That Livingston never mentioned Dune when explaining real-world Origins of the Wheel of Time is a flaming travesty.

A massive, loyal-to-the-messiah dessert warrior culture (of which said messiah’s mother became an adopted member), a secretive order of women mystics pulling the strings on human civilization, weapons inspired by the Javanese kris, a heavy focus on political intrigue and machinations, a strong focus on a near-instantaneous method of traveling, and so on and so forth.

I’m astounded that the book Origins of the Wheel of Time completely failed to mention Dune when listing out all the inspirational works and events for Robert Jordan’s magnum opus.