Counter-Currents
Remembering Frank Herbert: October 8, 1920–February 11, 1986
Greg Johnson
Frank Herbert
477 words
Frank Herbert was born on this day in 1920 in Tacoma, Washington. Herbert is best-known as the creator of Dune, which is the most widely-read and influential science fiction novel of all time. Herbert, moreover, is an artist of the Right. As I wrote in my review of Denis Villeneuve’s Dune, Part 1:
Frank Herbert’s vision of the future was deeply reactionary. He depicts a world where liberal democracy failed and has been replaced by a feudal imperium. In Herbert’s imperium, artificial intelligence has been destroyed as oppressive and remains under the iron ban of a syncretic form of Christianity. Computer technology is a great leveler. Without it, humanity must fall back on natural gifts, which are rare. To refine these gifts and make them more common, eugenics is practiced. Biological sex differences are recognized. Bureaucracies are disdained as repressive instruments of equality and fairness. The story of Leto II in Children of Dune and God Emperor of Dune is opposed to surveillance and empire in favor of freedom and pluralism. Herbert believed that mankind would never be safe unless we could free ourselves from the leveling gaze of a single, universal political order.
Beyond that, Herbert has quite compelling reasons for his belief that liberal democracy will not take mankind to the stars and that mankind can only spread across the galaxy by returning to archaic social forms like hereditary monarchy, feudalism, and initiatic spiritual orders.
Herbert’s vision of the future is also gloriously Eurocentric. His imperium is medieval Europe writ large, while his vision of Arrakis and its native people, the Fremen, is based on Arabia, i.e., the Near East—“near” in relation to Europe, that is.
Counter-Currents has published the following works on Frank Herbert:
- Greg Johnson, “Archeofuturist Fiction: Frank Herbert’s Dune.” (German translation here, Greek translation here)
- Greg Johnson, “Notes on Dune Messiah.”
- Greg Johnson, “The Golden Path: Frank Herbert’s Children of Dune and God Emperor of Dune.”
- Greg Johnson, “The Bene Gesserit Books: Frank Herbert’s Heretics of Dune & Chapterhouse: Dune.“
- Trevor Lynch, “David Lynch’s Dune.”
- Trevor Lynch, “Jodorowsky’s Dune.”
- Trevor Lynch, “The Sci-Fi Channel’s Dune and Children of Dune.”
- Trevor Lynch, “The First Dune Trailer.”
- Trevor Lynch, “Denis Villeneuve’s Dune, Part 1.”
- Podcast: Greg Johnson and Morgoth on Denis Villeneuve’s Dune, Part 1.
Substantial references to Frank Herbert are also present in:
- Greg Johnson interviewed by Laura Raim (Czech translation here)
- Greg Johnson, “Ben Novak’s Hitler and Abductive Logic.”
In the coming years, Counter-Currents will explore the rest of Frank Herbert’s corpus from the Right.
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12 comments
I believe Asimov’s Foundation series was awarded the title as “the Best Sci-Fi Novel Written”. There are some awesome episodes in the series but there are also some really crappy parts, which if written today by someone of lesser note, would probably not even be publishable.
Asimov {I believe?} mentioned that his whole concept of psychohistory was thought up as a result of a discussion with his publisher. It is an interesting concept and in general the series is perhaps even more anti liberal-democracy than Dune.
I will have to say that the latest Dune movie (part 1) was really well done and faithful to the book. This is despite the incursion of an occasional POC in a minor role not written for them. Let’s hope part 2 is as well done.
I thought the new dune was good too. Did you ever read Slan by van Vogt?
No I’ve never read Slan, it seems that I can pick up a used copy cheaply: I’ll look into it. I’m fond of the “Lost Fleet” series by Jack Campbell. Guess you’ve heard of “Starship Troopers”? There was an earlier book along the same lines that was much better (IMO). It was called “Their Masters War” but was never made into a movie.
Incidentally
“.. magazine Analog Science Fiction and Fact said it would drop John W. Campbell’s name from its annual prize for best new writer because of racist sentiments he had expressed.”
Some POC named Ng won the award this year and protested against the name.
We should do a Campbell prize like we did with the Lovecraft Prize. But sadly, there’s not enough great work being done out there to give even one prize each year.
