Subject: alt.fan.dune Introduction and FAQ
From: [email-masked]
Date: 6 Oct 1993 19:42:42 GMT
Newsgroups: alt.fan.dune,alt.answers,news.answers

Archive-name: dune-faq
Last-modified: 1993/9/21

An Introduction to alt.fan.dune

Table of Contents
I. What is alt.fan.dune?
 a. What is Dune?
 b. What is alt.fan.dune?
 c. Appropriate subject material
II. Dune references
 a. Books
	1. The _Dune_ Series
	2. _Songs of Muad'Dib_
	3. _The Dune Encyclopedia_
	4. Notebooks
	5. Bio
 b. The Movie(s)
 c. Games
    1. On-line simluations of Dune (DuneMUSH)
    2. PC games
    3. Board games
 d. Sound Recordings
 e. Comics and Illustrated Books
III. Frequently asked questions
 a. Where do I get the movie soundtrack?
 b. Who/what are Marty and Daniel, from the end of _Chapterhouse Dune_?

This Introduction is also posted to news.answers and alt.answers.
Inquiries/suggestions/corrections can be mailed to: 
	[email-masked]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
I. What is alt.fan.dune?

 a. What is Dune?

	_Dune_ is the first of a series of science fiction books by Frank
Herbert. 

 b. What is alt.fan.dune?

	Alt.fan.dune is a newsgroup for postings relating to Frank
Herbert's _Dune_ series or any of its adaptations, including the movie
_Dune_ and the on-line simulation DuneMUSH. The group will provide a forum
for fans of Herbert's work to communicate, and for dissemination of
DuneMUSH announcements and plot information. 

 c. Appropriate subject material

	Any discussion of anything related to Herbert's _Dune_ series is
probably appropriate. Please take advantage of keywords: use the keyword
"movie" for discussion about the movie, "book" for discussion of the
books, "mush" for discussion of subjects related to DuneMUSH, "game" for
discussion of the game, etc. Discussions about general MUSH issues should
be directed to the rec.games.mud.* hierarchy, most likely
rec.games.mud.tiny. 

II. Dune references

 Anyone with information about the references listed here (or others!) is
welcome to submit a brief review or synopsis of the material to
[email-masked] for inclusion in this Introduction. 

 a. Books

	1. The _Dune_ Series

	The _Dune_ Series is comprised of the following books:
    _Dune_, Frank Herbert (New York: Berkley Pub., 1987, c1965).
    _Dune Messiah_, Frank Herbert (New York: Berkley Pub., 1987, c1969).
    _Children of Dune_, Frank Herbert (New York: Berkley Pub., 1987, c1976).
    _God Emperor of Dune_, Frank Herbert (New York: Berkley Pub., 1987, c1981).
    _Heretics of Dune_, Frank Herbert (New York: Berkley Pub., 1986).
    _Chapterhouse, Dune_, Frank Herbert (New York: Berkley Pub., 1987,
c1985).

	2. _Songs of Muad'Dib_ by Brian Herbert.
A collection of Fremen poetry. I'm looking for publisher information on
this one, if anyone has it. 

	3. _The Dune Encyclopedia_, compiled by Willis E. McNelly (New York:
Berkley Books, c1984), is a comprehensive, authorized encyclopedia spanning
the _Dune_ series up to book 4, and including little-known information and
nice drawings. It's written from a post-Scattering perspective.

	4. _The Notebooks of Frank Herbert's Dune_, edited by Brian Herbert
(New York: Perigee Books, c1988).

	5. _The Maker of Dune: insights of a master of science fiction_, by
Frank Herbert, edited by Tim O'Reilly (New York: Berkley Books, 1987).

 b. The Movie

 	_Dune_ was made into a movie of the same title, and is available on
video. The movie was directed by David Lynch (of Twin Peaks and Eraserhead
fame), produced by Dino di Laurentis, and starred: Kyle MacLachlan (Paul
Muad'Dib), Jurgen Prochnow (Leto), Sean Young (Chani), Francesca Annis
(Jessica), Dean Stockwell (Dr. Yueh), Virginia Madsen (Irulan), Patrick
Stewart (Gurney), Jose Ferrar (Shaddam IV), Sting (Feyd Rautha), Max von
Sydow (Liet-Kynes), and Linda Hunt (Shadout Mapes). 
	There are actually 3 versions of the movie. In addition to the
version released in theaters (which was about 2 hours long), the video
version is the 2.5-hour long Director's Cut, which tends to make more
sense to those who haven't read the books (it includes a long beginning
narration, for example). There's also a 3-hour version, including parts
that Lynch wanted cut, like a voiceover introducing the characters, a
scene of Gurney playing the baliset, etc. Lynch petitioned the Director's
Guild to have his named removed from the credits for this one.
	For information about the soundtrack, see the "Sound Recordings"
section below...

 c. Games
   1. On-Line Simulations: DuneMUSH

	DuneMUSH is an interactive multi-user role-playing simulation
based in the _Dune_ universe in the years after the first book in the
series. Players join factions and attempt to achieve their personal and
faction goals by diplomacy, special powers, political and economic
pressure, or military force.
	Anyone may create a character at DuneMUSH by connecting (telnet
cogsci.berkeley.edu 4201 or telnet 128.32.211.5 4201) and following the
instructions. Please use the "Guest" character if you're just looking
around.
	Questions about DuneMUSH can go to [email-masked].
	For information about multi-user games in general, readers are
directed to the rec.games.mud.* hierarchy.

