Frank Herbert was born on this date, October 8, in 1920.  He passed away in 1986.

Herbert was the author of Dune and a number of sequels.  (Note to self:  reread Dune and read the sequels written by Herbert.)

But he wrote a number of other novels, including The Santaroga Barrier, The Dosadi Experiment, and Under Pressure, to name a few.  His collected short fiction was published about five or six years ago.

Today, though, Herbert is remembered primarily for Dune.  I suspect that’s because Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson have turned it into a franchise.

The influence of Dune cannot be overstated.  If it’s been out of print since it was first published, I’m not aware of it.  The book is rightly considered a classic.

Herbert should be remembered for the other work he did, though.  I’ve only read a few of his other books, and those were years ago.  I enjoyed them and have several novels of his novels that I haven’t read sitting on the shelves.

In honor of Herbert’s birthday, I’ll try to read a short story this evening.  I’ve been reading some older science fiction over the last few months, although I’ve not blogged about any of it.  I’ll try to include one of Herbert’s novels in the mix.