這部小说讲述年轻的保罗·亚崔迪的故事,他是公爵雷托·亚崔迪(Duke Leto Atreides)的继承人和亚崔迪家族(House Atreides)的传人,他和他的家庭從祖居的海洋星球卡樂丹(Caladan)搬迁到行星厄拉科斯(Arrakis),其又被稱為「沙丘星」(Dune)是一座貧瘠的沙漠星球,卻也是對宇宙航行至關重要的資源香料美兰极(melange,又译作“美琅脂”)之唯一的產地。
在小说中的时代,因为一个称为巴特兰圣战(the Butlerian Jihad)的宗教戰爭,先进的电脑與人工智能早已被禁用,該戰爭的結果被描述“機械邏輯之神被大眾推翻了”。經過各宗教勢力間多次跨宗教會議與交流協調後,宗教大同編譯委員會成立以阻止戰爭的再次爆發,同時確立了所有宗教的共同戒律“汝等不得減損靈魂的價值。”後發表了《奧蘭治合一聖書》,該戰爭留下的誡命亦載於此書中:“汝等不得制造机器去假冒人的思維。(Thou shalt not make a machine in the likeness of a human mind.)”。電子科技發展停止後在生物科技、與香料等藥物的辅助下,人类的認知與分析能力已经达到了神奇的地步,逐漸發展出來替代電子科技的職業與組織:
^Touponce, William F. Herbert's Reputation. Frank Herbert. Boston, Massachusetts: Twayne Publishers imprint, G. K. Hall & Co. 1988: 119. ISBN 0-8057-7514-5. Locus ran a poll of readers on April 15, 1975 in which Dune 'was voted the all-time best science-fiction novel … It has sold over ten million copies in numerous editions.'
^SCI FI Channel Auction to Benefit Reading Is Fundamental. 2003-03-18 [2007-09-28]. (原始内容存档于2007-09-28) –通过PNNonline.org. Since its debut in 1965, Frank Herbert's Dune has sold over 12 million copies worldwide, making it the best-selling science fiction novel of all time ... Frank Herbert's Dune saga is one of the greatest 20th Century contributions to literature.
^Dune 7 blog: Conspiracy Theories. DuneNovels.com. 2005-12-16 [2008-10-12]. (原始内容存档于2007-10-12). Frank Herbert wrote a detailed outline for Dune 7 and he left extensive Dune 7 notes, as well as stored boxes of his descriptions, epigraphs, chapters, character backgrounds, historical notes—over a thousand pages worth.
^Neuman, Clayton. Winds of Dune Author Brian Herbert on Flipping the Myth of Jihad. AMC. 2009-08-17 [2020-06-16]. (原始内容存档于2009-09-21). I got a call from an estate attorney who asked me what I wanted to do with two safety deposit boxes of my dad's ... in them were the notes to Dune 7—it was a 30-page outline. So I went up in my attic and found another 1,000 pages of working notes.
^Before Dune, After Frank Herbert. Amazon.com. 2004 [2008-11-12]. (原始内容存档于2009-04-09). Brian was cleaning out his garage to make an office space and he found all these boxes that had 'Dune Notes' on the side. And we used a lot of them for our House books.
^Interview with Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson. Arrakis.ru. 2004 [2008-11-12]. (原始内容存档于2012-09-08). We had already started work on House Atreides ... After we already had our general outline written and the proposal sent to publishers, then we found the outlines and notes. (This necessitated some changes, of course.)
^Ascher, Ian. Kevin J. Anderson Interview. DigitalWebbing.com. 2004 [2007-07-03]. (原始内容存档于2007-07-03). ... we are ready to tackle the next major challenge—writing the grand climax of the saga that Frank Herbert left in his original notes sealed in a safe deposit box ... after we'd already decided what we wanted to write ... They opened up the safe deposit box and found inside the full and complete outline for Dune 7 ... Later, when Brian was cleaning out his garage, in the back he found ... over three thousand pages of Frank Herbert's other notes, background material, and character sketches.
^Adams, John Joseph. New Dune Books Resume Story. SciFi.com. 2006-08-09 [2007-12-19]. (原始内容存档于2007-12-19). Anderson said that Frank Herbert's notes included a description of the story and a great deal of character background information. 'But having a roadmap of the U.S. and actually driving across the country are two different things,' he said. 'Brian and I had a lot to work with and a lot to expand...'