    2. PC games

	There are two readily available games for personal computers based
on _Dune_: Dune I and Dune II.
	Dune I is a graphic adventure game based on both the book and the
movie, in which players take the role of Paul. Here's a review:

From: [email-masked] (Erwin Dondorp)
>Dune I is a far better game than Dune II. It features photo like
>graphics (not from the film) of all Dune characters, and orni's,
>spice miners, worms, etc. Your job is to search for all the sietches,
>train the found fremen for spice mining, fighting or crop growing.
>(only one speciality at a time!), the fremen can be ordered to spy
>(look for enemy castles) and attack them. They can be send to find
>weapons, mining vehicles, bulbs, orni's which makes their work
>more efficient. It is a typical simulation game.
>It is available on disk and CD. And seen from the package I think
>that the Cd version has even more built in graphics.

	Dune I is published by Virgin Games.
	In Dune II, the players try to take control of Arrakis, fend off
attacks from other Houses, and mine spice. The game is similar in 
feel to "Civilization" in some ways; much time is devoted to increasing
spice production capacity so you can afford to expand your Arrakis
base with radar installations, weapons facilities, etc.
	Dune II is published by Westwood Studios, distributed by
Virgin Games.

    3. Board games

	Avalon Hill once made a board game called "Dune", which has since
gone out of print in English (though the French language edition is
supposedly floating around still), but old copies can sometimes still be
found. It is reportedly quite enjoyable. 
	There is also a Parker Brothers "Dune" board game, but I've
got no details about it. [Anybody wanna help?]

 d. Sound Recordings

     1. "Sandworms of Dune" by Frank Herbert (Caedmon CDL 51565, p1978).
        1 2-track mono cassette.

     2. The soundtrack to the movie was apparently put out by Polydor,
        Production # 823 770, and is out of print in the US, though
        copies still float around here and there, on LP, cassette, and CD.
        See the FAQ section for how to get it.

 e. Comics and Illustrated Books

     1. _The illustrated Dune_ by Frank Herbert, illustrations by John
Schoenherr (New York: Berkley Pub., 1978, c1965).

     2. The official Marvel Comics adaption of Dune, adapted by Ralph
Macchio, art by Bill Sienkiewicz (New York: Marvel Comics Group:
distributed by Berkley, 1984).

III. Frequently Asked Questions

	[Still working on collecting these]

  a. How can I get the _Dune_ movie soundtrack?

From: [email-masked] (Brian R. Boisvert)
>	The elusive Dune CD is now available as an import CD from Germany.  I
>got my copy from:
>
>	Sound Track Album Retailers
>	P.O. B0x 487
>	New Holland, PA  17557
>	(717) 656-0121
>
>	The cost is $20 (but this includes shipping).  Give 'em a call, they
>have plenty of copies.

From: [email-masked] (Roy Passmore)
>  Call this number in Florida, (407) 831-8344.  This is the Intergalactic
>  Trading Company, and I have seen in their past catalogs DUNE collectables.
>  Maybe they've got what you want...if not, they will point you in the right
>  direction.

There have also been reports that the soundtrack's been rereleased in
Canada, and is widely available for about 16.99$ (Canadian dollars). 

   b. Who/what are Marty and Daniel, who appear at the end of
      _Chapterhouse Dune_?

From: [email-masked] (Paul Wouters)
Message-ID: <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 4 Oct 1993 12:23:32 GMT
>The way i got it, is that thoese two were 'master face dancers'
>
>They were of the new improved face dancers who could also get a memory
>print from their victims. I think somewhere it's told that those two
>have a lot mental prints from their (former) masters. Thus they became
>mightier than their original masters.

From: [email-masked] (Luke Vaughn)
Date: 4 Oct 1993 17:16:24 GMT
Message-ID: <[email-masked]>
>They weren't just 'Master Face Dancers', they were FREE indivduals. In the
>plan of the Ixians, face dancers were basically slaves if I remember
>correctly. In fact as I recall, the face dancers were designed such that
>they would not think of questioning the orders of their Ixian masters.
>These two, most definately ones that could take a print from people,
>appear to be part of a group of free face dancers that had no masters
>other then themselves. And they probably did hold a lot of prints from the
>Ixian masters. 

From: [email-masked] (Ron Rosul)
Message-ID: <[email-masked]>
Date: 16 Sep 93 03:55:05 GMT
>They are face dancers, advanced beyond Tleilaxu control. Good chance they
>were, or had the abilites of a Kwisatz Haderach (remember the Tleilaxu had
>developed their own KH long ago). It was also implied that they had
>greater control over their past-lives than the Bene Gesserit or the
>Tleilaxu Masters.