Thirteen years after Frank Herbert's death, a new novel set in the Dune universe, called Dune: House Atreides, will be published in October. The new book was written by Herbert's son Brian and Kevin J. Anderson.

House Atreides, set a few decades before the original Dune novel, will begin to tell the story of Duke Leto and Lady Jessica Atreides, their first battles with the Baron Harkonnen, and the mission of Pardot Kynes, the planetologist sent to Arrakis to investigate the planet's unique features, namely the spice and the sandworms.

Frank Herbert died before he could finish the seventh and final book in the Dune series. But Brian Herbert and Anderson have been able to base some of their work on notes found after Frank Herbert's death, unexpectedly, in a safety deposit box in suburban Seattle.

Herbert and Anderson are planning a complete trilogy that leads up to the time of Paul Atreides' birth, including House Atreides, House Harkonnen and The Spice War.