at that time as a "visual feast."

Later, after the initial five hours were cut to a little over two hours for theatrical release, Dad began to express some reservations. He felt that the character developments were lacking, in particular with regard to Stilgar, Duncan Idaho, and others. He also disagreed with the movie showing Paul Atreides making rain at the conclusion, which was an inexplicable act. Most of all, perhaps, Dad did not like the characterization of the Baron Harkonnen. Instead of making the character a terrifying persona, the movie treats him as more of a cartoon character who laughs and is pulled up into the air and has a heart plug that can be pulled out. This is a jarring characterization, and is quite different from what Frank Herbert wrote.

Dad felt, however, that the movie was far better than some of the critics in the United States thought it was. In fact, because of political mistakes that Universal Pictures made, such as canceling a number of reviewers who they feared would not be friendly to the picture, many of the reviews in the United States were unfavorable. In Europe, Australia, Japan, and other countries, however, where there was no political problem of this nature involving reviewers, the movie was a box-office smash and set many records. Over the years, the "Dune" video has gained in popularity and most fans tell us that they like it and are willing to overlook some of the relatively minor details that they disagree with.

Kevin Anderson: Let's also not forget that the movie tie-in edition of Frank Herbert's novel sold an additional million copies and reached number one on "The New York Times" bestseller list, 20 years after its original publication. No matter what you think about the movie adaptation, it brought out a lot more people to read the original novel.

Question from Ncboy: Are any of the other Dune books slated to be made into movies?

Brian Herbert: "Dune" itself will be a six-hour television mini-series, which is being produced by New Amsterdam Productions in association with ABC and the Sci-Fi network. Filming started yesterday in Prague. The desert scenes will be filmed in Tunisia, North Africa. The series will star William Hurt, who won an Academy Award for Best Actor for "Kiss of the Spider Woman." He will play Duke Leto Atreides. We are not sure of the other cast members at this time but we will be posting information on this at our website, http://www.dunenovels.com.

Question from Fedaykin_Jedi: Will there be a part seven and will it be based on notes or totally created from your own collective minds?

Kevin Anderson: We do have Frank Herbert's full outline for "Dune 7" and we certainly want to write it eventually -- one of my main reasons for contacting Brian in the first place was to finish the story of the Honored Matres and the Bene Gesserit. There are many things that still need to be set up for the climactic volume in the series. Brian and I have decided to work on telling the great epic of the Butlerian Jihad next, which deals with the war against Thinking Machines and the original rift between Atreides and Harkonnen and how the Corrinos became the Imperial family. We have so many notes, there is no lack of possible projects we could tackle. We just want to do them in the best order possible.

Question from NCAtrediesboy: Do you think that these books will be seen by the "Dune" subculture as adding to the works or detracting from them? Are you worried about what longtime Dune fans will think of the new books?

Brian Herbert: We waited more than a decade before continuing the series. During that time, I personally spent six years doing research involving the Dune series. This included writing a comprehensive biography of my father entitled, "Dreamer of Dune," which took five years by itself. I spent an additional year putting together a detailed "Dune Concordance," which includes all of the important references that Frank Herbert made throughout the six-volume series that he wrote.

We knew that Frank Herbert wanted to continue the Dune series because he was just beginning work on a Dune novel when he passed away in 1986. Based upon the professional reviews that we have received on "Dune: House Atreides," and upon the extremely positive reactions we have received from the fans, we feel that we have added to the Dune universe. We are filling in details at which Frank Herbert intimated, but did not fully describe, in his own novels.

Question from Porkrind: I have an original 1965 Chilton first edition of "Dune." Is the publisher considering republishing the books as a set for collectors?

Brian Herbert: The current publisher of the Dune series written by Frank Herbert is not the original publisher, which was Chilton Books. Putnam Berkley now owns the rights. That is an interesting suggestion, however, and perhaps the publishers can work something out. You might want to write directly to both Chilton Books and Putnam Berkley. It is also interesting to note that Putnam Berkley has just reissued the entire Dune series with all new covers.

