With the term speculative fiction only being coined by Robert Heinlein in 1947, Frank Herbert's Dune arose as one of the earlier works of speculative fiction. It helped to lay the foundations for what is now a renowned politically and socially controversial genre. Although speculative fiction is now an established and well respected genre, when Herbert first published Dune, he was breaking into new territory. Critics saw his novel as a lower class form of escapism which was not worthy of critical analysis.
             The genre of speculative fiction rose at a time of political turmoil at the culmination of World War Two, and as a response to this context, has the strong characteristic of political and environmental examination and criticism.
             The genre gained a new currency in the 1960's, the time of Dune's release, with popularity emerging first in university campuses across the United States. The literary qualities of Dune appealed to this young intellectual crowd. Its cautionary theme was embraced by the anti conformists and environmentalists, by the young free thinkers of a new generation. Today, Dune has gained a wide following and acceptance, as well as academic recognition.
             The question is, how has Dune managed to actually increase its popularity and acceptance over time? The increase in acceptance has simply come from a change in our perceived values over time – from the perception of speculative fiction as a fringe genre, to its wider acceptance as part of mainstream culture. The answer to its augmented popularity lies in the fact that the novel portrays the human condition, meaning that it is applicable to any society. Consider the main storyline: we see an epic battle for economic power, between two great Houses, Atreides and Harkonnen. This is part of the natural human condition – that the leaders of opposing societies will fight for power. Also, we see the rise of Paul Mu
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