July 2001 Interview
Kevin J. Anderson answers questions from FED2k's Madhi.
1) Now that the miniseries has aired, can you tell us what you and Mr. Herbert thought of it?
Brian and I thought the miniseries was a faithful adaptation of the book and hope that it will bring many more readers.
2) Was Victor Atreides a character created by yourself and Mr. Herbert or was he created by Frank Herbert?
(Not Answered, I will ask again next time)
3) I can find no mention of the Barons disease in Dune, it seems there that his being fat was a mixture of genes (Rabban was gaining weight) and over-excess. Was it Frank Herbert who thought that was a good idea after it was in Lynch's movie, or did you and Brian Herbert add it?
(Not answered, I'll ask again next time)
4) How far have the two of you gotten in writing Dune 7 and the Butlerian Jihad trilogy?
Book 1 of the Butlerian Jihad is currently in the 2nd draft stage
5) What do you say to those fans who are worried that writing Dune 7 may be a bad idea?
Regarding Dune 7: Dune fans have waited 16 years for Dune 7. We have Frank Herbert's complete outline for the novel, and the story needs to be completed in the way the Frank intended.
6) "If you're reminded of Star Wars at any point in this miniseries, just remember that Dune reached book form in 1965, and ponder how long it took George Lucas to file off all the serial numbers. -- Paul" This Paul is a columnist for Science Fiction weekly and is not the first to voice this opinion. As someone who has wrote both Dune and Star Wars novels, have you noticed any similarity between the two universes?
Star Wars was heavily influenced by Dune. There is a significant crossover among the fans of Star Wars and Dune. I think that my numerous SW novels gave me a good background in writing a galactic story with the scope of Dune.
This is from my boss at Fed2k, Jesse Reid: Have you played any of the Dune games and what did you think of them?
We have not played any of the Dune games. Our time and creative energy is completely involved in writing the new novels.
