2004: Merritt Interview / SciFi Weekly

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2004: Merritt Interview / SciFi Weekly

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Science Fiction Weekly Issue 350
5 January 2004
Bryon Merritt interviews Brian Herbert



How long did it take you to write this biography of your father?

Herbert: For the last eight years of Frank Herbert's life, I kept a journal of the events in our family. After Dad died in 1986, I waited for several years, unable to write his story because I was still grieving over him and my mother, Beverly. The actual writing of the biography took approximately five years, but I did complete other writing projects while I was working on it.

It is obvious to anyone who reads this (or reads the dedication at the end of Chapterhouse: Dune) that Beverly Herbert was a major influence in your father's life. Has she been an influence in your life and writing?

Herbert: Beverly Herbert was an incredible woman, and I am blessed to have had her as my mother. As my father's best friend, Howie Hansen, put it, without her there would have been no Dune, and without her the Frank Herbert we all knew would never have existed. She influenced everyone around her in subtle, steadying ways. She was my father's anchor, keeping him from soaring off into space. Even after her passing, she is a continuing influence on me and on my wife, Jan, as we recall the wisdom she imparted to us.

In addition, as I described in Dreamer of Dune, Beverly Herbert was in touch with a supernatural realm. Howie Hansen, a Native American, understood her connection with what he calls the spirit world. Even though she died in 1984, I am certain that she guided me to meet Kevin J. Anderson in 1997, and that she approved of us as a writing team enough to show us where to find missing notes that were needed to resume the Dune series.

You had some harsh words about Frank Herbert and how he raised you (or didn't raise you). And you've been quoted before as saying that the most mysterious journey a man can undertake is that one in which he tries to understand his father. Do you feel that you've accepted your father's life after finishing this biography?

Herbert: I do not agree that the words I used to describe Frank Herbert were "harsh." I was being truthful in describing the flaws of a great man and had no intention of writing a "Daddy Dearest" book. On the contrary, as I said near the conclusion of Dreamer of Dune [page 527], "Frank Herbert was brilliant, loving, honest, loyal, generous and thoughtful. His deficiencies were more interesting than significant." It's important to put his flaws in perspective. None of us are perfect, and this is one of the things that makes us human. One of the recurring themes in Frank Herbert's stories is the question "What does it mean to be human?"
Since my father was such an honest man, concerned with the truth, I know that he would appreciate Dreamer of Dune. The most important accomplishment of his life may not have been the obvious: writing his magnificent novel Dune. Rather, I like to remember him for the loving, selfless things he did for Beverly Herbert at her time of terrible need, when she was dying of lung cancer.

Even though I wrote a comprehensive biography of Frank Herbert, I am still learning things about him all the time. As I take part in public appearances for book tours and other events, fans are always coming up to me to tell me they met him, and share delightful stories of his generosity and wisdom. Yes, he was a man of mystery to me for many years, but that is no longer the case. In writing the biography, and in keeping a family journal before that, I came to know the heart of the man. The new anecdotes that people tell me only confirm what I already know about him. It is a great blessing that he and I, while estranged for many years, eventually had a reconciliation and became very close.

How do you think Frank Herbert would view this biography written about him which obviously revealed some deep family secrets?

Herbert: As the son of Frank Herbert, writing about him, I had to decide what to include and what not to include. If the biography did not include personal details it would have been dry, like one of those unauthorized biographies written from a distance and filled with conjecture. I didn't have to speculate; I knew Frank Herbert very well, and even when we had problems between us, I never stopped loving him.

While writing Dreamer of Dune, I kept in mind that Frank Herbert was an investigative reporter who liked to turn over rocks and see what scurried out. He liked to examine myths and preconceived notions. As a man of truth, he would support this biography. His best friend, Howie Hansen, wrote to me after reading Dreamer of Dune and said: "This book is Frank and Bev, in person. I'm thrilled to say that this account is as close to his parents as one can get. I know. I was there." Howie went on to say that the biography "is accurate, sincere, open ... it's tremendous!"

