bh.houseatreides-第149章

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two　safety…deposit　boxes　belonging　to　Frank　Herbert　had　turned　up　in　a　suburb　of　Seattle；　boxes　that　none　of　us　knew　existed。　I　made　an　appointment　to　meet　with　the　bank　authorities；　and　in　an　increasing　air　of　excitement　the　safety…deposit　boxes　were　opened。　Inside　were　papers　and　old…style　floppy　puter　disks　that　included　prehensive　notes　from　an　unpublished　DUNE　7　　the　long…awaited　sequel　to　CHAPTERHOUSE：　DUNE！　Now　Kevin　and　I　knew　for　certain　where　Frank　Herbert　had　been　headed；　and　we　could　weave　the　events　of　our　prequel　into　a　future　grand　finale　for　the　series。
　We　turned　with　new　enthusiasm　to　the　task　of　putting　together　a　book　proposal　that　could　be　shown　to　publishers。　That　summer　I　had　a　trip　to　Europe　scheduled；　an　anniversary　celebration　that　my　wife　Jan　and　I　had　been　planning　for　a　long　time。　I　took　along　a　new　laptop　puter　and　a　featherweight　printer；　and　Kevin　and　I　exchanged　FedEx　packages　all　summer　long。　By　the　time　I　returned　at　the　end　of　the　summer；　we　had　a　massive　141…page　trilogy　proposal　　the　largest　that　either　of　us　had　ever　seen。　My　allied　DUNE　CONCORDANCE　project；　the　encyclopedia　of　all　the　marvelous　treasures　of　the　Dune　universe；　was　a　little　over　half…pleted；　with　months　of　intensive　work　remaining　before　it　would　be　finished。
　As　we　waited　to　see　if　a　publisher　would　be　interested；　I　remembered　the　many　writing　sessions　I　had　enjoyed　with　my　father；　and　my　early　novels　in　the　1980s　that　had　received　his　loving；　attentive　suggestions　for　improvement。　Everything　I　had　learned　from　him　　and　more　　would　be　needed　for　this　huge　prequel　project。
　…Brian　Herbert
　I　never　met　Frank　Herbert；　but　I　knew　him　well　through　the　words　he　wrote。　I　read　DUNE　when　I　was　ten　years　old；　and　reread　it　several　times　over　the　years；　then　I　read　and　enjoyed　all　of　the　sequels。　GOD　EMPEROR　OF　DUNE；　hot　off　the　presses；　was　the　very　first　hardcover　novel　I　ever　purchased　（I　was　a　freshman　in　college）。　Then　I　worked　my　way　through　every　single　one　of　his　other　novels；　diligently　checking　off　the　titles　on　the　〃Other　Books　By〃　page　in　each　new　novel。　THE　GREEN　BRAIN；　HELLSTROM'S　HIVE；　THE　SANTAROGA　BARRIER；　THE　EYES　OF　HEISENBERG；　DESTINATION：　VOID；　THE　JESUS　INCIDENT；　and　more　and　more　and　more。
　To　me；　Frank　Herbert　was　the　pinnacle　of　what　science　fiction　could　be　　thought…provoking；　ambitious；　epic　in　scope；　well…researched；　and　entertaining　　all　in　the　same　book。　Other　science　fiction　novels　succeed　in　one　or　more　of　these　areas；　but　DUNE　did　it　all。　By　the　time　I　was　five　years　old；　I　had　decided　I　wanted　to　be　a　writer。　By　the　time　I　was　twelve；　I　knew　I　wanted　to　write　books　like　the　ones　Frank　Herbert　wrote。
　Throughout　college；　I　published　a　handful　of　short　stories；　then　began　to　write　my　first　novel；　RESURRECTION；　INC。；　a　plex　tale　set　in　a　future　world　where　the　dead　are　reanimated　to　serve　the　living。　The　novel　was　full　of　social　mentary；　religious　threads；　a　large　cast　of　characters；　and　（yes）　a　wheels…within…wheels　plot。　By　this　time；　I　had　enough　writing　credits　to　join　the　Science　Fiction　Writers　of　America。。。and　one　of　the　main　benefits　was　the　Membership　Directory。　There；　before　my　eyes；　was　the　home　address　of　Frank　Herbert。　I　promised　myself　that　I　would　send　him　the　very　first　signed　copy。　The　novel　sold　almost　immediately　to　Signet　Books。。。but　before　its　publication　date；　Frank　Herbert　died。
　I　had　avidly　read　the　last　two　Dune　books；　HERETICS　and　CHAPTERHOUSE；　in　which　Herbert　had　launched　a　vast　new　saga　that　built　to　a　fever　pitch；　literally　destroyed　all　life　on　the　planet　Arrakis；　and　left　the　human　race　on　the　brink　of　extinction　　that's　where　Frank　Herbert　left　the　story　upon　his　death。　I　knew　that　his　son　Brian　was　also　a　professional　writer　with　several　science　fiction　novels　under　his　belt。　I　waited；　and　hoped；　that　Brian　would　plete　a　draft　manuscript；　or　at　least　flesh　out　an　outline　his　father　had　left　behind。　Someday　soon；　I　hoped；　faithful　DUNE　readers　would　have　a　resolution　to　this　cliffhanger。
　Meanwhile；　my　own　writing　career　flourished。　I　was　nominated　for　the　Bram　Stoker　Award　and　the　Nebula　Award；　two　of　my　thrillers　were　bought　or　optioned　by　major　studios　in　Hollywood。　While　I　continued　to　write　original　novels；　I　also　found　a　great　deal　of　success　in　dipping　my　toes　into　established　universes；　such　as　Star　Wars　and　X…Files　（both　of　which　I　love）。　I　learned　how　to　study　the　rules　and　the　characters；　wrap　my　imagination　around　them；　and　tell　my　own　stories　within　the　boundaries　and　expectations　of　the　readers。
　Then　in　the　spring　of　1996　I　spent　a　week　in　Death　Valley；　California；　which　has　always　been　one　of　my　favorite　places　to　write。　I　went　hiking　for　an　afternoon　in　an　isolated　and　distant　canyon；　wrapped　up　in　my　plotting　and　dictating。　After　an　hour　or　so　I　discovered　that　I　had　wandered　off　on　the　wrong　trail　and　had　several　extra　miles　to　hike　back　to　my　car。　During　that　unexpectedly　long　walk；　out　in　the　stark　and　beautiful　desert　scenery；　my　thoughts　rambled　over　to　DUNE。
　It　had　been　ten　years　since　Frank　Herbert's　death；　and　by　now　I　had　pretty　much　decided　that　DUNE　was　always　going　to　end　on　a　cliffhanger。　I　still　very　much　wanted　to　know　how　the　story　wrapped　up。。。even　if　I　had　to　make　it　up　myself。
　I　had　never　met　Brian　Herbert　before；　had　no　reason　to　expect　he　would　even　consider　my　suggestion。　But　DUNE　was　my　favorite　science　fiction　novel　of　all　time；　and　I　could　think　of　nothing　I　would　rather　work　on。　I　decided　it　would　do　no　harm　to　ask。。。。
　We　hope　you　have　enjoyed　revisiting　the　Dune　universe　through　our　eyes。　It　has　been　an　immense　honor　to　sift　through　thousands　of　pages　of　Frank　Herbert's　original　notes；　so　that　we　might　re…create　some　of　the　vivid　realms　that　sprang　from　his　research；　his　imagination；　and　his　life。　I　still　find　DUNE　as　exciting　and　thought…provoking　as　I　did　when　I　first　encountered　it　many　years　ago。
　…Kevin　J。　Anderson
　　　
　　　
　　　
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