DUNE 7 BLOG

Monday, December 5, 2005

The Voice of DUNE

I reread the original DUNE every year or two (and not just because it’s part of my job!). Right now I’m experiencing Frank Herbert’s classic in a different way, listening to a new unabridged recording from Books on Tape, read by Scott Brick. Two previous editions of DUNE have been released in audiobook format. Books on Tape had an earlier version with a much inferior reader, and Recorded Books released a version read by George Guidall (an excellent audiobook performer; I requested -- and got -- him for the first three unabridged audios of my “Seven Suns” novels).

The new Books on Tape edition -- complete with the appendices and the Terminology of the Imperium -- is read by the excellent Scott Brick. Scott is perhaps known to many of you already, as he was the reader for THE BUTLERIAN JIHAD, THE MACHINE CRUSADE, and THE BATTLE OF CORRIN. He also read our story “Whipping Mek” and THE ROAD TO DUNE, all from Audio Renaissance. Scott was nominated for a prestigious Audie Award for his reading of THE MACHINE CRUSADE, and he won the award for THE BUTLERIAN JIHAD.

But Scott isn’t just a reader for the novel; he’s a complete fan of the books, and is also an all-around great guy. He has joined us at some of our DUNE book signings, and he keeps in touch regularly. (Scott’s also a comics fan, and I usually see him each year at the San Diego Comic Con.)

Unabridged audiobooks of the remaining Frank Herbert chronicles are out-of-date and quite hard to find. They’ve never been released on CD or MP3 format. Scott has frequently “reminded” us that DUNE MESSIAH, CHILDREN OF DUNE, GOD-EMPEROR OF DUNE, HERETICS OF DUNE, and CHAPTERHOUSE DUNE should all be rerecorded. Our first choice for a reader would be Scott Brick, of course. We are currently negotiating and hope to be able to offer unabridged recordings of the rest of Frank Herbert’s DUNE novels very soon. It would be especially helpful to have them available so you can refresh your memories and get up to speed before HUNTERS OF DUNE comes out.

In a couple of days I’ll be taking a road trip, driving to Moab, Utah, to spend a week holed up in a condo editing SANDWORMS round the clock (when I’m not out hiking in the canyonlands and dictating new chapters). On the long drive, I will be listening to the DUNE audio, for sure.

You can check out the Scott Brick recording of DUNE at booksontape.com for rental or purchase. Also still available are HERETICS and CHAPTERHOUSE.

--KJA