The book was based on the first 4 books of the original Dune saga by Frank Herbert, namely Dune, Dune Messiah, Children of Dune, and God Emperor of Dune. At the time it was written, The Dune Encyclopedia was promoted as the "official" Dune chronology. Frank Herbert, who was a personal friend of Dr. McNelly, wrote the foreword for the Encyclopedia. Rumors existed that Herbert himself contributed to it; however, if this were true, he wrote under a pseudonym, as his name only appears on the foreword.