Pretend you read more than the first Dune with this 34,000-year timeline recap

We’ve waited nearly five years for Denis Villeneuve’s ambitious adaptation of Frank Herbert’s beloved sci-fi classic, Dune (well, Part One, at least), and the world is a very different place than those halcyon, pre-2016 election days of yore. But half a decade is nothing within the grander, Dune-ier scope of time: Since the first novel’s publication in 1965, Herbert and his ensuing lineage of authors ended up writing 22 novels alongside short stories, novellas, and various companion books to create a timeline spanning 34,000 years.

But let’s be honest with ourselves: most of us have only read the first book or two. Maybe—maybe—the truly ambitious among you got pretty far into Children of Dune before throwing up your hands in utter confusion… not that we’re speaking from experience here.

So, who’s got the time (ha!) these days to tackle such a massive literary undertaking—especially when Dune is due to hit theaters and HBO Max in just a few days? Well, to “simplify” things a bit, we humbly offer this video primer summarizing the whole Duniverse within 10 minutes.

(Obviously, some spoilers ensue)

There. Pretty comprehensive, right? Any questions? Just kidding, that’s obviously rhetorical given that we’re somehow more confused than before.

Between talks of Butlerian Jihads, Empires of 1000 Worlds, Ages of 10,000 Emperors, and extraterrestrial psych-outs, it’s clear that you’d need a heavy dose of melange to truly comprehend the entire story. Which is fine. Not all of us are equipped to be all-knowing, all-seeing God Emperor Worm-Human Hybrids (that’s a thing in there, right?)—we’ll settle for enjoying a sliver of Dune’s impressive universe this weekend, instead.

In any case, now you can at least nod your head a bit more confidently the next time that one friend starts telling you how you really need to give the entire series a chance.

[via BoingBoing]

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