Dune, Frank Herbert (1965). Conceptual cover designs for the sci-fi classic: Dune tells the story of young Paul Atreides, as he and his family accept control of the desert planet Arrakis, the only source of the 'spice' melange, the most important and valuable substance in the cosmos. The story explores the complex, multi-layered interactions of politics, religion, ecology, technology, and human emotion as the forces of the empire confront each other for control of ‘Dune’.