The Folio Society is publishing Frank Herbert's Children of Dune

When the Folio Society began publishing science fiction and fantasy books in earnest way back in 2015 when it released its version of Frank Herbert's Dune, with art by Sam Weber and an introduction by Michael Dirda. It's a gorgeous book, and I was excited when the publisher opted to finally put out a followup edition of the next book in the series, Dune: Messiah. Now, the publisher is continuing the series with a new edition of the third installment of the series, Children of Dune. (h/t to Mark W. for spotting it in the TO Slack.)

In its announcement, the publisher noted that Children of Dune has been highly requested, and that it'll release the edition on September 3rd. Preorders aren't up yet, but they're pointing buyers to sign up for their mailing list to get updates. This doesn't seem to be one of their special edition titles, and while pricing isn't available yet, I'm guessing it'll follow suit with Dune and Dune: Messiah, which are priced at $145 and $110, respectively.

Herbert first serialized Children of Dune in 1976 in Analog Science Fiction and Fact, largely seeing the story as the culmination of the story that he began in Dune. In that first book, we follow Paul Atreides as his family is decimated by a rival family and forms a revolution on the planet Arrakis, harnessing the power of the indigenous Fremen to unleash a jihad across the galaxy that ultimately kills billions. In the second installment, Dune: Messiah, Paul is wary of the power that he's been given, aware that he's unable to control the movement that he began, and ends up walking away into the desert.

In Children of Dune, the transformation of Arrakis has begun and Paul's children begin to fear his sister Alia, believing that she's been possessed by the their grandfather Baron Vladimir Harkonnen. At the same time, a mysterious figure has emerged from the desert, a rival house is plotting to take over the throne, and ... it gets weird. When it was published as a hardcover in April 1976, it became the first ever science fiction novel to become a bestseller.

Herbert went on to write three more installments of the series before his death, God Emperor of Dune, Heretics of Dune, and Chapterhouse: Dune, and I wouldn't be too surprised if The Folio Society eventually releases them. Herbert's son Brian, along with co-author Kevin J. Anderson, have continued the series with a number of installments of their own.

In 2003, the SCI FI Channel adapted both Dune: Messiah and Children of Dune as a miniseries (titled Children of Dune), and in 2021 and 2023, director Denis Villeneuve adapted the first novel as a pair of feature films, and is currently working on a third film that'll adapt Dune: Messiah. That's due out in December 2026. There's also a TV series coming to HBO's Max later this year, Dune: Prophecy.

I'm excited to see how Children of Dune looks: Folio Society hasn't released anything beyond a look at the cover (Hilary Clarcq produced the excellent artwork for their edition of Dune: Messiah), which appears to (fittingly) feature Paul's children Leto II and Ghanima.