This is a major moment for both scholars and pure readers. Originally issued as singleton volumes, they are now available in an omnibus at a bargain price. Moreover, he has found and published four trunk novels from the elder statesman. He has brought several of Frank Herbert’s titles back into print.
With the formation by Anderson of his own small press, WordFire, the living author has done even more to honor his dead colleague. Anderson, who has famously and ably continued the Dune franchise with prequels. And second in line as a booster is Kevin J. But perhaps it’s time for a more nuanced view of Frank Herbert than just “that guy who invented sandworms.”Ĭertainly Frank Herbert’s son Brian has done much to promote his father’s varied oeuvre. Most writers fade into total obscurity soon after they are no longer around to promote themselves. Now, it’s wonderful that posterity remembers anything about any writer thirty years after his death, even if they recall only a single book. Maybe Clifford Simak is the fellow who is somewhat in an analogous position, with City being almost his exclusive milestone in the eyes of most people.
Heinlein’s reputation currently encompasses several well-regarded masterpieces, as do the legacies of Clarke, Asimov, Bradbury, Pohl, Vance, van Vogt, and other deceased members on that honor roll. This one-trick-pony status does not adhere, I think, to many other Grandmasters (although of course, technically speaking, Herbert never was awarded that specific prize from SFWA, although a strong case could be made that he deserved it). Mention his name today, to fans old and new alike, some thirty years after his death (my lord, how did three decades zip by so fast!), and the universal response is likely to be, “Yes, of course, the author of Dune!” Overlooked or forgotten are all the other fine books of his career. Out of all the major writers of his generation, Frank Herbert (1920-1986) seems most in danger of becoming remembered solely for one novel-or rather, the series which that novel launched. Four Unpublished Novels: High-Opp, Angel’s Fall, A Game of Authors, A Thorn in the Bush, by Frank Herbert ( WordFire 978-1614753391, $19.99, 570, trade paperback) February 2016
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