The Sabres of Paradise: The book that inspired Frank Herbert’s ‘Dune’
The book is almost always better than the film. The reasons for this are multiple, but on an elemental level, I ask, ‘Who would make a movie after reading a bad book?’ Then, of course, more time is usually invested in a book, enhancing overall engagement and allowing breaks between chapters to ponder on subtext and personal allusions. Yet, many readers and viewers will make an exception for cinematic masterpieces like Dune.
In the realm of fantasy and sci-fi, redundant movie adaptations are abundant. Such failures will often do little more than fill gaps between the original text, stifling the imagination granted by literary means. However, where adaptations succeed – see Alfonso Cuarón’s work on Harry Potter and Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy – they can come close to rivalling the author’s original creation.
Denis Villeneuve released Dune: Part Two in March 2024 to universal praise, referencing a spectacular cinematic experience and a faithful, imaginative adaptation of Frank Herbert’s epic 1965 novel. In such cases of success, it is usually best not to judge the movie against the book’s merits since the media have different purposes and strengths: a reader can build a visual narrative in their head, but the book can’t blow one’s mind with visual effects.
Either way, we can all agree that Herbert’s original book was a tour de force responsible for a barrowload of entertainment over the past six decades. David Lynch, who directed the first movie adaptation of Dune in 1984, and Villeneuve have endeavoured to, and in many ways succeeded, in honouring Herbert’s legacy as a towering force in 20th-century literature. But we have one other author to thank.
Herbert began work on Dune in the early 1960s. The skeletal story in his mind’s eye imagined a dystopia wherein an interstellar society fights for control of neighbouring planets. The initial narrative arc follows Paul Atreides, whose aristocratic family takes stewardship of the planet Arrakis, a barren, hostile world but the only known source of melange, or “spice”. The elixir can extend life and bestow superhuman mental capabilities, thus leading to a resource war between rival factions.
The story patently alludes to modern society, and its ongoing friction centred on resources, ecology, politics, religion and the advancement of technology. Dystopias of this kind are by no means scarce, but Herbert’s story likely wouldn’t have taken form had he not read the lesser-known 1960 book The Sabres of Paradise: Conquest and Vengeance in the Caucasus, written by British author Lesley Blanch.
The Sabres of Paradise is a work of narrative non-fiction that serves as the definitive biography of Imam Shamyl. Although Blanch documented the Caucasian Wars of Independence of 1834-1859, she tells the story in a dramatic style, unfolding the story of warring mountain tribes Daghestan and Chechnya scene by scene. Ultimately, Shamil led united Muslim tribesmen, or Murids, against the imposing Russian Empire.
Inspired by Blanch’s emotive work, Herbert reimagined these warring tribes in a futuristic setting. Similarly, he focussed on breathtaking geography as a central theme to his story and analogised the Islamic backdrop with religious persuasions of his own.
Herbert also directly honoured The Sabres of Paradise in Dune by transposing specifically named items such as the ‘kindjal’ daggers. Furthermore, ‘Kanly’ pertains to a blood feud between Islamic tribes in The Sabres of Paradise; Herbert brought this word to the Dune universe to describe the feuds between rival aristocratic households. Other borrowed terms include ‘Siridar’, ‘Chakobsa’ and ‘Sietch’.
It is safe to say that Villeneuve, Lynch and Herbert are indebted to the late, great Lesley Blanch for her astute eye for drama and captivating storytelling. Had this been a run-of-the-mill history book, it might have passed Herbert by or failed to ignite his imagination, thus rendering Dune non-existent.
Watch the trailer for Dune: Part Two below.