I think my father would identify with the quest of a son to understand his enigmatic father, a man who was every bit as complex as the multilayered novel Dune itself. He would also like to see the story of Beverly Herbert told, the way she was the breadwinner of our family, the spiritual pillar, and so much more. He described his love for her in the moving tribute he wrote at the conclusion of Chapterhouse: Dune, a book that he had to complete after she died.

Looking into your father's life in the great detail that Dreamer of Dune demanded, do you feel that you now have a better or newer understanding of his work during his writing of Dune?

Herbert: Absolutely. When I was assembling Dreamer of Dune, I read everything by Frank Herbert that I could get my hands on, published and unpublished. In the process, I found incredible insights and connections. Interestingly, some of the best insights have come from reading his unpublished stories and notes.

Some fans feel that you may have been too close to the source material to write Dreamer of Dune objectively. What would you like to say to them concerning that?

Herbert: The reviews on Dreamer of Dune, both professional and from fans and interviewers, have been overwhelmingly positive. Publishers Weekly gave the book a starred review, the highest rating. Readers are always telling me how my book is about family relationships, about love, honor and the terrible grief of losing someone you love. I wrote it as a complex story that included aspects of biography, memoir and literary criticism. It focuses on my evolving relationship with my father, the love story of my parents, and the mysterious origins of Dune. It is also about what is involved with being a writer and receiving rejection letters—my father, my mother and I all received our share of these.

Depending upon your own life experiences, you can read Dreamer of Dune on a number of different levels, following particular aspects as they thread their way through the book. The inspiration for this type of approach, of course, is Dune itself, which is a great adventure story that also contains layers of politics, religion, history, philosophy, ecology and much more. I'm not claiming that this biography is a classic on the level of Dune, but I am saying that Dreamer of Dune has to be complex and multifaceted, since it is about Frank Herbert. Like Dune, the biography does not fit easily into the cubbyholes of literary genres. Frank Herbert was like that. He was an iconoclast who defied classification.

Dreamer of Dune was a biography, not science fiction. Did you feel that you had any trouble switching gears to write a nonfiction book?

Herbert: No problem at all. Many subjects interest me. Recently, I completed a nonfiction book about the United States Merchant Marine, entitled The Forgotten Heroes, to be published next year. Of course, I will continue to write science fiction, including Dune stories.

Because you are now a successful author, can you relate to the difficulties that Frank Herbert had to go through to accomplish his own success? Do you think that being his son aided you in your success?

Herbert: In Dreamer of Dune, I described the difficulties that Frank Herbert had in selling novels, and my own difficulties in that regard. The entire writing process, with its intense demands, has given me a deep understanding of what my father had to go through in order to write. It helped me to forgive him for not spending more time with me when I was growing up. Being Frank Herbert's son did not help me to get an agent or a publisher. When I completed my first book (a humor collection), I couldn't get an agent to answer my letters or phone calls. Finally, I sold that book and the next one myself, without an agent, by phoning publishers and doing sales pitches over the phone. As the son of a famous author, reviewers and fans expect me to write at a certain high level, so this has made me work harder. Writing is a lonely profession, and you have to prove yourself with each story that you put out there, or publishers will not make business decisions to include you in their production and marketing plans, and fans will not plunk down their own hard-earned dollars to read your material.

How do you think Frank Herbert would feel today, if he could see the effects that The Dune Chronicles have had on the literary world and, more specifically, the SF fan base?

Herbert: Frank Herbert often said that the only valid literary critic is time, which will determine what is a classic and what is not. He would be extremely pleased to discover what a landmark series he wrote in The Dune Chronicles, how it has lasted for decades and is continuing to pick up new readers all the time. The flagship novel Dune is to science fiction what Lord of the Rings is to fantasy; Dune is the book against which all others in the genre are compared. Frank Herbert's first three Dune series books expanded the science-fiction base, vaulting his readership into the mainstream and blazing the way for other science-fiction writers to do the same. He was the first science-fiction author to have a national bestseller.