Question from SusieSouth: Did the prequel to "Star Wars" inspire this endeavor?

Kevin Anderson: While I have spent a lot of time in George Lucas' universe (which was itself inspired in many ways by the original "Dune"), Brian and I were talking about new Dune projects (including "Dune 7," the Butlerian Jihad books, and House Atreides) many years before "Star Wars: Episode 1" was released. Of course, we knew about it and it came up in conversation, but it wasn't really a factor one way or another.

Question from SusieSouth: Do you suppose that Lucas would acknowledge that his inspiration was "Dune," then?

Brian Herbert: At the time "Star Wars" was released in 1977, George Lucas admitted quite freely that he drew upon many literary works and films that he admired. While he did not specifically mention "Dune," it is obvious from many aspects of "Star Wars" that there are similarities. Luke Skywalker, the hero of "Star Wars," closely resembles Paul Atreides of "Dune." The Force in "Star Wars," which is a pseudo-religious aspect of the movie, resembles the Other Memory of "Dune," which, in turn, was based upon the writings of Carl Gustav Jung.

Kevin Anderson: And, of course, there are the "spice mines," the Dune Sea, moisture vaporators, the Sand People who are wrapped up to conserve moisture, and the big dragon carcass in the sand dunes.

Question from Fedaykin_Jedi: Will the 2 face dancers at the end of the Chapterhouse book in the series ever be explained?

Kevin Anderson: No spoilers here! You'll have to wait for us to write "Dune 7."

Question from Lucilla: I love your new book. I have read it four times already. When is "Dune: House Harkonnen" coming?

Brian Herbert: "Dune: House Harkonnen" will be published in hardcover in October of 2000. The third book in our trilogy, about House Corrino, will follow one year later. We have recently completed House Harkonnen and are beginning work on House Corrino as we speak.

Question from visitor42: What specific part of "Dune: House Atreides" are you most proud of?

Brian Herbert: I think that we have done a good job of plotting. According to one reviewer, we have eight separate plot lines in this novel. I haven't counted them recently but we were very careful to give this novel the look and feel of a Dune book, which needs to have wheels within wheels occurring. Machiavellian intrigues and the like are occurring throughout.

Kevin Anderson: I also love the characters of Leto Atreides and Pardot Kynes.

Question from Lucilla: Which Frank Herbert book is your favorite?

Brian Herbert: "Dune" was my favorite book written by Frank Herbert. This does not mean that we should overlook many of his other titles that are not written in the Dune universe. It's interesting to note that Frank Herbert liked to explore similar themes from different aspects in his other novels and short stories.

Kevin Anderson: Other than "Dune,"
of course, I always loved "Hellstrom’s Hive." "The White Plague" and "The Green Brain" are also among my favorites.

Question from Candyce_Gesserit: Much to my chagrin, I lost my copy of Willis McNelly's "Dune Encyclopedia," which is no longer in print. Any hope of reviving that fantastic companion book, since I can't afford to bid on it on ebay?

Brian Herbert: Frank Herbert considered the "Dune Encyclopedia" a very interesting and enjoyable excursion into an alternate Dune universe. He did not use the encyclopedia when he was writing his Dune books, so fans may notice certain discrepancies between these works. Likewise, Kevin and I are not using the "Dune Encyclopedia" in any way as we continue the series. This does not detract from the "Dune Encyclopedia." For clarification, Dr. McNelly, Kevin, and I have written a joint statement to the fans, which will be published soon on our website: http://www.dunenovels.com. We hope that fans will continue to enjoy not only the novels written by Frank Herbert and us, but also the "Dune Encyclopedia."

Chat Moderator: Thank you, Brian Herbert and Kevin Anderson, for joining us today to discuss the Dune series and the new prequel.

Brian Herbert: Thank you!