Dune Mystery Uncovered--HUZZAH!

Occassionally I'll reminisce fondly with my high school friends about the joys of playing Pong. Recently, I had a similiar techno-flashback when I came upon a Dune FAQ that was electronically published in black Times New Roman on a white background--just like in the "olden days" (as my students might say).

The really cool thing was that the FAQ actually had some information I had been searching for, although it may in all likelihood be outdated. When I first began this blog (and even now as it continues to evolve--or devolve, depending on your perspective), I had wondered just how many languages Frank Herbert's Dune novels had been translated into?

According to the alt.fan.dun FAQ, at least some of the books in the original Dune series have been translated to: Czech, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, French, German, Hungarian, Italian, Japanese, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese (Brazilian), Rumanian, Russian, Serbo-Croatian, Spanish (and Catalan), Swedish and Turkish.

This FAQ was last updated following the release of Anderson and Herbert's prequel Dune: House Atreides, which at this point had been translated into only Czech, Dutch, French, Hebrew, Italian, Polish and Spanish (slackers!). Given the success of the sequels since then, my guess would be that the number of langauges into which they have been translated into since has only grown...

"The concept of progress acts as a protective mechanism to shield us from the terrors of the future."--from "Collected Sayings of Muad'Dib" by the Princess Irulan

Dune: From Russian with Spice

While trolling the net for some imagery of interest, I came across an interview that was given to Central Russian Portal of Dune and famous Russian Sci-Fi Magazine The World of Science Fiction by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson. Of course, it is not the interview itslef which is of interest here, but the fact that there is a website eminating from Russia (with Spice!).

Fortunately, the article was published online in English, while the rest of the site was in Russian (I assume). I reckon that most Russian Dune fans are bi-lingual, otherwise why bother presenting the interview in English, rather than offering a translation? There was one Russio-centric question which the authors did address:

Q: What can you wish to Russian Dune-fans and "The World of Sci-fi"readers?

A: Science fiction should be a genre that is relevant for the entire world. We are very pleased that we are writing books that can be enjoyed in many countries beyond America. We hope we can sustain a global outlook and keep readers happy in many countries outside of our own borders. (And we very much hope that one day we can visit Russia and other states of the former Soviet Union, so we can meet our fans in person.)

If you can read Russian, or are interested in "reading" text that was completely indecipherable to this average victim of American public education, check out The Dune: Russia website.

We came from Caladan--a paradise world for our form of life. There existed no need on Caladan to build a physical paradise or a paradise of the mind--we could see the actuality all around us. And the price we paid was the price men have always paid for achieving a paradise in this life.--we went soft, we lost our edge.
--from "Muad'Dib: Conversations" by the Princess Irulan