Many of the fans are pawing away for more information on anything Dune-related. Some have been interested in the Dune short stories that Kevin J. Anderson and you have published. Any more of those planned?

Herbert: We have many more Dune short stories planned, along with graphic novels, young adult novels and other projects. Recently we published "Whipping Mek," a story set in the time of the mythical Butlerian Jihad. [The title is a play on one of Frank Herbert's novels, Whipping Star.] We are not rushing to release any of this material, since each Dune story requires a great deal of attention to detail.

It's been noted that several complete chapters were excised from Dune Messiah before it was published. Will any of that information be included in The Road to Dune, which we know you're working on?

Herbert: The Road to Dune will include many missing chapters from the Dune series, along with other unpublished material written by Frank Herbert. It will also include editorial commentary.

Will Dune 7 be the final book in the original series? Or might there be a 7, 8 and 9? Any spoilers you can tell us about Dune 7?

Herbert: Dune 7 will be the next major Dune series novel, and will represent the chronological conclusion of the series. However, it will not be the last Dune series novel, as there are a number of other interesting stories remaining to tell. As for "spoilers" about Dune 7, Frank Herbert's outline of the story is one of the most closely guarded secrets in science fiction, for obvious reasons.

Have you and Kevin ever thought of making your own Dune Encyclopedia?

Herbert: Kevin and I have talked about completing a highly illustrated Dune universe coffee-table book, and much of the background material could come from the Dune Concordance that I completed on all six of the Dune series novels that Frank Herbert wrote. We don't intend to publish that concordance for quite a long time, since it should include the material that has been added to the Dune universe after Frank Herbert passed away. We will continue to use the existing six-book concordance as a reference work, however, for new projects.

Is there a Frank Herbert novel—Dune-related or not—that is a favorite of yours? Why?

Herbert: It will probably not surprise you to learn that Dune is my favorite Frank Herbert novel. When I finally made my way through the complexities of the story, in my mid-20s, I thought it was the greatest novel I had ever read. More than any other Frank Herbert novel, Dune reflects the fascinating, multifaceted man that he was. I am particularly touched by what he wrote about Duke Leto's hopes for his son, Paul Atreides, since it showed the hopes that Frank Herbert himself had for his own children.

There are many unpublished works of your father's still out there. Any chance that these might get resurrected and put into print?

Herbert: We have a number of unpublished Frank Herbert short stories, novellas and even a massive mainstream novel set in the Pacific Northwest. We have also located many interesting notes and nonfiction pieces. My family intends to publish this material in the near future. All of it will include editorial commentary to put it in perspective, and some of the stories—such as the big novel—will require quite a bit of additional work. We also have two Beverly Herbert novels that have quite a bit of merit and deserve to be published.

What writing plans do you have after you and Kevin are finished with the Dune material? Do you have a series of your own in mind?

Herbert: I am always writing, so after finishing the Dune series there will be no shortage of literary projects. Some people have suggested that Kevin and I team up on our own new science-fiction novels, since we work so well together—and that remains a possibility. But we each have plenty of solo projects as well. Recently, I sold a three-book science-fiction series of my own, a grand space epic with plenty of action and deeper, thought-provoking messages. Interspersed with science fiction, I also have a number of mainstream novels in mind, including one that I am working on right now. Like my father, I am intrigued by the human condition, on both the individual and societal levels. I am also intrigued by "high concepts," and have included them in virtually every novel I have written. In all of my novels, I like to make readers think about serious matters, and in science fiction I like to give them a sense of wonder, a feeling that an alternate, fantastic universe is not only awe-inspiring, but possible.
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Re: 2004: Merritt Interview / SciFi Weekly

Post by D Pope »

http://www.syfy.com/sfw/issue350/interview.html
Link no longer exists.


I found it here, about halfway down the page.
http://www.frankherbert.net/interviews.html

Interview with Brian Herbert
Byron Merritt interviews Brian Herbert in the January 5, 2004 edition of Science Fiction Weekly.
When a brand knew urinal puck showed up in the bathroom of my studio, I knew what I had to do.
-AToE
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