The Dune Encyclopedia is a 1984 collection of essays written by Willis E. McNelly and multiple other contributors as a companion to Frank Herbert's Dune series of science fiction novels.
Overview
The Dune Encyclopedia, written by McNelly and 42 other contributors as a companion to the Dune series, was published in paperback in 1984. It describes in great detail many aspects of the Dune universe not covered in the novels themselves, such as character biographies and explanations of key elements, including planets, factions like the Bene Gesserit and Mentats, the spice melange, and technology such as heighliners and stillsuits.
Publication
The Dune Encyclopedia was published by Berkley Books, an imprint of Putnam, the publisher of all of Frank Herbert's Dune novels. The cover called the work "complete" and "authorized". Additionally, Frank Herbert approved the book, considering it "amusing" and "fascinating". Herbert himself wrote the foreword for the Encyclopedia (dated November 1983), which noted: