The Winds of Dune
Authors: Brian Herbert,Kevin J. Anderson
Tags: #Dune (Imaginary place), #Science Fiction, #General, #Fiction
THE WINDS OF DUNE
THE DUNE SERIES
BY FRANK HERBERT
Dune
Dune Messiah
Children of Dune
God Emperor of Dune
Heretics of Dune
Chapterhouse: Dune
BY FRANK HERBERT, BRIAN HERBERT,
AND KEVIN J. ANDERSON
The Road to Dune
(includes the original short novel
Spice Planet
)
BY BRIAN HERBERT AND KEVIN J. ANDERSON
Dune: House Atreides
Dune: House Harkonnen
Dune: House Corrino
Dune: The Butlerian Jihad
Dune: The Machine Crusade
Dune: The Battle of Corrin
Hunters of Dune
Sandworms of Dune
Paul of Dune
The Winds of Dune
The Throne of Dune
(forthcoming)
BY BRIAN HERBERT
Dreamer of Dune
(biography of Frank Herbert)
Brian Herbert
and
Kevin J. Anderson
A TOM DOHERTY ASSOCIATES BOOK
NEW YORK
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the authors’ imaginations or are used fictitiously.
THE WINDS OF DUNE
Copyright © 2009 by Herbert Properties LLC
All rights reserved.
A Tor Book
Published by Tom Doherty Associates, LLC
175 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10010
Tor
®
is a registered trademark of Tom Doherty Associates, LLC.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Herbert, Brian.
The winds of dune / Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson.—1st ed.
p. cm.
“A Tom Doherty Associates book.”
ISBN 978-0-7653-2272-2
I. Dune (Imaginary place)—Fiction. I. Anderson, Kevin J., 1962–II. Title.
PS3558.E617W56 2009
813’.54—dc22
2009016702
First Edition: September 2009
Printed in the United States of America
0 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
ACKNOWLEDGMENTSIt is difficult to be married to an author, more challenging
in many ways than the writing task itself. For their sacrifices,
for their unconditional love and patience, this book,
like others, is dedicated to our remarkable wives,
JANET HERBERT and
REBECCA MOESTA ANDERSON.
While we are busy writing new novels in the incredible Dune universe, many other people contribute to what the reader sees on the printed page. We would like to thank Tor Books, Simon & Schuster U.K., WordFire Inc., the Frank Herbert family, Trident Media Group, New Amsterdam Entertainment, and Misher Films for their contributions and support. As always, we are especially grateful to Frank Herbert, who left the most remarkable literary legacy in all of science fiction, and to Beverly Herbert, who devoted so much of her own talents and energy to the success of the series.
To the Fremen, he is the Messiah;
To the vanquished, he is the Tyrant;
To the Bene Gesserit, he is the Kwisatz Haderach;
But Paul is
my son
and always will be, no matter how far he falls.
—
LADY JESSICA
, Duchess of Caladan
The Emperor Paul-Muad’Dib survived a major assassination attempt when a stone-burner robbed him of his eyesight. Though blind, he could see the cracks in his empire, the political stresses and long-festering wounds that threatened to tear his rule apart. Ultimately he
knew
—whether through prescience or Mentat analysis—that the problems were insurmountable.
With his beloved Chani dead in childbirth and his newborn twins helpless, Muad’Dib turned his back on humanity and his children and walked into the desert, leaving the empire to his sixteen-year-old sister, Alia. Thus, he abandoned everything he had worked to create.
Even the most careful historian can never know the reason for this.
—
BRONSO OF IX
,
Analysis of History: Muad’Dib
Though he is gone, Muad’Dib never ceases to test us. Who are we to doubt his choices? Wherever he is, in life or death, Muad’Dib continues to watch over his people. That is why we must pray to him for guidance.
—
PRINCESS IRULAN
,
The Legacy of Muad’Dib
PART I10, 207 AG
After the overthrow of Shaddam IV, the reign of Paul-Muad’Dib lasted fourteen years. He established his new capital in Arrakeen on the sacred desert planet, Dune. Though Muad’Dib’s Jihad is over at long last, conflicts continue to flare up.
Paul’s mother, the Lady Jessica, has withdrawn from the constant battles and political schemes and returned to the Atreides ancestral home of Caladan to serve there as Duchess.
In my private life on Caladan, I receive few reports of my son’s Jihad, not because I choose to be ignorant, but because the news is rarely anything I wish to hear.
—
LADY JESSICA
, Duchess of Caladan
T
he unscheduled ship loomed in orbit over Caladan, a former Guild Heighliner pressed into service as a Jihad transport.
A young boy from the fishing village, apprenticed to the Castle as a page, rushed into the garden courtyard. Looking awkward in his formal clothing, he blurted, “It’s a military-equipped vessel, my Lady. Fully armed!”
Kneeling beside a rosemary bush, Jessica snipped off fragrant twigs for the kitchens. Here in her private garden, she maintained flowers, herbs, and shrubs in a perfect combination of order and chaos, useful flora and pretty pleasantries. In the peace and stillness just after dawn, Jessica liked to work and meditate here, nourishing her plants and uprooting the persistent weeds that tried to ruin the careful balance.