Universe
Books like Dune: 9 series to read next
Dune is science fiction and space opera, about political intrigue, set in far future, tense in register. The 9 series below are ranked by how much of that they share — each card says which parts.
Dune is 78 books across 9 series, 1963–2023.
“The desert planet, where empire runs on a single substance: the spice melange, which folds space, prolongs life, and unlocks prescience, and which exists nowhere else in the known universe.”
from the catalogue description
- Foundation
- Hyperion
- Book of The New Sun
- Red Rising
- The Culture
- Honorverse
- Vatta
- Old Man's War
- The Machineries of Empire
- FoundationUniverse
universe123 books1940
Loreful pick
The other great galactic-empire cycle: the same millennial timescale, seen from the mathematicians rather than the messiah.
matchedfar futurescience fictionrobots
- HyperionUniverse
universe6 books1989
Loreful pick
Far-future space opera that takes religion and myth as seriously as its technology, and writes them better than anyone since Herbert.
matchedfar futurescience fictionspace operamultiple povother star systemsartificial intelligencefaith and religionspace
- Book of The New SunSeries
seriesGene Wolfe7 books1980
Loreful pick
A dying world, an unreliable saint and a prose style that rewards the same slow reading Dune asks for.
matchedfar futurescience fictionchallengingsecondary world
- Red RisingSeries
seriesPierce Brown & Rik Hoskin13 books2014
Loreful pick
Ducal houses, a rigged caste system and a boy raised to break it — Dune's politics at a sprint.
matchedfar futurescience fictiontensespace operadarkrebellion and revolution
- The CultureUniverse
universe21 books1987
Loreful pick
Empire from the other side: what happens when the post-scarcity civilisation is the one manipulating everyone else.
matchedfar futurescience fictionspace operagalactic scaleartificial intelligence
- HonorverseUniverse
universe83 books1993
Science fiction and space opera, set in far future and other star systems.
matchedfar futurescience fictionspace operamilitary science fictionother star systemsspace
- VattaUniverse
universe10 books2003
Science fiction and space opera, tense and adventurous in tone, set in far future and other star systems.
matchedfar futurescience fictionspace operatensemilitary science fictionother star systemsspaceadventurous
- Old Man's WarSeries
seriesJohn Scalzi16 books2005
Science fiction and military science fiction, adventurous in tone, about war, set in far future and other star systems.
matchedfar futurescience fictionmilitary science fictionspace operaother star systemswarspaceadventurous
seriesYoon Ha Lee10 books2012
Science fiction and space opera, tense in tone, about political intrigue and war, set in far future.
matchedfar futurescience fictionspace operamilitary science fictiontensepolitical intriguewar
Read next in Dune
Why these
No sales rank, no star ratings, no readers also bought.
Shared terms are not a promise that a book feels the same. Two series can be far-future political intrigue and read nothing alike — what the ranking can say is what they are about, and each card says which parts it shares.
Questions readers ask
- What should I read after Dune?
- Foundation. The other great galactic-empire cycle: the same millennial timescale, seen from the mathematicians rather than the messiah.
- Where do I start with Dune?
- Dune. It is the entry the catalogue recommends for Dune, which is a whole world rather than one run.
- How big is Dune?
- Dune is 78 books across 9 series, 1963–2023.