I have never read Frank Herbert but I had a friend as an undergrad who thought Dune was truly a great novel. I have read Ray Bradbury, not all but some, and I thought his stuff was really good. I would be interested to hear Greg list the top Sci Fi writers from first to fifth.
I don’t actually read that much science fiction, because literarily most of it is pretty bad. The science fiction writers I come back to again and again are: H.P. Lovecraft (yes, some of it is science fiction), Herbert, and Bradbury. Bradbury has a wonderful imagination, and he’s an exquisite stylist, the best that I have read in the sci-fi world.
Definitely read my articles on Herbert, especially “The Golden Path.” Herbert had an amazing imagination.
I have to disagree with you guys on Bradbury. After reading two books(Martian chronicles and illustrated man) and several shorts, I find his style and imagination insipid(with some occasional exceptions). His attractions are a whistful sentimentality yoked to a statist leftist on issues of race, immigration etc. which I believe account for his out of proportion popularity. Have either of you guys read van Vogt, in particular Slan? Still ahead of his time!
“Migrants in Italy face uncertainty after far-right prime minister’s win.”
I certainly hope not, as they most certainly have to be repatriated within 60 days & make their country great.
This whole refugee narrative was a facade to mask the real agenda of replacement leading to the extermination of European Peoples from Europe to Australia. It is high time we expose & undo this evil plan, repatriate all & hold those responsible accountable. Aim for a Dunelike.
Many years ago, during the reign of the Padishah Emperors, I was prospecting through the back shelves of a film library where I came across a copy of the script for Dune, apparently the version to be directed by Ridley Scott circa 1980.
Some of the scenes:
An opening at the funeral of the Emperor where his spirit rises from the mausoleum and tells the assembled nobles of the Imperium that Arrakis belongs to whoever is strong enough to hold it.
A flash forward with Dr Kynes delusional and wandering in the desert where he gives an expository lecture about the spice cycle.
The Sardaukar are elite mercenaries, not Imperial troops (‘natch, since there is no Emperor involved in the rest of the movie).
When Duke Leto crunches his poison gas tooth, the Baron Harkonnen grabs Piter De Vries’ gas mask to save himself. Goodbye, Piter!
The Fremen uprising has a Battle of Algiers vibe.
The Harkonnens spending a lot of time lounging about in saunas (perhaps a remnant of this is in the Lynch Dune scene where Sting steps out of the steam room?).
The Fremen make their final assault against the Harkonnens and their allies in “desert assault vehicles.”
And the scene which allegedly brought down the wrath of Frank Herbert:
After the Harkonnens defeat the Atreides, Jessica and Paul escape into the desert. They decide that the Atreides genetic line has to continue, so the two of them, uhm, ah … The result is the conception of Alia who is born nine months later, bringing in the final apocalyptic battle for Dune.
By the way, while you can find drafts of the Lynch movie online, and storyboards and such for the Jodorowsky Dune, the Scott screenplay is as rare as a crysknife off-world.
Anyone have any idea where it can be accessed?
I would love to see the script, but I am glad it wasn’t made. Although Scott could have done justice to the movie with a better script.
I love Dune, but my favorite work of science fiction is Book of the New Sun by Gene Wolfe.
Dear Gregory Johnson,
I want to say thank you for including Frank Herbert in the birthday list. You clearly enjoyed his Dune series. I know many of your readers will enjoy them.
Here are some other artists you could include to your list: Ansel Easton Adams, Arno Breker, Andrew Newell Wyeth, Vilhelm Hammershøi and Thomas Cowperthwait Eakins.
The form government that exists in the Dune universe is called feudalism. A recently published book titled, “The Coming of Neo-Feudalism: A Warning to the Global Middle Class” will interest you and your readers.
Link#1-The book is available for purchase at Amazon.com
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1641772840/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_hsch_vapi_tpbk_p1_i3
Link#2-The book was reviewed for the website The University Bookman.
https://kirkcenter.org/reviews/the-never-ending-threat-of-utopia/
Link#3-The book was reviewed for the British current affairs webzine Unherd.com
https://unherd.com/thepost/2020-and-the-coming-of-neo-feudalism/
Thanks for all the hard work put in to this webzine. I visit it everyday.
-Eric
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